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">The O'Jays</span> American R&B group from Ohio

The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hit "Lonely Drifter" in 1963, but reached their greatest level of success once Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters, signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with "Back Stabbers" (1972), and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 the following year with "Love Train". Several other US R&B hits followed, and the O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013.

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

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.

<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, Glouster "Nate" Rogers, and Tracey Lord, the last two of whom were subsequently replaced by Sammy Strain. The group was one of the very few doo-wop groups to enjoy sustained success on the R&B and pop charts throughout the 1960s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, 23 years after the group's first year of eligibility for induction.

<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>Cycles</i> (Frank Sinatra album) 1968 studio album by Frank Sinatra

Cycles is a studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra, released in 1968.

<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 singer-songwriter

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">The Royalettes</span>

The Royalettes were a four-girl group from Baltimore, Maryland who exemplified the "sweet soul" style of the mid-60s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goin' Out of My Head</span>

"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>

"Hurt So Bad" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein, and Bobby Hart. It is a classic 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.

<i>This Is My Life</i> (Shirley Bassey album) 1968 studio album by Shirley Bassey

This Is My Life is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey. The mid to late sixties was a period of declining popularity for traditional pop. How much the changing tastes in popular music directly affected Bassey's record sales is difficult to quantify; but her record sales had been faltering since the latter part of the mid 1960s, and the album failed to chart(She did have some success in Italy during this period, where she recorded several songs in Italian, with two making the Top 40 there).

<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.

"Ko Ko Bop" is a song by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, released on July 18, 2017, as the lead single of their fourth studio album The War. It was released in Korean and Chinese versions by their label SM Entertainment. It was the first Exo single not to feature member Lay due to his extended hiatus.

"Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop" is a 1959 song written by Bob Smith, and was a hit for Little Anthony and the Imperials. It reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.

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. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.