Cry (Churchill Kohlman song)

Last updated
"Cry"
Cry - Johnnie Ray.jpg
Single by Johnnie Ray
from the album Cry
B-side "The Little White Cloud That Cried"
ReleasedOctober 1951
RecordedOctober 16, 1951
Studio Columbia 30th Street (New York City)
Genre Pop
Length3:02
Label Okeh
Songwriter(s) Churchill Kohlman
Producer(s) Mitch Miller
Johnnie Ray singles chronology
"Whiskey And Gin"
(1951)
"Cry"
(1951)
"Please, Mr. Sun"
(1951)

"Cry" is a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. [1] The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951. Singer Ronnie Dove also had a big hit with the song in 1966.

Contents

Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads version

Johnnie Ray recorded the song at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, [2] with his version of the song being released on Columbia Records subsidiary label Okeh Records [3] as catalog number Okeh 6840. It was a No.1 hit on the Billboard magazine chart that year, and one side of one of the biggest two-sided hits, as the flip side, "The Little White Cloud That Cried," reached No.2 on the Billboard chart. This recording also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers lists and the flip side, "The Little White Cloud that Cried," peaked at number six. [4] When the single started to crack the charts the single was released on Columbia Records catalog number Co 39659.

Stan Freberg satirized this song, under the title "Try", and reported getting more angry feedback than from any of his many other parodies. [3] [5]

Ronnie Dove version

"Cry"
Cry Ronnie Dove 45.jpeg
Single by Ronnie Dove
from the album Cry
B-side "Autumn Rhapsody"
ReleasedNov. 1966 (U.S.)
Recorded1966
Genre Pop music
Length3:16
Label Diamond Records
Songwriter(s) Churchill Kohlman
Producer(s) Phil Kahl, Ray Vernon
Ronnie Dove singles chronology
"I Really Don't Want To Know"
(1966)
"Cry"
(1966)
"One More Mountain to Climb"
(1967)

Ronnie Dove had a hit with the song in 1966. Released in November, it would reach the Top 20 on both the Pop and Easy Listening Charts by the end of the year. He would go on to perform this song on The Ed Sullivan Show early the following year. This would be Dove's last Top 40 hit, although he would continue to chart on the Easy Listening and, later, country charts.

Chart history

Chart (1966)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [6] 18
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [7] 16

Lynn Anderson version

"Cry"
Single by Lynn Anderson
from the album Cry
B-side "Simple Words"
ReleasedJanuary 1972 (U.S.)
Recorded1971
Genre Country
Length3:10
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Churchill Kohlman
Lynn Anderson singles chronology
"How Can I Unlove You"
(1971)
"Cry"
(1972)
"Listen to a Country Song"
(1972)

Lynn Anderson had major success in the country music market with her 1972 version, released on Columbia Records, which hit No.1 on the Cashbox country charts, and No. 3 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. [8] It also charted in the Top 20 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary Charts.

Chart history

Chart (1972)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [9] 3
US Billboard Hot 100 [10] 71
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [11] 16
Canadian RPM Country Tracks1
Canadian RPM Top Singles77
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks9

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)Position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) [12] 25

Crystal Gayle version

"Cry"
Single by Crystal Gayle
from the album Straight to the Heart
B-side "Crazy in the Heart"
ReleasedJuly 1986 (U.S.)
Recorded1986
Genre Country
Length4:18
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Churchill Kohlman
Producer(s) Jim Ed Norman
Crystal Gayle singles chronology
"Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)"
(1985)
"Cry"
(1986)
"Straight to the Heart"
(1986)

Crystal Gayle had her own hit version of the song in 1986, taking it to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. [13]

Chart history

Chart (1986)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [14] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks1

Dutch-language versions

In 1982, singer/comedian André van Duin recorded it as "Als je huilt" (a double A-side with his take on Edith Piaf's "Les Trois Cloches") which became a #1-hit in the Dutch Top 40 by mid-August. [15] During TV-promotion he wore specially designed specs with an in-built water-sprayer for audience-exposure. [16]

Other versions

Related Research Articles

"The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951.

"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman. Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It was originally recorded in late 1959 at the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis before the backing vocals were overdubbed. It performed well, spending 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 21 in May 1960, while reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, and No. 25 on Canada's "CHUM Hit Parade". The song was his only top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the highest-charting single of his career.

"Sweet Dreams" or "Sweet Dreams (of You)" is a country ballad, which was written by Don Gibson. Gibson originally recorded the song in 1955; his version hit the top ten of Billboard's country chart, but was eclipsed by the success of a competing recording by Faron Young. In 1960, after Gibson had established himself as a country music superstar, he released a new take as a single. This version also charted in the top ten on the country chart and also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No.93. The song has become a country standard, with other notable versions by Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Get Over You</span> 1976 single by Crystal Gayle

"I'll Get Over You" is a song written by Richard Leigh, and recorded by American country music artist Crystal Gayle. It was released in March 1976 as the second single from the album Somebody Loves You. The song was Gayle's seventh chart hit and her first number-one country hit in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Me a Lie</span>

"Tell Me a Lie" is a song composed by Mickey Buckins and Barbara Wyrick. Originally recorded by Lynn Anderson for her 1974 What a Man My Man Is album, it was released later that same year as a single by Sami Jo Cole, who took it to number 21 on both of the major U.S. pop charts. It also charted in Canada (#17). Cole's version was also an Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number 14 in the U.S. and number 27 in Canada.

"Don't Blame Me" is a popular song with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was part of the 1932 show Clowns in Clover and was published in 1933. Popular versions that year were recorded by: Ethel Waters, Guy Lombardo, and Charles Agnew.

