I'm on the Outside (Looking In)

Last updated
"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)"
Single by Little Anthony & the Imperials
from the album I'm on the Outside (Looking In)
B-side "Please Go"
Released1964
Recorded1964
Genre Soul, pop
Length3:07
Label DCP
Songwriter(s) Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein
Producer(s) Teddy Randazzo, Don Costa
Little Anthony & the Imperials singles chronology
"That Lil' Ole Lovemaker Me"
(1961)
"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)"
(1964)
"Goin' Out of My Head"
(1964)

"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" is a 1964 hit song by Little Anthony and the Imperials, issued on DCP Records. It was a Billboard top 20 pop hit, peaking at number 15, [1] and number 12 in Canada. [2]

Contents

Background

"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" was written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, and was the group's comeback single, ending a long period of inactivity. After the group's first hit-making period, with such hits as "Tears on My Pillow", "Two People In The World", and "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop", lead singer "Little Anthony" Gourdine left the group for a solo career. Both he and the group released records separately, but none of them were hits. By 1963, both entities had faded from the charts. In the interim, The Imperials had gone through some membership changes as well. While original members Ernest Wright and group founder Clarence Collins had remained with the group, the other original members, Tracy Lord and Nathanial Rogers, left the group, and Sammy Strain joined the group.

In late 1963, writer and producer Teddy Randazzo, a childhood friend of some of the group members and now a songwriter for Don Costa Productions, contacted the group, saying that he had written a song that he wanted them to record, and from that point on, things began to change for The Imperials. Gourdine, Wright, Collins, and Strain went to the studio and recorded "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)". With the help of New York disk jockey Murray the K, the song became an immediate hit and re-established The Imperials as a hitmaking force. This song was the first of a long string of hits by Randazzo for the group, which helped them transcend their status as a teen doo-wop group and established them as successful in the adult contemporary radio format.

Gourdine, Wright, Collins, and Strain reunited in 2003 and performed the song 39 years after they originally recorded it on the PBS special: Soul Spectacular: 40 Years of R&B.

Credits: The Imperials

Cover versions

Among the cover versions that were recorded:

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shimmy</span> Type of dance

A shimmy is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are quickly alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward.

Linda Diane Creed, also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter, lyricist and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Costa</span> American recording artist, conductor, record producer, music arranger, jazz guitarist

Dominick P. "Don" Costa was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including Sinatra and Strings and My Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Anthony and the Imperials</span> Rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York

Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his high-pitched voice. In addition to Collins and Gourdine, the original Imperials included Ernest Wright, Gloster "Nate" Rogers, and Tracy Lord, the last two of whom were subsequently replaced by Sammy Strain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tears on My Pillow</span> 1958 single by Little Anthony and the Imperials

"Tears on My Pillow" is a doo-wop song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials on End Records and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their original recording of the song became a Billboard top-10 hit, peaking at No. 4, No. 3 in Canada, and was the Imperials' first million-seller. It was also a two-sided hit, with its flip side, "Two People in the World," also becoming a major hit. Although it remains one of the Imperials' signature songs, "Tears on My Pillow" has been extensively covered, including a No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart version by Kylie Minogue in January 1990.

<i>Make It Happen</i> (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles album) 1967 studio album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

Make It Happen is a 1967 album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It featured ballads such as the hit singles "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" and "More Love", as well as the up-tempo "The Tears of a Clown" co-written by Stevie Wonder and his producer Hank Cosby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Randazzo</span> American pop singer-songwriter (1935–2003)

Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", "Pretty Blue Eyes", and "Hurt So Bad" in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goin' Out of My Head</span> 1964 song performed by Little Anthony and the Imperials

"Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied the group with their previous Top 20 Hit "I'm on the Outside ". Their original version of the song was a Billboard Top 10 Pop smash, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 in the Canadian RPM-list in 1965. The song peaked at No. 8 on Cashbox magazine's R&B chart. The Little Anthony and the Imperials original recording is the best-known version of the song, although it has since been covered by many other artists, including the Zombies, who released a rendition as their last single on Decca Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurt So Bad</span> 1964 song by Little Anthony and the Imperials

"Hurt So Bad" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Bobby Hart. It is a 1965 Top 10 hit ballad originally recorded by Little Anthony & The Imperials. Linda Ronstadt also had a Top 10 hit with her cover version in 1980. The song has been re-recorded by numerous artists including The Lettermen, who took the song to number twelve in September 1969.

