Today's Song You Should Know: 'Up In A Puff Of Smoke' By Polly Brown

I'm fascinated by music from the 1970s, because there are so many odd little songs that were hits at the time but are all but forgotten now. That's certainly the case with "Up In A Puff Of Smoke," which was the lone U.S. hit for the British singer Polly Brown. She was a member of the British pop band Pickettywitch, which had a Top 5 U.K. with "That Same Old Feeling." That song just missed the Top 40 in the U.S. and while the band's two follow-up singles were in the Top 20 in the U.K., they didn't chart in America. 

"Up In A Puff Of Smoke" was her first solo single and while it only reached #43 in the U.K., it was a solid hit in the U.S. It hit #16 on the Top 40 charts, but got as high as #2 on the recently introduced Disco chart. In fact, the song was broken in discos, which embraced the tune's percussive beat and Diana Ross-like vocals.

Sadly, this tune was the only hit for Brown, who continued to release singles through the 1970s.