"A Dear John Letter", or "Dear John" is a popular country music song written by Billy Barton, Fuzzy Owen and Lewis Talley. It was popularized by Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard, and was a crossover country-pop hit in 1953.

"City Lights" is an American country music song written by Bill Anderson on August 27, 1957. He recorded it on a small Texas label called TNT Records in early 1958 to little acclaim. The song was first cut by Anderson in 1957 at the campus of the University of Georgia. In June 1958, Ray Price recorded it and his version hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs singles chart in August 1958. Mickey Gilley's version also hit number 1 in June 1975.

"Silver Threads and Golden Needles" is a country song written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes. It was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The original lyrics, as performed by Jackson, contain a verse not usually included in later versions, which also often differed in other minor details.

"Please Help Me, I'm Falling" is a 1960 song written by Don Robertson and Hal Blair and first recorded by Hank Locklin. The single was Locklin's most successful recording and was his second number one on the country charts. "Please Help Me, I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top spot and spent nine months on the country chart and crossed over to the Hot 100 peaking at number eight.

"I Don't Wanna Play House" is a song written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton. In 1967, the song was Tammy Wynette's first number one country song as a solo artist. "I Don't Wanna Play House" spent three weeks at the top spot and a total of eighteen weeks on the chart. The recording earned Wynette the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The song was released in the UK in 1976 and made the Top 40.

"Mama Sang a Song" is a country music song written and recorded by Bill Anderson.

"Making Believe" is a country music song written by Jimmy Work. Kitty Wells recorded a chart-topping version in 1955. The song is on many lists of all-time greatest country music songs and has been covered by scores of artists over the past fifty years, including Thorleifs, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Don Gibson, Roy Acuff, Lefty Frizzell, Wanda Jackson, Connie Francis, Ray Charles, Anita Carter, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, Skeeter Davis, The Haden Triplets, Social Distortion and Volbeat. The song is occasionally called "Makin' Believe".

"Too Many Rivers" is a Harlan Howard composition which was a 1965 hit single for Brenda Lee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea of Heartbreak</span>

"Sea of Heartbreak" is a song written by Paul Hampton and Hal David and recorded by Don Gibson in 1961. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

"Blue Kentucky Girl" is a song written by Johnny Mullins, and originally recorded by American country music artist Loretta Lynn. It was released in May 1965 as the first single and title track from the album Blue Kentucky Girl. The song reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

<i>Big Girls Dont Cry</i> (Lynn Anderson album) 1968 studio album by Lynn Anderson

Big Girls Don't Cry is a studio album by American country music artist Lynn Anderson. It was released in July 1968 via Chart Records and was produced by Slim Williamson. The record was Anderson's third studio recording issued during her career and contained a total of 12 tracks. The title track was spawned as a single from the project and became a major hit on the country charts. The album itself would also reach peak positions on music publication charts.

<i>Im Alright</i> (Lynn Anderson album) 1970 studio album by Lynn Anderson

I'm Alright is a studio album by American country artist Lynn Anderson. It was released in September 1970 on Chart Records and was produced by Slim Williamson. I'm Alright was Anderson's tenth studio recording and her final studio release for the Chart label. It included two singles that became major radio hits in 1970. Both "Rocky Top" and the title track reached the Billboard country charts that year.

<i>Lynn Anderson</i> (album) 1971 compilation album by Lynn Anderson

Lynn Anderson is a compilation album by American country artist Lynn Anderson. It was released in October 1971 via Chart Records and was produced by Slim Williamson. It was the sixth compilation released in Anderson's career and her final release for the Chart label. The album was a double record that contained 24 songs in total.

<i>The World of Tammy Wynette</i> Compilation album by American Country music artist Tammy Wynette

The World of Tammy Wynette is a compilation album by American country artist Tammy Wynette. It was released in May 1970 via Epic Records and contained 20 tracks of previously recorded material. The album comprised a series of recordings that originally appeared on Wynette's studio albums but were not issued as a singles. Some of the album's material were covers of songs first recorded by other music artists. It was originally issued on two separate discs and was later re-released in 2009. The World of Tammy Wynette appeared on both the Billboard country albums chart and the pop chart. The disc received mixed reviews from critics.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
  2. Schmidt Horning, Susan (2013). Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture & the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP. Baltimore, United States: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 91. ISBN   978-1-4214-1848-3.
  3. 1 2 Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 2 - Play A Simple Melody: American pop music in the early fifties. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles . University of North Texas Libraries.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 484.
  5. Allegedly, Ray himself was not pleased, until he discovered Freberg's parody was actually helping sell his own record.
  6. "Johnny Ray Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. "Johnny Ray Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 27.
  9. "Lynn Anderson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Lynn Anderson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. "Lynn Anderson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  12. "Hot Country Songs – Year-End 1972". Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  13. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 132.
  14. "Crystal Gayle Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  15. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 33, 1982". Radio538.nl. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
  16. "YouTube: André van Duin - Als je huilt". YouTube . Retrieved March 15, 2009.[ dead YouTube link ]
  17. According to Freberg, years later Ray told him, "I wanted to thank you for keeping my career going for another five or ten years because long after DJs stopped playing my records, they would continue to play you lampooning me". Hansen, Barry and Freberg, Stan, Tip of the Freberg: The Stan Freberg Collection 1951–1998 (1999), ISBN   0-7379-0060-1, notes booklet, p. 10.
  18. "RPM Top 40 & 5 - February 22, 1965" (PDF).
  19. "Eros and the Eschaton - Cry by BarNoneRecords". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2016-10-06.