“Puppet Man” (The 5th Dimension/Tom Jones)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Puppet Man,” a hit for two different artists a year apart. The song was written by the legendary duo of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield—one of the last tunes the two wrote together before Sedaka moved on to work with other lyricists.

The 5th Dimension released their version of “Puppet Man” in March of 1970, backed by drummer Hal Blaine and other studio musicians in the Wrecking Crew. This single peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #31 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Singer Tom Jones decided to cover the tune a year later. He released his slower, sultrier version of “Puppet Man” in May of 1971 and it went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 on the Cash Box Top 100. So the two versions did similarly on the charts, even if we tend to remember the 5th Dimension version more today.

And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, the 5th Dimension lip synching “Puppet Man” on the March 23, 1970, episode of the television show It Takes a Thief. The show starred Robert Wagner as sophisticated thief Alexander Mundy who pulled secret jobs for the U.S. government. He gets a big wink from Marilyn McCoo.