Bobby's Girl (song)

Last updated
"Bobby's Girl"
Bobby'sGirlBlane.jpg
Single by Marcie Blane
B-side "A Time To Dream"
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1962
Genre Pop Rock
Length2:15
Label Seville Records 45-120
Songwriter(s) Gary Klein, Henry Hoffman [1]
Producer(s) Marvin Holtzman
Marcie Blane singles chronology
"Bobby's Girl"
(1962)
"What Does a Girl Do"
(1963)

"Bobby's Girl" is a song and single written by Gary Klein and Henry Hoffman. The original was performed by American teenage singer Marcie Blane, and became a No. 3 hit on the US charts. A near-simultaneous cover by British singer Susan Maughan was a hit in the UK, coincidentally also reaching No. 3 on the UK charts. [2] [3] Both Blane and Maughan are one-hit wonders; for both these artists, "Bobby's Girl" marked their only appearance on a national top 40 chart.

Contents

Marcie Blane version

Blane's version of the song was released in the United States in August, 1962. It has a spoken introduction and a backing refrain of "You're not a kid anymore" and was popular with the American teenage audience. It entered the charts in October and made the Top 10 within a month, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 by December, where it stayed for four weeks. [4] It reached No. 2 on the Cash Box chart, staying on the charts for nineteen weeks, and made Blane (very briefly) the top-selling female singer in the US. [5]

Chart history

Susan Maughan version

"Bobby's Girl"
Bobby'sGirlMaughan.jpg
Single by Susan Maughan
B-side "Come a Little Closer"
Released1962
Genre Pop Rock
Length2:15
Label Philips Records 326544 BF
Songwriter(s) Gary Klein, Henry Hoffman
Susan Maughan singles chronology
"Baby Doll Twist"
(1962)
"Bobby's Girl"
(1962)
"Mama Do The Twist"
(1962)

Susan Maughan's cover version was released in the UK, also in 1962. It featured Wally Stott and his orchestra and chorus. [13] Substantially re-arranged from Blane's original, Maughan's version dropped the spoken word intro, and had a more sophisticated, less 'teen-age' sound. It spent nineteen weeks on the UK's Record Retailer chart, peaking at No. 3. [14] [15]

Chart history

Chart (1962–63)Peak
position
UK Singles Chart [16] 3
Ireland IRMA [16] 3
Israeli Singles Chart [16] 3
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) [17] 6
Norway VG-lista [16] 6

Other versions

Tracey Ullman version

In 1983 Tracey Ullman released a version of "Bobby's Girl" on the album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places and as a single. Ullman's version reached No. 45 in West Germany. [18]

The Copstars version

In 2001, members of the West Midlands Police force released a version in aid of the John Taylor Hospice in Birmingham. Lead vocals on the song was by Hayley Evetts and comedian Joe Pasquale.

Foreign-language versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Be Doggone</span> 1965 single by Marvin Gaye

"I'll Be Doggone" is a 1965 song recorded by the American soul singer Marvin Gaye and released on the Tamla label. The song talks about how a man tells his woman that he'll be "doggone" about simple things but if she did him wrong that he'd be "long gone". The song was written by Miracles members Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore and Marv Tarplin, initially for The Temptations, who rejected the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">If I Had a Hammer</span> 1949 song by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays

"If I Had a Hammer " is a protest song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the Progressive movement, and was first recorded by the Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. It was a #10 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and then went to #3 a year later when recorded by Trini Lopez in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Stop Loving You</span> 1957 song by Don Gibson

"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. At the time of Gibson's death in 2003, the song had been recorded by more than 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles, whose recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

Susan Maughan is an English singer who released successful singles in the 1960s. Her most famous and successful song, "Bobby's Girl", reached number three in the UK Singles Chart at Christmas time in 1962. It also reached number six in the Norwegian chart in that year according to VG-lista 1962.

Marcia Blank known as Marcie Blane, is a former American pop singer from 1962 to 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surfin' Safari (song)</span> 1962 single by the Beach Boys

"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The End of the World (Skeeter Davis song)</span> 1962 song recorded by Skeeter Davis

"The End of the World" is a pop song written by composer Arthur Kent and lyricist Sylvia Dee, who often worked as a team. They wrote the song for American singer Skeeter Davis, and her recording of it was highly successful in the early 1960s, reaching the top five on four different charts, including No. 2 on the main Billboard Hot 100. It spawned many cover versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackberry Way</span> 1968 single by The Move

"Blackberry Way" is a 1968 single by British band The Move. Written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood and produced by Jimmy Miller, "Blackberry Way" was a bleak counterpoint to the sunny psychedelia of earlier recordings. It nevertheless became the band's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sealed with a Kiss</span> Song by Peter Udell and Gary Geld

