"Break It to Me Gently" | ||||
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Single by Brenda Lee | ||||
from the album ..."Let Me Sing" | ||||
B-side | "So Deep" | |||
Released | January 8, 1962 | |||
Recorded | August 31, 1961 | |||
Studio | Bradley Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
Genre | Vocal, country | |||
Length | 2:34 | |||
Label | Decca 31348 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Joe Seneca, Diane Lampert | |||
Producer(s) | Owen Bradley | |||
Brenda Lee singles chronology | ||||
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"Break It to Me Gently" is a pop song written by blues musician Joe Seneca with lyrics by Diane Lampert. Both Brenda Lee and Juice Newton were met with considerable success with their versions of the song.
Brenda Lee recorded "Break It to Me Gently" on August 31, 1961, with Owen Bradley producing the session at his Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, [1] after another track from the same sessions, "Fool #1", which became a top 10 hit. "Break It To Me Gently" was released as a single at the end of 1961 and reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1962. [2] In 2008, the Brenda Lee version of the song was featured at the closing of season 2, episode 7 of the AMC series Mad Men . Lee's "Break It to Me Gently" is on the track list of the CD Pan Am: Music From and Inspired By the Original Series set for release January 17, 2012. [3]
"Break It to Me Gently" | ||||
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Single by Juice Newton | ||||
from the album Quiet Lies | ||||
B-side | "Adios Mi Corazon" | |||
Released | August 1982 | |||
Genre | Vocal, country | |||
Length | 4:04 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Joe Seneca, Diane Lampert | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Landis | |||
Juice Newton singles chronology | ||||
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Juice Newton had included "Break It to Me Gently" in the set list for her 1981 national tour: New York Times music critic Stephen Holden terming Newton's "steamy version" of the song the concert's highlight. [4] Newton made her recording of the song at Soundcastle Studio in Hollywood CA on January 11, 1982: this was the first session of recording the tracks which would compose Newton's Quiet Lies album whose lead single: "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" was the one other track recorded in that session. [5] Issued as the second single from Quiet Lies in August 1982, "Break It to Me Gently" just missed becoming Newton's fifth consecutive Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 11 that October. The track reached number one on the US Adult Contemporary chart (making it Newton's third number one on that chart), [6] and number two on the US country singles chart. [7] Newton won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, for her performance of the song. Newton would score two more Top 40 pop hits and numerous Top 40 country hits after "Break It to Me Gently".
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"Quitte-moi doucement" | ||||
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Single by Johnny Hallyday | ||||
from the album Da dou ron ron | ||||
Language | French | |||
English title | Leave me gently | |||
Released | May 10, 1963 | |||
Genre | Pop, rock | |||
Length | 2:30 | |||
Label | Philips | |||
Producer(s) | Shelby Singleton, Lee Hallyday | |||
Johnny Hallyday singles chronology | ||||
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The French rendering "Quitte-moi doucement" (meaning "Leave me gently") was recorded by French rocker Johnny Hallyday in 1963 and released in May that year. Later that same year, the song was featured on Hallyday's 1963 studio album "Da dou ron ron" 4 months later.
7-inch EP Philips 432.908 BE (1963, France, Spain, etc.)
7-inch single "Ma guitare / Quitte-moi doucement" Philips JF 328 009 (1963, Netherlands)
"Break It to Me Gently" has also been recorded by Ruth Brown, Linda Martin, Lorrie Morgan, Bobby Rydell and Guy Lombardo.
An alternate French rendering, "Brise doucement notre amour", was recorded by Québécois singer Michèle Richard (fr). Deana Martin recorded "Break It To Me Gently" on her 2013 album Destination Moon. In 2016, Aubrey Peeples performed the song at the Grand Ole Opry.
"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me". Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
"Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in December 1964, it was Berry's fourth single issued following his prison term for a Mann Act conviction. The record peaked at #41 in the Billboard charts on January 16, 1965.
Jane Turzy was a Chicago, Illinois-born singer of traditional pop music.
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version. The song was also adapted into multiple languages, most notably in Italian and French.
