Nobody's Child (Hank Snow song)

Last updated

"Nobody's Child"
Single by Hank Snow (The Singing Ranger) and his Rainbow Ranch Boys
B-side "The Only Rose"
Released1949
Genre Country
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s) Cy Coben, Mel Foree

"Nobody's Child" is a song written by Cy Coben and Mel Foree and first recorded by Hank Snow in 1949. Many other versions of this song exist.

Contents

History

It was first recorded by Hank Snow in 1949 and it became one of his standards, although it did not chart for him. The song has been covered several times in the UK. It was on Lonnie Donegan's first album in 1956 (which went to No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart), [1] and in 1969 Karen Young took the song to No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart [2] and used it as the title track on her album. In 1969, a recording by Hank Williams Jr. peaked at No. 46 on the US Country chart. The Traveling Wilburys' 1990 version made it to No. 44 on the UK chart. [3]

The song lyrics are about an orphan whom no one wants to adopt because he is blind:

I'm nobody's child, I'm nobody's child
Just like a flower I'm growing wild
No mommy's kisses and no daddy's smile
Nobody wants me, I'm nobody's child.

The Beatles with Tony Sheridan version

"Nobody's Child"
Single by the Beatles with Tony Sheridan
A-side
B-side
  • "Nobody's Child" (US)
  • "Nobody's Child" (solo) (GER)
ReleasedJune 4, 1964 (US) / January 31, 1965 (GER)
RecordedJune 22–23, 1961 [4]
Genre Rock
Length2:58
Label Atco Records 6308 (US) / Polydor 52 906 (GER)
Songwriter(s) Cy Coben, Mel Foree
Producer(s) Bert Kaempfert
the Beatles USsingles chronology
"Please Please Me" / "From Me to You"
(1964)
"Sweet Georgia Brown" / "Nobody's Child"
(1964)
"All My Loving" / "This Boy"
(1964)

It was also covered by Tony Sheridan when he was recording in Hamburg, Germany, in June 1961 with the Beatles as his backing group. [4] On this song, only Paul McCartney and Pete Best accompany Sheridan on bass and drums. [5] This recording was released by Polydor in 1964 when the British group's popularity was at its height. Sheridan sings "Mammy's" (not "Mommy's"). He returned to studio later that year to re-record the vocal to "Sweet Georgia Brown", another Beatles track from these early sessions, and to tape a solo acoustic version of "Nobody's Child". [6] The latter recording was only issued in Germany.

Release details

Singles

Albums

Personnel

Traveling Wilburys version

"Nobody's Child"
Single by Traveling Wilburys
from the album Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal
B-side
ReleasedJune 18, 1990
Length3:27
Label Wilbury
Songwriter(s) Cy Coben, Mel Foree
Producer(s) Traveling Wilburys
Traveling Wilburys singles chronology
"End of the Line"
(1989)
"Nobody's Child"
(1990)
"She's My Baby"
(1990)

Former Beatle George Harrison recorded "Nobody's Child" with his band the Traveling Wilburys at the start of the sessions for their 1990 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 . [8] This was in response to an urgent request from his wife, Olivia Harrison, for assistance for the thousands of Romanian orphans abandoned in state-run orphanages following the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. [9] Harrison's bandmate Bob Dylan suggested the song for its relevant message. Unable to remember all the lyrics, Harrison phoned his friend Joe Brown, who gave him the first verse. He wrote a new second verse to address the plight of the children and babies in Romania, which ends with the lines "They've long since stopped their crying, as no one ever hears / And no one's there to notice them or take away their fears". [10]

Lead vocals on the recording were shared between Dylan, Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. According to Harrison, the group completed the track within 48 hours of Olivia's phone call. [9]

The Wilburys' "Nobody's Child" was released as a charity single on June 18, 1990, backed by Dave Stewart's "Lumiere". The 12-inch and CD formats also included a live version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" by Ringo Starr. Proceeds from the single went to the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation, launched by Olivia with support from the other former Beatles' wives. [11] Derek Hayes directed a music video for "Nobody's Child", using animation and news footage of the Romanian children. [12] On July 23, the song was issued as the opening track of the charity album Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal , which Harrison compiled from further recordings donated by artists such as Eric Clapton, Elton John, Van Morrison, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder. [9] [13]

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Nobody's Child" by Traveling Wilburys
Chart (1990)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [14] 66
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [15] 9
UK Singles (OCC) [16] 44

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Nobody's Child" by Traveling Wilburys
Chart (1990)Position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [17] 43

Other cover versions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traveling Wilburys</span> 20th-century English-American musical group

Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup active from 1988 to 1991 consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. They were a roots rock band and described as "perhaps the biggest supergroup of all time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Sweet Lord</span> 1970 song by George Harrison

"My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album All Things Must Pass. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the biggest-selling single of 1971 in the UK. In America and Britain, the song was the first number-one single by an ex-Beatle. Harrison originally gave the song to his fellow Apple Records artist Billy Preston to record; this version, which Harrison co-produced, appeared on Preston's Encouraging Words album in September 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handle with Care (song)</span> 1988 single by Traveling Wilburys

"Handle with Care" is a song by the British-American supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. It was released in October 1988 as their debut single and as the opening track of their album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The song was the first recording made by the group, although it was originally intended as a bonus track on a European single by George Harrison. When he and Jeff Lynne presented the song to Harrison's record company, the executives insisted it was too good for that purpose, a decision that resulted in the formation of the Wilburys. The song was written primarily by Harrison, although, as with all the tracks on Vol. 1, the writing credit lists all five members of the band: Harrison, Lynne, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Sheridan</span> British musician (1940–2013)

Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity, known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of the Beatles, one of two non-Beatles to receive label performance credit on a record with the group, and the only non-Beatle to appear as lead singer on a Beatles recording which charted as a single.

<i>My Bonnie</i> 1962 studio album / live album by Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers

My Bonnie is a 1962 album by English rock and roll singer-songwriter and musician Tony Sheridan. Sheridan, then playing in clubs in Hamburg with the Beatles, was discovered by producer Bert Kaempfert and subsequently signed with him to record for Polydor. Sheridan recorded several songs with the Beatles, of which only a single was released in 1961, the titular "My Bonnie" and B-side "The Saints", credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. While both songs are included here, the remaining tracks on this album were credited again to the Beat Brothers but recorded without the Beatles.

<i>Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3</i> 1990 studio album by Traveling Wilburys

Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 is the second and final studio album by the Traveling Wilburys, a group consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. It was released on October 29, 1990, as the follow-up to their 1988 debut, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The band members again adopted pseudonyms for their contributions, using new names from the fictitious Wilbury brothers.

<i>Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989</i> 1989 greatest hits album by George Harrison

Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989 is a compilation album by the English musician George Harrison, released in October 1989. His second compilation, after the Capitol/EMI collection The Best of George Harrison (1976), it contains songs from Harrison's releases on his Dark Horse record label between 1976 and 1987. The album also includes a 1989 single, "Cheer Down", which was Harrison's contribution to the soundtrack of the film Lethal Weapon 2, and two tracks recorded specifically for the collection: "Poor Little Girl" and "Cockamamie Business". Despite the popularity of Harrison's work over this period – both as a solo artist with his Cloud Nine album (1987), and as a member of the Traveling Wilburys – the compilation failed to achieve commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cry for a Shadow</span> 1964 single by the Beatles

"Cry for a Shadow" is an instrumental rock piece recorded by the Beatles on 22 June 1961. They recorded the song at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle within the gymnasium, Hamburg, West Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backing band for a few tracks, under the moniker the Beat Brothers. It was written by George Harrison with John Lennon, as a pastiche of the Shadows' style. It is the only Beatles track to be credited to Lennon and Harrison alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free as a Bird</span> 1995 single by the Beatles

"Free as a Bird" is a single released in December 1995 by English rock band the Beatles. The song was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon. In 1995, 25 years after their break-up and 15 years after Lennon's murder, his then surviving bandmates Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr released a studio version incorporating the demo.

<i>The Early Tapes of the Beatles</i> 1984 compilation album by the Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan

The Early Tapes of The Beatles is the first digital repackaging of The Beatles' First !, the 1964 German compilation album of Tony Sheridan and The Beatles recordings. The songs were recorded in Hamburg between 1961 and 1963. Most of the tracks feature vocals by Sheridan. Only tracks 1-5, 7, 10, and 11 actually feature the Beatles, with John Lennon singing lead on "Ain't She Sweet" and featuring "Cry for a Shadow", an instrumental written and performed by the British group alone. The other songs are performed by Sheridan and other musicians, identified as "The Beat Brothers". This CD, which was released in 1984, includes two additional tracks and an extended version of "Ya Ya" and was reissued in 2004 with a different design on Universal Music's Spectrum label.

<i>In the Beginning (Circa 1960)</i> 1970 compilation album by the Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan

In the Beginning is the first American packaging of the 1964 German album by Tony Sheridan and the Beatles, called "The Beatles' First!".

<i>Aint She Sweet</i> (album) 1964 compilation album by The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan and The Swallows

Ain't She Sweet was an American compilation album featuring four tracks recorded in Hamburg by The Beatles in 1961 and 1962. Cover versions of Beatles and British Invasion-era songs recorded by the Swallows complete the tracklist.