"Sealed with a Kiss" is a song written and composed by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. The original recording of "Sealed with a Kiss" was by the Four Voices which was released as a single in May 1960 without becoming a hit. It first became a hit in 1962 for Brian Hyland. Jason Donovan later had an international number one hit with the song in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go Now</span> 1964 single by Bessie Banks

"Go Now" is a song composed by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett and first recorded by Bessie Banks, released as a single in January 1964. The best-known version was recorded by the Moody Blues and released the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L'amour s'en va</span> 1963 song by Françoise Hardy

"L'amour s'en va" is a song composed, written, and performed by French singer-songwriter and actress Françoise Hardy. It represented Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, she recorded it in other languages, gained chart success in Belgium, won France's prestigious award Grand Prix du Disque, and over time it has become one of Hardy's signature songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blame It on the Bossa Nova</span> 1963 single by Eydie Gormé

"Blame It on the Bossa Nova" is a song written by Cynthia Weil (lyrics) and Barry Mann which was a 1963 hit single for Eydie Gormé, reaching number 7 on the Hot 100 in Billboard in March 1963. The song also peaked at number 32 in the UK, whereas "Yes, My Darling Daughter" became the biggest hit for Eydie there, reaching number 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Moving On (Hank Snow song)</span> Country standard written by Hank Snow

"I'm Moving On" is a 1950 country standard written by Hank Snow. It was a success in the record charts and has been recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bachelor Boy</span> 1962 song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows

"Bachelor Boy" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, written by Richard and Bruce Welch. It became a hit when it was released as the B-side of Richard's single "The Next Time". Both sides of the single were regarded as having chart potential so both sides were promoted and in many markets "Bachelor Boy" became the bigger hit. The single spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1963 and was a major hit internationally, although it only reached No. 99 in the US. Both sides of the single were included on the accompanying soundtrack album Summer Holiday. On the soundtrack album the Michael Sammes Singers were credited as backing singers, although they were not credited on the single.

"Detroit City" is a song written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis, made famous by Billy Grammer, country music singer Bobby Bare and Tom Jones. Bare's version was released in 1963 and was featured on his album "Detroit City" and Other Hits by Bobby Bare. The song — sometimes known as "I Wanna Go Home" — was Bare's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and became a country music standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(You're the) Devil in Disguise</span> 1963 song by Elvis Presley

"(You're the) Devil in Disguise" is a 1963 single by Elvis Presley. It was written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, and Florence Kaye and was published by Elvis Presley Music in June 1963. The song peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on August 10, 1963, and No. 9 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart, becoming his final top-ten single on the Rhythm and Blues chart. The song also topped Japan's Utamatic record chart in the fall of 1963. The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the US.

Lucky Lips is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by Ruth Brown in 1956 and was successfully covered by Cliff Richard in 1963.

"I'm Looking out the Window" is a ballad written by Don Raye and John Jacob Niles. Peggy Lee first recorded the song as a B-side for her 1959 single "Hallelujah, I Love Him So". The song is best known as a hit record for Cliff Richard in 1962 in numerous countries, although not in the United States.

"Crazy 'Bout My Baby" is a song first written and recorded by musician Robert Mosley in 1963. His third solo single, it failed to chart, leading to it becoming his final single released. Initially an obscure single, it was brought to light by mainstream acts such as The Swinging Blue Jeans and Tages, the latter of which charted in Sweden with it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Turn Your Back</span> 1965 single by Tages

"Don't Turn Your Back" is a song written by bass guitarist Göran Lagerberg and guitarist Anders Töpel, first recorded by their band Tages in 1965. Produced by the Violents Rune Wallebom, the song would be featured as the lead track from their debut EP Tages released three weeks later

References

  1. "discogs.com". discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  2. "Bobby's Girl". www.discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  3. "Bobby's Girl". BMI Repertoire. 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  4. Yesteryear's Hits. Billboard. 30 December 1967. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  5. "Marcie Blane". www.spectropop.com. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  6. http://chumtribute.com/62-12-17-chart.jpg CHUM Hit Parade, December 17, 1962
  7. Flavour of New Zealand, 3 January 1963
  8. Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. p. 243. ISBN   9163021404.
  9. Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 313. ISBN   919727125X.
  10. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  11. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 29, 1962
  12. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1963
  13. "Bobby's Girl - Susan Maughan". www.discogs.com. 1962. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  14. "UK Official charts - Susan Maughan". www.officialscharts.com. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  15. "Cover details". www.whosampled.com. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Billboard Magazine, January, 1963". Billboard. 13 March 1965.
  17. Flavour of New Zealand, 13 December 1962
  18. Tracey Ullman - Bobby's Girl, norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  19. "Tu M'As Devancée - Arielle". www.discogs.com. March 1963. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  20. "Pardonne-Moi - Mimi Hétu". www.discogs.com. April 1972. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  21. "Douchka - Douchka". www.discogs.com. 1984. Retrieved 3 September 2019.