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album Help Me Make It Through the Night. It has been covered since by many other artists from Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley and Joan Baez.
"The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)" is a country-pop song written by Otha Young for Juice Newton in the mid-1970s. Newton was known for charting hits on the Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, and Hot Country charts - and this song has the distinction of being the only single of hers to reach the top 10 on all three of those charts, peaking at #1 on two of them.
"Since I Fell for You" is a blues ballad composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 that was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra.
"Sunshine" is a country folk song from 1971 by Jonathan Edwards, released as the first single from his debut album Jonathan Edwards. The single reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 15, 1972, and earned a gold record.
By Request is a studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. It was released on May 18, 1964 via Decca Records and contained 12 tracks. A majority of the album featured covers of songs first made popular by other recording artists of the era. Of its new recordings were three singles: "I Wonder", "The Grass Is Greener" and "As Usual". The singles reached top ten and top 20 positions on record charts throughout the world. By Request was met with mixed reviews upon its release.
"What About Me?" is a 1984 song written by Kenny Rogers, producer David Foster, and singer-songwriter Richard Marx. It was recorded by Rogers, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram as a trio song from Rogers' Platinum certified 1984 album of the same name.
"If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" is a song written by John Rostill that was a 1974 hit single for Olivia Newton-John. It was her second release to hit the top 10 in the United States, reaching number 5 on the pop chart and number 2 on the Easy Listening chart. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard country chart. As with her single "Let Me Be There", Mike Sammes sings a bass harmony. It was nominated for the 1974 Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year.
"I Believe in Music" is a 1970 song written and recorded by Mac Davis and later included on his second album I Believe in Music. Gallery covered it in 1972 as the second of three singles off their Nice to Be with You album and the follow-up release to their title track.
Greatest Hits is the ninth album and first greatest hits collection by country pop singer Juice Newton. It was originally released by Capitol Records in 1984 with ten tracks taken from her albums Juice, Quiet Lies, and Dirty Looks. It was reissued in 1986 in an expanded 15-track edition titled Juice Newton's Greatest Hits . The album became a best seller and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Emotion is the eighth solo studio album by American country pop singer Juice Newton. It was released by RCA Records in 1987 and was the last of Newton's albums to appear on the Billboard charts.
Anthology is a compilation album by country pop singer Juice Newton. It was originally released by Renaissance Records on October 13, 1998. The album covers her career from 1975 to 1989 and features 19 songs taken from her albums Juice Newton & Silver Spur, Juice, Quiet Lies, Can't Wait All Night, Old Flame, Emotion, and Ain't Gonna Cry. However, it includes the 1975 take of "The Sweetest Thing " from the first RCA album, not the 1981 hit version from Juice.
"Les Bras en croix" is a song by French singer Johnny Hallyday, released in 1963. It was written by Jil & Jan (lyrics) and Johnny Hallyday (music).
"Ma guitare" is a song by French singer Johnny Hallyday from the 1963 film D'où viens-tu Johnny? It was also released on a double A-side single.
"We Say Yeah" is a song originally performed by Cliff Richard & The Shadows. It was initially released in December 1961 on "The Young Ones" soundtrack album and a few weeks later the B-side to "The Young Ones" single. Both reached number 1 in their respective UK charts. In France however, it was "We Say Yeah" instead of "The Young Ones" that made the singles chart, reaching number 14.
Brenda Lee Sings Top Teen Hits is a studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. It was released by Decca Records on February 15, 1965, and contained 12 tracks. The album mostly featured songs made popular during the era in which it was released. Three additional songs were new recordings which were singles for Lee: "When You Loved Me", "Is It True" and "Thanks a Lot". Of its three singles, "Is It True" made the top 20 in the US and the UK. The album was met with positive reviews upon its release.
Coming on Strong is a studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. It was released on November 28, 1966, via Decca Records and was her seventeenth studio project. The album consisted of ten tracks, many of which were covers of songs recorded by other artists. The album's title track was the only single included. It reached the top 20 on the US record chart and the top ten of the Canadian record chart. The album itself also made the US chart following its release. Coming Strong received mixed reviews from critics following its release.