"I Go Ape" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Neil Sedaka | ||||
from the album Rock with Sedaka | ||||
B-side | "Moon of Gold" | |||
Released | November 1958 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll, novelty song | |||
Length | 2:22 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Neil Sedaka Howard Greenfield | |||
Producer(s) | Al Nevins | |||
Neil Sedaka singles chronology | ||||
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"I Go Ape" is the second single by Neil Sedaka, immediately following his success with the debut single "The Diary", and was written by Sedaka himself and Howard Greenfield. It was released in 1958, and also appears on Sedaka's 1959 debut solo album Rock with Sedaka . The rock and roll novelty song, which name-checks various primates, was performed in the boogie-woogie style of Jerry Lee Lewis. [1]
"I Go Ape" was a relatively minor success in the US, reaching No. 42 on the US Billboard chart. [2] but was a much bigger success in the UK, reaching No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart. [3]
Although Sedaka has insisted he played piano on the session, the session logbooks document Ernie Hayes as the keyboard player. [4] Other musicians included Everett Barksdale and Kenny Burrell on guitar, Lloyd Trotman on bass, Sticks Evans on drums, and King Curtis on tenor sax. The arrangement was by Chuck Sagle. [5]
Neil Sedaka is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard "Howie" Greenfield and Phil Cody.
Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille. They have five albums certified gold or platinum and scored numerous hits on the US singles charts, the most enduring of which included "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Do That to Me One More Time", and "Muskrat Love". They hosted their own television variety series on ABC in 1976–77.
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including one with Neil Sedaka from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, and near-simultaneous songwriting partnerships with Jack Keller and Helen Miller throughout most of the 1960s.
"Laughter in the Rain" is a song composed and recorded by Neil Sedaka, with lyrics by Phil Cody. It includes a 20-second saxophone solo by Jim Horn.
"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.
"Solitaire" is a ballad written by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. Cody employs playing the card game of solitaire as a metaphor for a man "who lost his love through his indifference"—"while life goes on around him everywhere he's playing solitaire". The song is perhaps best known via its rendition by the Carpenters. Another version by Andy Williams reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 1973.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing almost entirely by “Captain” Daryl Dragon, with the exception of drums played by Hal Blaine; their version became a worldwide hit.
Solitaire is a 1972 album by American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka.
"Big in Japan" is the debut single of the German synth-pop band Alphaville. It was taken from their 1984 debut album Forever Young.
Fallin' is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, that was recorded by Connie Francis on 2 September 1958 at Metropolitan Studio (NYC) in a session produced by Morton "Morty" Kraft who also conducted.
"Stupid Cupid" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka which became a hit for Connie Francis in 1958.
"Lipstick on Your Collar" is a song written by Brill Building staff writers Edna Lewis (lyrics) and George Goehring (music) which was a 1959 hit single for Connie Francis.
"Oh! Carol" is an international hit written by Neil Sedaka in 1958. Co-written with Howard Greenfield, the song is noted for Sedaka's spoken recitation of the verse, the second time around.
"Calendar Girl" is a song by Neil Sedaka. The music was composed by Sedaka and the lyrics by Howard Greenfield. Recorded in 1959 and released in December 1960 as a single, it was a Top-5 hit single for Sedaka, peaking at No. 4 on the US charts, No. 3 in Australia, and No. 1 on the Canadian and Japanese charts.
Rock with Neil Sedaka or just Neil Sedaka is the first major solo album of Neil Sedaka released in 1959 after two 1958 albums under the titles Neil Sedaka and The Tokens and Neil Sedaka and The Tokens and Coins. The album was released by RCA Victor and was produced by Al Nevins. The album contains 12 songs, all of them co-written by Sedaka and his friend Howard Greenfield. Two of the songs became successful singles for Sedaka from the album, namely "The Diary", his debut single that was a hit, reaching No. 14 on the US Billboard charts, and "I Go Ape", a single that was relatively successful in the United States reaching No. 42, but did far better in the UK Singles Chart, making it up to No. 9 and his debut single in the United Kingdom.
Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits is a solo album by Neil Sedaka released in 1961 immediately after the cover versions of earlier hits in Circulate.
"Crying My Heart Out for You" was the third single of Neil Sedaka immediately following the success of his debut single "The Diary" and follow-up single "I Go Ape." The hit written by Neil Sedaka was released in 1959 reaching No. 111 on the US Billboard Chart. It was more successful in Italy, where the record hit No. 6. The record's commercial failure nearly prompted RCA Records to drop Sedaka from its roster; after Sedaka begged the company for a second chance, he took the opportunity to analyze the popular music of the day and wrote "Oh! Carol," beginning a five-year string of hit singles that would continue until the British Invasion.
Cher Lloyd is an English singer. She finished fourth place in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010. Following the seventh series finale, Lloyd was signed to Syco Music. Her debut single, "Swagger Jagger", was released in July 2011 and entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Lloyd's second single, "With Ur Love", was released in October 2011, and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Her debut studio album, Sticks and Stones, had two releases: its standard edition and a US version. The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, while the latter version debuted at number nine in the US Billboard 200.
Harvey Brian Lisberg is an English talent manager and impresario, best known for discovering Herman's Hermits in 1963. In 1965, he signed songwriter Graham Gouldman, a founder member of 10cc, who Lisberg also managed, along with Godley & Creme, Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Gordon Giltrap, Sad Café, Wax and others.
"New Orleans" is a song written by Frank Guida and Joseph Royster and performed by Gary U.S. Bonds. It was featured on his 1961 album Dance 'Til Quarter to Three with U.S. Bonds. Frank Guida also produced the track. Backing was provided by Gene Barge's group The Church Street Five.