This week in 1958, R&B singer-songwriter Tommy Edwards was spending his fifth week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “It’s All In The Game.”

While it’s rare for me to reach so far back, it’s even rarer for a hit to have presidential ties. So with Election Day just a few days away — it will be over soon, Abby — it’s worth calling out a song with the distinction of being the only #1 hit to have been co-written by a U.S. Vice President.

Chicago banker Charles Dawes composed his “Melody In A Major” in 1911, over a decade before joining incumbent President Calvin Coolidge as his running mate on the Republican ticket in 1924 (they won handily though their relationship would prove to be not so rosy). Not long after Dawes died in April 1951, songwriter Carl Sigman was inspired to add some lyrics to Dawes’ 40-year-old tune. Tommy Edwards was one of the first to release “It’s All In The Game” that same year.

Edwards’ recording was moderately successful, but it was a second version of “It’s All In The Game” that he recorded seven years later that really won listeners over. With a fresh arrangement inspired by the nascent rock n’ roll sound, Edwards scored a #1 hit with “It’s All In The Game” both in the U.S. (six weeks) and in the UK (three weeks).

Besides its vice-presidential connection, “It’s All In The Game” also has the distinction of being the only #1 hit written by a Nobel Peace Prize winner, an honor bestowed upon Dawes in 1925. History is so much more interesting when music is involved.

I also must mention a superb cover of “It’s All In The Game” by British band Carmel. First released in 1987 with a music video co-starring Emma Thompson, their cover was included on the soundtrack to She’s Having A Baby the following year. John Hughes sure knew how to pick ’em.

Purchase Tommy Edwards – “It’s All In The Game” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.