Wooden Heart

This article is about the 1960 song. For the 2010 Listener album, see Wooden Heart (album).

"Wooden Heart"
Picture sleeve for one of 1961 German singles
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album G.I. Blues
A-side	"Blue Christmas" (USA 1964)
B-side	"Tonight Is So Right for Love" (UK 1961)
Released	23 September 1960 (1960-09-23) ( G.I. Blues album) 10 March 1961 (1961-03-10) (UK single) November 1964 (1964-11) (single)
Recorded	28 April 1960
Genre	Pop folk
Length	2:03
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey, Bert Kaempfert [1]
Producer(s)	Steve Sholes [1]
Elvis Presley USAsingles chronology
"Ask Me" (1964) "Wooden Heart" (1964) "Do the Clam" (1965)
Elvis Presley UKsingles chronology
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (1960) "Wooden Heart" (1961) "Surrender" (1961)

Weekly charts Chart (1961) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) [5] 1 Austria 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [6] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [7] 1 Canada (CHUM Hit Parade) 2 West Germany (GfK) [8] 1 Ireland (IRMA) [9] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 1 New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade) [11] 3 Norway (VG-lista) [12] 1 South Africa [13] 1 Spain 1 UK Singles (OCC) [2] 1 Chart (1964) Peak position US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 [14] 107 Chart (1965) Peak position US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 [14] 110 Chart (1977) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [6] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [15] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 1 Chart (2005) Peak position France (SNEP) [16] 94 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [10] 23 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [17] 56

Year-end charts Chart (1961) Rank Australia [5] 3 South Africa [13] 1 UK [18] 3

Sales

Sales for Wooden Heart

Region	Sales
Europe	3,000,000 [19]
Germany	600,000 [20]
Netherlands	90,000 [21]

Joe Dowell

Weekly charts Chart (1961) Peak position US Billboard Hot 100 [22] 1 US Billboard Easy Listening 1 US Cash Box Top 100 [23] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1961) Rank US Billboard Hot 100 [24] 10 US Cash Box [25] 22

Gus Backus

Chart (1960)	Peak position
West Germany (GfK) [26]	2
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 [14]	102

Editions

• (US) "Blue Christmas" b/w "Wooden Heart" Released: November 1964, RCA 447-0720

Other versions

• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: released on their 2015 album of previously unreleased material, Nobody's Children

• Bobby Vinton released the song as a 45 single on ABC Records in 1975. It reached number 58 in the US charts. ^[22]

References

1. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 56. ISBN   0-85112-250-7.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 122–3. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 82.
4. ""Lili Marlene" Philips issue". Discogs . Retrieved 2014-06-24.
5. "Australian Chart Books". Archive.today. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
6. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)" (in French). Ultratop 50.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wooden Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
10. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "flavour of new zealand - search lever". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
12. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)". VG-lista.
13. "South Africa Top 40 Singles". 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
14. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
16. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)" (in French). Le classement de singles.
17. "Elvis Presley – Wooden Heart (muss i denn...)". Singles Top 100.
18. "Sixties City - Pop Music Charts - Every Week Of The Sixties". Sixtiescity.net. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
19. Murrells, Joseph (1985). Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory. Arco Pub. p. 145. ISBN   0668064595. Wooden Heart - Elvis's 31st million seller achieved a seven-figure sale in Europe alone ...
20. "Cash Box - Germany" (PDF). Cash Box . March 4, 1961. p. 44. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
21. Wapperom, Hemmy J.S. (June 26, 1961). "Connie Froboes Set For Festival". Billboard . p. 41. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved June 26, 2023– via Google Books.
22. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN   0-89820-089-X
23. "Cash Box Top 100 9/09/61". Cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
24. "Top 100 Hits of 1961/Top 100 Songs of 1961". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
25. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1961". Tropicalglen.com. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Gus Backus – Wooden Heart (Muß i denn zum Städtele hinaus)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.

External links

• Elvis News Network – G.I. Blues
• Joe Dowell biography
• "Muß i' denn zum Städtele hinaus", lyrics and translation
• Joe Dowell Collection, McLean County Museum of History