"Take Me Back" was a song composed by songwriter Teddy Randazzo, and was a 1965 hit song by Little Anthony and the Imperials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Gonna Take a Miracle</span> 1965 single by the Royalettes

"It's Gonna Take a Miracle" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Lou Stallman. It was first an R&B hit in 1965 for The Royalettes, which reached the Top 30 on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 37 on Cash Box.

Elisa Randazzo is an American musician, songwriter and fashion designer who is based in California. Although her contributions as a songwriter, singer and violinist have spanned many musical projects, Bruises and Butterflies is her first solo release. It debuted on the Drag City label on May 18, 2010. Two songs on this LP are a result of her collaboration with the influential, 1970s British folk singer/guitarist, Bridget St John. Randazzo is known for layered harmonies and string arrangements.

<i>Goin Out of My Head</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Wes Montgomery

Goin' Out of My Head is an album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery that was released in 1966. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard magazine R&B chart. At the 9th Grammy Awards Goin' Out of My Head won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

Robert Weinstein was an American songwriter, singer, and music industry executive, whose hit songs, mostly co-written with Teddy Randazzo, include "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and "I'm on the Outside ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Better Use Your Head</span> 1976 single by Little Anthony & The Imperials

"Better Use Your Head" is a song and single by American R&B group, Little Anthony & The Imperials written by Teddy Randazzo, who also produced it, and his wife Victoria Pike.

<i>Once in a While</i> (Johnny Mathis album) 1988 studio album by Johnny Mathis

Once in a While is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on May 23, 1988, by Columbia Records and found him returning to the practice of covering contemporary hits but also mixing in lesser-known songs already recorded by other artists along with a few new ones.

<i>In the Still of the Night</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Johnny Mathis

In the Still of the Night is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on August 8, 1989, by Columbia Records and continues the trend that began with his 1986 collaboration with Henry Mancini, The Hollywood Musicals, in that the project is devoted to a specific theme that ties the songs together. Mathis hints at the theme for this album in the liner notes for his 1993 box set The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection, where he gives his thoughts on the 1964 Little Anthony and the Imperials song "I'm on the Outside Looking In" that he covered for his 1988 album Once in a While: "That was group singers' kind of material. I was singing other stuff. It wasn't the picture of the lone crooner standing in the spotlight. That's what I was doing when all this other stuff was going on. I never listened to it until it was brought to my attention by [that album's producers] Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff." Mathis chose to continue his work with Bunetta and Chudacoff on this project, which focuses on "this other stuff" that Mathis refers to: pop and R&B hits from the 1950s and 1960s.

<i>The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection</i> 1993 box set by Johnny Mathis

The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection is a box set by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 1993 by Columbia Records and gave an overview of his career with four CDs containing 86 tracks that he selected himself. In the liner notes he wrote that his "undying gratitude is really to the lyricists and composers of all these memorable songs. Without the words and music I have sung over the years, my career as a singer would not have existed. My thanks is always to these special and gifted people."

<i>Live by Request: Johnny Mathis</i> 1998 American TV series or program

Live by Request: Johnny Mathis is a live television concert by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that aired on May 28, 1998, on the A&E Network as part of its Live by Request series. According to the television industry magazine Broadcasting & Cable, the network "recorded its best ratings ever--a 2.3 rating/1.6 million homes according to Nielsen Media Research"—for the broadcast.

<i>Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful!</i> 2007 television programme

Johnny Mathis: Wonderful, Wonderful! is a television concert by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was recorded on October 27, 2006, at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City and aired that December on most PBS stations. In addition to singing some of his biggest hits, he covers tracks from his live albums, songs from Brazil, and two exclusives that have never appeared on a Mathis album. Interview clips with Mathis were inserted at intervals throughout the concert along with live performance excerpts from programs such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Andy Williams Show.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 372.
  2. "RPM Top 40-5 Singles - October 19, 1964" (PDF).
  3. "Make It Happen". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. (2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.
  5. "Once in a While". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.