Monday 17 January 2011

Such a Night

"Such a Night" is a popular song from 1953, written by Lincoln Chase and first recorded by The Drifters.
The Drifters' original version, featuring Clyde McPhatter, was recorded in November 1953 and released in January 1954. Despite being banned by some radio stations as too "racy", it reached number 2 on the American R&B chart in 1954. Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Such_a_Night


 This is an interesting version by Vince Everett which came out on single in 1962 after Presley  recorded for the Elvis is Back album in 1960.





Elvis recorded the song and released it on his 1960 album Elvis Is Back. Presley's version made number 13 in the UK and number 16 in the U.S. when released as a single in 1964. In the Presley version, the first three verses, when he says the words of the title song, he speaks. However, in the last two verses, Presley sings the title words. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Such_a_Night

Here is a live version from the 1961 live concert in Pearl Harbour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VXcS_8kShA

In  Elvis Presley - A study of the Music by Robert Mathew Walker
"Such a night -a curious choice for this had a been a world wide hit for Johnny Ray a half dozen or so years earlier. Presley's performance is disappointing: had he recorded this number before he went in the army, then he would have made a better job of it! Presley had trouble this, which accounts for the nature of the standard release."



The song also became a hit single for Johnnie Ray, whose cover version reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1954. Ray's version was produced by Mitch Miller, but was not a big U.S. hit for Ray (it entered the US Cash Box chart on 27th March 1954, peaking at No.18 two weeks later on 10th April).




Lincoln Chase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Chase

Lincoln R. Chase (29 June 1926 – 6 October 1980) was an African-American songwriter and occasional recording artist. As a writer, his most notable songs were "Such a Night", "Jim Dandy", and several of Shirley Ellis' hits in the early 1960s including "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song". As a songwriter, early recordings of his songs included "Rain Down Rain" by Big Maybelle, and "Salty Tears" by Chuck Willis (both 1952), and "Mend Your Ways" by Ruth Brown (May 1953).[2] His first real success came when his song "Such a Night" was recorded by The Drifters, featuring Clyde McPhatter, in November 1953. The song reached #2 on the Billboard R&B chart in early 1954, and was covered by Johnnie Ray, whose version reached #1 on the UK singles chart.[3] A version recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960 also became a hit in 1964, and the song has subsequently been recorded by many other musicians." Read more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Chase

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