Last week I accepted a challenge to name a popular song that rose to number 1 on the charts but that used a 3/4 time signature, and that wasn’t “Tennessee Waltz.” Songs in “three” are unusual in popular music, although there are some with segments or transitions to 3/4 that then revert to the more common 4/4.

To recap: 4/4 means that each measure, or basic time unit, has 4 beats, and each beat is a quarter note (“quarter” = 1/4th), so like a 4×4 pickup truck, you are invited to stomp out a danceable 1-2-3-4 rhythm.

This Wilson Pickett standard from the late 1960’s makes you want to move your body to 1,2,3,4; it’s like a drug. There is no way to count to three anywhere near this beat. Believe me, I have tried and failed.

Now listen to this one:

This orchestral piece, written by Austrian Johann Strauss and first performed in Vienna in 1867 has lived a second life as the music of the arriving moon shuttle in Stanley Kubrik’s movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It evokes stately court dancing to a 1-2-3 rhythm in 19th Century Europe (or two spaceships dancing in harmony as they move together while spinning, and don’t forget the zero-G toilet). As you listen, count the “1-2-3’s” out loud. Even dance around the room if you are alone and no one can see you, pretending to be in the Royal Viennese ballroom. I won’t tell.

Now that you are an expert at listening to time signatures, let’s see what ChatGPT, the most well-known AI bot, came up with. I asked it to name a few popular songs whose time signatures were 3/4 that reached number one on the charts, and it said “These songs are beloved classics that showcase the beauty of the 3/4 time signature in different genres.” The first was this wonderful song “My Love” written by Sir Paul McCartney.

There is no way that this is in 3/4 time! Oops! Although I like this song a lot, and enjoyed the chance to listen to it again. Hearing Sir Paul reminded me of a favorite Lennon / McCartney selection that transitions into 3/4 from 4/4 which is of course “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” where it goes “picture yourself…” but the query was for songs entirely in three. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to find this one and play it.

Let’s try again, Mr. Chatbot. This time, the response was the Frank Sinatra classic “Strangers in the Night.” Again, I really enjoyed a chance to reconnect with ol’ blue eyes, but after counting out loud and even pulling up the sheet music on the Internet, I had to give ChatGPT a big FAIL on this one. Unlike the Wilson Pickett selection earlier, this tempo seems to want to be counted in eight — or four if you slow it down — but NOT THREE.

Can we try one more time?

ChatGPT is always happy to oblige, being a robot and all. If you ask it to just find more, it will do it’s best. So here is the next one up at bat:

“Save the Last Dance for Me” by the Drifters. I’m so infatuated with this hit by the Drifters I can hardly contain myself! They don’t write them like this any more. Unfortunately for ChatGPT, they didn’t write this one in 3/4 either. It has an infectious calypso-type beat that I would identify as “1 — 2, 1 –2” with some syncopation on the percussion with the “2” part of the beat that makes it interesting, but sadly does not make it a 1-2-3 song. It did hit number one on the charts for 3 weeks, as well it should have. I had to play it three times, it is that much fun.

ChatGPT is nothing if not persistent, so for the next attempt was “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” by Elvis Presley. Hooray! We have a winner! This one even hit number one in 1960, shortly after Elvis returned from service in the Army. He did not write it, but that’s ok.

Is there a conclusion from all this musical nonsense? I would offer that 1) listening to songs on your phone or computer is a very pleasant way to pass time, and 2) the AI chatbots are not too good about facing up to what they know and what they don’t know. I call them “the unknown unknowns.”

Any time I have an excuse to listen to Wilson Pickett, I will take it.