Released late in 1966, "Winchester Cathedral" shot quickly up the Billboard Hot 100 and moved into the #1 spot on December 3, 1966. It was released by The New Vaudeville Band, a novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens. Stephens was a big fan of tunes from the British music hall era (or what Americans would call "Vaudeville"), so he wrote "Winchester Cathedral" in that vein, complete with a Rudy Vallée sound-a-like (John Carter) singing through his hands to imitate a megaphone sound. Although recorded entirely by session musicians, when the song became an international hit, an actual band had to be assembled, which toured extensively under the tutelage of Peter Grant, who later went on to manage The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. After a one-week run at #1, "Winchester Cathedral" was knocked off by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", only to rebound to the top spot the following week. After two additional weeks, it was knocked off the top for good by "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees. The song won the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording.
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