Let Me Go, Lover!

Last updated
"Let Me Go, Lover!"
Single by Joan Weber
B-side "Marionette"
Released1954
Recorded1954
Genre Pop standard
Length2:23
Label Columbia
Composer(s) Jenny Lou Carson, Fred Wise, as pen name Al Hill
Producer(s) Mitch Miller

"Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill, a pen name used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman. [1] It is based on an earlier song called "Let Me Go, Devil", about alcoholism.

Contents

Background

"Let Me Go, Lover!" was first featured on the television program Studio One on November 15, 1954, and caught the fancy of the public. The episode was a murder mystery that revolved around a hit record and a disc jockey. Producer Felix Jackson asked Columbia Records' Mitch Miller for a recording to use in the show, and Miller provided Joan Weber's version of "Let Me Go, Lover!" Miller took advantage of the recording's exposure on national television and sent copies of the record to 2,000 disc jockeys, who began to play it on their radio stations. [2]

Weber was pregnant when she recorded the song. A result of the program was to illustrate how efficiently a song could be promoted by introducing it to the public via radio or a TV production. The recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40366. Mitch Miller stocked national record stores the week before the program and because of its availability the record sold over 100,000 in the first week of its release.

Chart performance

Weber's record of the song first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 4, 1954. [3] By January 1955, it had hit No. 1 on all the Billboard charts (the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the Juke Box chart). [4] The song reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart, and was awarded a gold record. [5]

Other versions

It was also covered by a number of other singers:

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References

  1. "'Lover' Scramble Shifts". Billboard. December 4, 1954. p. 24.
  2. Lyons, Leonard (October 28, 1954). "The Lyons Den". Des Moines Tribune. Iowa, Des Moines. p. 21. Retrieved April 28, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "The Billboard Popularity Charts". Billboard. December 4, 1954. p. 36.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 672.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 594. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 78. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 391. ISBN   978-0-89820-177-2.
  8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 352. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  9. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 538. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  10. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 304. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.

Bibliography