Let Me Go, Lover!
Encyclopedia
"Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular
song
, was written by Jenny Lou Carson
and Al Hill, a pseudonym used by Fred Wise
, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman
. It is based on an earlier song called "Let Me Go, Devil
," about alcoholism
. It was featured on the television
program Studio One
on November 15, 1954, and caught the fancy of the public. Joan Weber
sang the song on the tv production and was pregnant at the time. 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 the first week of its release. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts
on December 4, 1954.
By January 1955
, Weber's record of the song had hit #1 on all the Billboard
charts (the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the Juke Box chart) . It was also quickly covered
by a number of other singers. One artist to "cover" it was Lucille Ball
. In the March 18, 1955, episode of I Love Lucy
, entitled "Bull Fight Dance", Ball sings a snatch of the song with a lot of verve and feeling. Such was the song's popularity.
Among the cover versions was one by Patti Page
. This recording was released by Mercury Records
as catalog number 70511. It first reached the Billboard charts on December 18, 1954. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #8; on the Best Seller chart, at #24; on the Juke Box chart, at #12.
Another cover, by Teresa Brewer
and The Lancers, was recorded on November 18, 1954 and released by Coral Records
as catalog number 61315. It reached #6 on the Billboard chart and #9 on the United Kingdom chart.
On the Cash Box Best-Selling Records chart, all the versions were combined, and the song was also a #1 hit on that chart.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, was written by Jenny Lou Carson
Jenny Lou Carson
Jenny Lou Carson, , born Virginia Lucille Overstake, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit...
and Al Hill, a pseudonym used by Fred Wise
Fred Wise (lyricist)
Fred Wise was the co-writer of the lyrics to the 1948 song "'A' — You're Adorable" with Buddy Kaye. He subsequently wrote many of the songs sung by Elvis Presley in his movies....
, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman
Ben Weisman
Ben Weisman was an eccentric American composer significant for having written more songs recorded by Elvis Presley than any other songwriter in history. The "Mad Professor" as Weisman was nicknamed by Elvis, worked with the King from 1956 to 1971...
. It is based on an earlier song called "Let Me Go, Devil
Let Me Go, Devil
"Let Me Go, Devil" is a song written in 1953 by Jenny Lou Carson. Carson greatly admired the talents of Hank Williams. Williams' battle with alcoholism and subsequent death inspired her to write the song....
," about alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. It was featured on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program Studio One
Studio One (TV series)
Studio One is a long-running American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by the 26-year-old Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC.-Radio:...
on November 15, 1954, and caught the fancy of the public. Joan Weber
Joan Weber
Joan Weber was an American popular music singer.Weber was raised in Paulsboro, New Jersey and married to a young bandleader...
sang the song on the tv production and was pregnant at the time. 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
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as catalog number
Catalog numbering systems for single records
This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...
40366. Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William "Mitch" Miller was an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive...
stocked national record stores the week before the program and because of its availability the record sold over 100,000 the first week of its release. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
on December 4, 1954.
By January 1955
1955 in music
-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
, Weber's record of the song had hit #1 on all the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts (the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the Juke Box chart) . It was also quickly covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by a number of other singers. One artist to "cover" it was Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
. In the March 18, 1955, episode of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, entitled "Bull Fight Dance", Ball sings a snatch of the song with a lot of verve and feeling. Such was the song's popularity.
Among the cover versions was one by Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
. This recording was released by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
as catalog number 70511. It first reached the Billboard charts on December 18, 1954. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #8; on the Best Seller chart, at #24; on the Juke Box chart, at #12.
Another cover, by Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
and The Lancers, was recorded on November 18, 1954 and released by Coral Records
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
as catalog number 61315. It reached #6 on the Billboard chart and #9 on the United Kingdom chart.
On the Cash Box Best-Selling Records chart, all the versions were combined, and the song was also a #1 hit on that chart.
Recorded versions
- Teresa BrewerTeresa BrewerTeresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
and The Lancers (19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - June Carter (19541954 in music-Events:*January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York...
) - Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
(19591959 in music-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
) - Billy FuryBilly FuryBilly Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
(1983) - Sunny Gale (19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
(19581958 in music-Events:*February - 45,000 peoplein one week watch performances of "rokabirī" music by Japanese singers at the first Nichigeki Western Carnival....
) - Karen KellyKaren KellyKaren Kelly is a camogie player and teacher, winner of two Soaring Star awards in 2009 and 2011 and played in the 2009 All Ireland junior camogie final. The leading scorer in her side's impressive march to the final, Karen has won two National League medals, Munster titles in the Junior and...
(19701970 in music- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
) - Kathy KirbyKathy KirbyKathy Kirby was an English singer who was reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in second place...
(19641964 in music-Events:*January 1 – Top of the Pops is broadcast for the first time, on BBC television.*January 3 – Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show....
) - Peggy LeePeggy LeePeggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
(19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - Ann Margret (19621962 in music-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only...
) - Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
(19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - Ruby MurrayRuby MurrayRuby Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1950s. In 1955 alone, she secured seven Top 10 UK hit singles.-Child star:...
(19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
(19541954 in music-Events:*January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York...
) - Hank SnowHank SnowClarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980...
(19551955 in music-Events:*January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89...
) - Jimmy WakelyJimmy WakelyJames Clarence Wakeley , better known as Jimmy Wakely, was an American country-Western singer and actor, one of the last crooning cowpokes following World War II...
(19541954 in music-Events:*January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York...
) - Joan WeberJoan WeberJoan Weber was an American popular music singer.Weber was raised in Paulsboro, New Jersey and married to a young bandleader...
(19541954 in music-Events:*January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York...
) - Ervinna, SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
-based female singer, (between 1972 and 1974)