Winchester Cathedral (song)

Last updated
"Winchester Cathedral"
Single by the New Vaudeville Band
from the album Winchester Cathedral
B-side "Wait for Me Baby"
Released26 August 1966 [1]
Studio Advision, London
Genre
Length2:20
Label Fontana
Songwriter(s) Geoff Stephens
Producer(s) Geoff Stephens
The New Vaudeville Band singles chronology
"Winchester Cathedral"
(1966)		"Peek-a-Boo"
(1967)

"Winchester Cathedral" is a song by the New Vaudeville Band, a British novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens, and was released in late 1966 by Fontana Records.

Contents

It reached number 1 in Canada on the RPM 100 chart, co-charting with the Dana Rollin version, [5] and shortly thereafter in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Stephens was a big fan of tunes from the British music hall era (or what Americans would call "vaudeville"), so he wrote "Winchester Cathedral" in that vein, complete with a Rudy Vallée soundalike [6] (John Carter) singing through his hands to imitate a megaphone sound. [7] Although the song was recorded entirely by session musicians, when it became an international hit, an actual band had to be assembled, with Fontana trying unsuccessfully to recruit the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. [8] The recording is one of the few charting songs to feature a bassoon. [9] The band toured extensively under the tutelage of Peter Grant, who later went on to manage The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. [7]

The song won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording, [10] despite not being a rock and roll song. An initial long-playing album including the song was issued in late 1966 by Fontana Records, also titled Winchester Cathedral. Stephens received the 1966 Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically". [11]

In 2016, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the song's release, a new version by Geoff Stephens was released on CD by Signum Classics, sung by members of the Winchester Cathedral Choir. [12] The premier performance of this version was to take place during a Gala Concert in Winchester Cathedral on March 12, 2016 to help raise funds for the Cathedral's Appeal.

Chart performance

The tune went to number 4 in the UK Record Retailer chart (now recognised as the official UK Singles Chart for that period). [13] It went all the way to the top in the U.S., displacing "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes on December 3, 1966. After one week at No. 1, "Winchester Cathedral" was knocked off the summit by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", only to rebound to the top spot the next week. After a two-week run, it was knocked off the top for good by The Monkees' "I'm a Believer"."Winchester Cathedral" also topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart for four weeks. [14]

Global sales of the single were over three million, with the RIAA certification of gold disc status. [15]

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [48] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Related Research Articles

The New Vaudeville Band was an English group created by songwriter Geoff Stephens in 1966 to record his novelty composition "Winchester Cathedral", a song inspired by the dance bands of the 1920s and a Rudy Vallée megaphone-style vocal. To his surprise, the song became a transatlantic hit that autumn, reaching the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and rising to No. 1 in the United States. The New Vaudeville Band initially was a studio group composed of session players, but Stephens quickly assembled a permanent group to continue recording and to play live shows. The group has been periodically revived since, without Stephens' participation.

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References

  1. ↑ "Newies from Spencer, Sandie and Wilson Pickett" (PDF). Record Mirror . 20 August 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. ↑ Fleiner, Carey (2017). The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. chap. 7. ISBN   978-1-4422-3542-7.
  3. ↑ Breihan, Tom (September 27, 2018). "The Number Ones: The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral"". Stereogum . Retrieved June 14, 2023. But the New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" is as pure a shot of old-school music hall as you'll ever find in this column...
  4. ↑ Lanza, Joseph (1 February 2005). "The Doodletown Dimension". Vanilla Pop: Sweet Sounds from Frankie Avalon to ABBA. Chicago Review Press. p. 143. ISBN   1-55652-543-5.
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  6. ↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 38 – The Rubberization of Soul: The great pop music renaissance. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles . University of North Texas Libraries.
  7. 1 2 "Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
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  9. ↑ "Best Songs with Bassoon". Democratic Underground. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  10. ↑ "Winchester Cathedral by New Vaudeville Band Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 1966-12-03. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  11. ↑ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  12. ↑ "'Winchester Cathedral' re-released - Winchester Cathedral". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 392. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  14. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 178.
  15. ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  209. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
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  22. 1 2 "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard . 21 January 1967. p. 66. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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  33. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (N)". Rock.co.za. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  34. 1 2 Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   978-84-8048-866-2.
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    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
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  49. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
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  52. ↑ "Supraphon".
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