Wheel of Fortune (1951 song)

Last updated
"Wheel of Fortune"
Song
Published1951
Songwriter(s)
"Wheel of Fortune"
Single by Kay Starr
from the album The Hits of Kay Starr
B-side "I Wanna Love You"
ReleasedFebruary 11, 1952
Recorded1952
Genre Traditional pop
Length3:04
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss
Kay Starr singles chronology
"On a Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor"
(1951)		"Wheel of Fortune"
(1952)		"I Waited a Little Too Long"
(1952)

"Wheel of Fortune" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss and published in 1951. It is best remembered in the 1952 hit version by Kay Starr.

Contents

The song was originally recorded in 1951, for RCA Victor by Johnny Hartman, and about the same time for Crescendo Records by Al Costello with the Walter Scott Orchestra. [1] [2] Several hit versions of "Wheel of Fortune" were released in 1952. The first chart hit was by the Eddie Wilcox Orchestra featuring Sunny Gale, whose version reached number 2 on the R&B chart and number 13 on the pop chart. The most successful version was by Kay Starr, whose recording reached number 1 in the US pop chart in March 1952, staying there for ten weeks. Other hit versions in 1952 came from Dinah Washington (number 3, R&B), Bobby Wayne (number 6, pop), The Cardinals (number 6, R&B), and The Bell Sisters (number 10, pop). [3] [4]

The song was also used as the theme to the television series Wheel of Fortune .

In 1998, the 1952 version by Kay Starr was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [5]

Recorded versions

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Bob Leszczak, Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, ISBN   9781442230682, p.225
  2. ↑ "Wheel of Fortune", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 29 November 2017
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.  606. ISBN   0-89820-155-1.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research. p.  606. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  5. ↑ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com.
  6. ↑ "RCA Victor Hebrew ethnic series (25-5000) - numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 "RCA Victor 20-prefix series: 4500 - 5000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 Kay Starr interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  9. ↑ "Atlantic Records 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Specialty 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  11. 1 2 "45 Discography for Top Rank Records - US". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "RCA Victor 20-4000 - 4500 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "DECCA (USA) 48000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "COLUMBIA RECORDS (USA), 78rpm numerical listing discography 39500 - 40000". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "OKeh (by CBS) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 6800 - 7100". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Capitol 1500 - 2000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  17. ↑ "DECCA (USA) numerical listing discography: 27500 - 27999". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  18. ↑ "LP Discography - Covers & Lyrics". Lpdiscography.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
  20. ↑ "KING 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1000 - 1500". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "MERCURY 8000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "MERCURY 78rpm numerical discography: 5500 - end of series". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  24. ↑ "MGM 78rpm numerical listing discography: 11000 - 11499". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
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