Allentown Jail

"Allentown Jail"
Single by The Lettermen
B-side	"Two Brothers"
Released	1963
Label	Capitol
Songwriter	Irving Gordon
The Lettermen singles chronology
"Heartache Oh Heartache" (1963) "Allentown Jail" (1963) "Where or When" (1963)

"Allentown Jail" is a folk-style song, written by Irving Gordon. ^[1]

Background

The song tells the story of a man who tries to steal a diamond ring for his girlfriend, gets caught, and ends up in the Allentown jail.

Recordings

• In 1951, Jo Stafford recorded this song. It was released as a single on Columbia Records.
• In 1960, Kathy Linden recorded it as her first single on Monument Records. ^[2]
• The Kingston Trio recorded a version in 1962, as the song became popular in the folk scene. The trio had plans of releasing it as a single, but the single never came to fruition. Their version has since been released on various CD compilations of their works.
• In 1963, a more harmonic arrangement was performed by The Lettermen and released as a single. This version incurred some success, but only to a minor degree.

• Other artists who recorded this song include The Seekers, The Springfields, Billy Strange, and British singers Lita Roza and Karen Young. There is also a French adaptation of the song, "Les prisons du roy", by Edith Piaf, which was later covered by Marianne Faithfull.

References

1. "Song: Allentown Jail written by Irving Gordon". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
2. "Kathy Linden - Allentown Jail". 45cat.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.

External links

• "Allentown Jail" lyrics at Genius.com