<i>The Beatles First</i> 1964 compilation album by the Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan

The Beatles' First! is a German compilation album of songs recorded in Hamburg in 1961 and 1962 by Tony Sheridan with the Beatles as his backing group. It was originally released in 1964 in Germany, then issued in 1967 in England, 1969 in Canada and finally in the United States in 1970.

<i>Nobodys Child: Romanian Angel Appeal</i> 1990 compilation album by Various Artists

Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal is a charity album released in July 1990 to benefit Romanian orphans, under the auspices of the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation. It was compiled by English rock musician George Harrison in response to concerns raised by his wife Olivia Harrison, who had visited Romania and witnessed the suffering in the country's abandoned state orphanages following the fall of Communism. The release was preceded by a single, "Nobody's Child", recorded by Harrison's band the Traveling Wilburys. Other artists who donated songs to the album include Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Duane Eddy, Van Morrison, Guns N' Roses, Ringo Starr, Ric Ocasek and Elton John. Many of the recordings were previously unreleased.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain't She Sweet</span> 1927 song written by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen

"Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

<i>Very Together</i> 1969 compilation album by the Beatles with Tony Sheridan

Very Together is an album by the English rock band the Beatles and the first compilation of the band's early recordings supporting Tony Sheridan to be released in Canada. It was issued in November 1969 by Polydor Records, with the catalogue number 242.008. The cover photograph features four candles, one of which has been extinguished – a reference to the "Paul is dead" urban legend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheer Down</span> 1989 single by George Harrison

"Cheer Down" is a song by English musician George Harrison that was first released in 1989. The track was his contribution to the soundtrack of the film Lethal Weapon 2 and was also issued as a single. Harrison wrote the song with Tom Petty and co-produced the recording with Jeff Lynne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Out Some Insurance</span>

"Take Out Some Insurance" is a blues song released in 1959 by Jimmy Reed written by Charles Singleton and Waldenese Hall but originally credited to Jesse Stone. The copyright registration for the song lists its title as "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby".. Tony Sheridan recorded it with different lyrics in 1961 with The Beatles as his backing band. Misidentified, it was released in Germany in 1964 as "If You Love Me, Baby " but subsequently as "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby ", "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby" or erroneously as "If You Love Me, Baby".

"Ride Rajbun" is a song by English musician George Harrison. It was released in 1992 on the multi-artist charity album The Bunbury Tails, which was the soundtrack to the British animated television series of the same name. Harrison co-wrote the song's lyrics with Bunbury Tails creator David English. The eponymous Rajbun was a character in the series based on English's friend and cricketer Rajendrasinh Jadeja, one of a team of cricket-playing rabbits – in this case, from Bangalore in India. The composition is in the style of a nursery rhyme or children's song, while the all-Indian instrumentation on the recording recalls some of Harrison's compositions for the Beatles during 1966–68.

References

  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. pp. 164–65. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 615. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 564. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  4. 1 2 Russell, Jeff (1989) [1982]. The Beatles Album File and Complete Discography (2nd ed.). Blandford Press. pp.  4–10. ISBN   0-7137-2065-4.
  5. "Nobody's Child". The Beatles Bible. March 12, 2021.
  6. John C. Winn, Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957–1965, 2017, Three Rivers Press. p. 110 ISBN   978-0307452382
  7. "Sweet Georgia Brown / Nobody's Child, Polydor NH 52906". The Beatles Collection. February 4, 2012.
  8. Huntley, Elliot J. (2006). Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles. Toronto, ON: Guernica Editions. pp. 226–28. ISBN   978-1-55071-197-4.
  9. 1 2 3 Harry, Bill (2003). The George Harrison Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. pp. 224–25. ISBN   978-0-7535-0822-0.
  10. Harry, Bill (2003). The George Harrison Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 326. ISBN   978-0-7535-0822-0.
  11. Harry, Bill (2003). The George Harrison Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. pp. 284–85. ISBN   978-0-7535-0822-0.
  12. Madinger, Chip; Easter, Mark (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium. Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions. p. 480. ISBN   0-615-11724-4.
  13. Huntley, Elliot J. (2006). Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles. Toronto, ON: Guernica Editions. p. 227. ISBN   978-1-55071-197-4.
  14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 284.
  15. "Traveling Wilburys – Nobody's Child". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  17. "End of Year Charts 1990". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  18. "Scots entertainers awarded MBEs". BBC News. December 31, 2004.
  19. "Search for "Nobody's Child"". AllMusic . January 10, 2020.