To Sir, with Love (song)
Encyclopedia
"To Sir With Love" is the theme from the 1967 film To Sir, With Love
. The song was written by Don Black and Mark London
.
"To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu
(with The Mindbenders
, who also acted in the film) for the film of the same name. The song was released as a single in 1967 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
, remaining in the top position for five weeks and earning the number one position for the entire year. "To Sir With Love" also peaked at number nine on the R&B charts.
In Lulu's native UK
, the song was never released in its own right, instead appearing as the B-side to the 1967 #11 hit "Let's Pretend".
"To Sir With Love" has also been performed by soul singer Al Green (1979), British reggae/ska band The Pyramids (1970), and in a duet by Michael Stipe & Natalie Merchant (1993).
n singer Tina Arena
released her version of the song as the first single from her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss
.
To Sir, with Love
To Sir, With Love is a 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. James Clavell both directed and wrote the film's screenplay, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by E. R. Braithwaite.The film's title song...
. The song was written by Don Black and Mark London
Mark London
Mark London is a soundtrack composer, songwriter and producer. He is particularly notable as the co-writer of the song "To Sir With Love".-History:...
.
"To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
(with The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders
The Mindbenders was a 1960s beat group from Manchester, England. They were part of the mid 1960s British Invasion with their chart-toppers "Game of Love" and "A Groovy Kind of Love"....
, who also acted in the film) for the film of the same name. The song was released as a single in 1967 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, remaining in the top position for five weeks and earning the number one position for the entire year. "To Sir With Love" also peaked at number nine on the R&B charts.
In Lulu's native UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the song was never released in its own right, instead appearing as the B-side to the 1967 #11 hit "Let's Pretend".
"To Sir With Love" has also been performed by soul singer Al Green (1979), British reggae/ska band The Pyramids (1970), and in a duet by Michael Stipe & Natalie Merchant (1993).
Billboard standings
Tina Arena version
AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer Tina Arena
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena is an Australian singer, songwriter and musical theatre actress. She has won several awards, most notably 6 ARIA Awards and in both 1996 and 2000 she received the World Music Award for the world's best selling Australian artist...
released her version of the song as the first single from her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss
Songs of Love & Loss
Songs of Love & Loss is the sixth studio album, and first cover album, by Australian singer and songwriter Tina Arena, released on December 1, 2007. The album was Arena's first full length English language record in six years and her first album with EMI since her debut Strong as Steel in 1990...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| ARIA Top 100 Singles | 62 |
| ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles | 18 |
Other cover versions
- Will FriedleWill FriedleWilliam Alan "Will" Friedle is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is best known for his comedic roles, most notably the underachieving elder brother Eric Matthews on the long-running TV sitcom Boy Meets World from 1993 to 2000...
sings the song to Mr. Feeny in the Boy Meets WorldBoy Meets WorldBoy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
episode "Graduation" - Brazilian band Os Abelhudos recorded a Portuguese languagePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
version, titled "Ao Mestre, Com Carinho" in 1989. Years later singer ElianaElianaEliana, אֶלִיעַנָה , Ηλιάνα , إليانا , is a female given name found with that spelling in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.- Origin & Meaning :...
made a cover of this version. - In 2010, the cast of GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
did a cover version of the song, featured in the season one finale episode "Journey to Regionals". Also featured in Glee: The Music, Journey to RegionalsGlee: The Music, Journey to RegionalsGlee: The Music, Journey to Regionals is the second extended play by the cast of musical television series Glee. Containing six songs from the season one finale "Journey to Regionals", it was released on June 8, 2010, the same day the episode aired. Half of the tracks are cover versions of...
. - Hollywood hard rock outfit Serious Suicide did a cover in 2005
- The song was also covered by Al GreenAl GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
- Vicki Sue RobinsonVicki Sue RobinsonVicki Sue Robinson was an American theatre and film actress and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."-Early life and career:...
covered the song in 1983. - New Zealand songstress Ngaire covered the song in 1991; her cover reached number 1 in the New Zealand charts.
- The song was performed by 10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
with Michael StipeMichael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
at the MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
inaugural ball for Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 1993 - Trash Can Sinatras covered the song in 1996 on the album A Happy Pocket
- Luscious JacksonLuscious JacksonLuscious Jackson are an alternative rock group formed in 1991. The band's name was inspired by now-retired American basketball player Lucious Jackson....
recorded a version for inclusion as a B-side on their "Ladyfingers" single release in 1996. - Susanna HoffsSusanna HoffsSusanna Lee Hoffs is an American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.-Early life:...
of the BanglesThe BanglesThe Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
recorded a version in 1997 and included it as an uncredited bonus track on her self-titled CD - Soul AsylumSoul AsylumSoul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
recorded a live version in 1997 and included it on the album After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom, June 28, 1997 is the first live album released by Soul Asylum. It was recorded on June 28, 1997 about two months after the epic Red River Flood of 1997 hit the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Soul Asylum played the concert for the joint prom... - The Divinyls featured a cover on their 1994 The Collections album.
- Canadian singer-songwriter Jann ArdenJann ArdenJann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
included a cover of "To Sir With Love" as a hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
on her 1997 album Happy? - Chaka KhanChaka KhanChaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
recorded her version with the London Symphony Orchestra and included it on her 2004 album of jazz standards and movie song covers called Classikhan - The Jackson 5The Jackson 5The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
did their own take in 1967 prior to the group's debut with Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 is the debut album from Gary, Indiana-based soul family band The Jackson 5, released on the Motown label in December 1969... - Midge UreMidge UreJames "Midge" Ure, OBE is a Scottish guitarist, singer, keyboard player, and songwriter...
recorded his version on his 2008 album Ten - The Pyramids "SymaripSymaripSymarip were a ska and reggae band from the United Kingdom, originating in the late 1960s, when Frank Pitter and Michael Thomas founded the band as The Bees. The band's name was originally spelled Simaryp, which is an approximate reversal of the word 'pyramids'...
" TROJAN ( TR 7770 )1970 - Lulu herself sang a brief reprise of the song when she appeared in the film To Sir, With Love IITo Sir, with Love IITo Sir, with Love II is an American television movie, a sequel to the 1967 British film, To Sir, with Love.Like its first part, it deals with social issues in an inner city school.-Plot summary:...
(1996). - In 1967 Jamaican group Lynn Taitt and the JetsLynn TaittLynn Taitt was a reggae guitarist born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, closely associated with Jamaican rocksteady music.-Biography:...
released an instrumental version - In 1967 Dawn PennDawn PennDawn Penn is a Jamaican reggae singer.-Career:Dawn Penn's earliest recordings were for Prince Buster around 1966. In 1967 she recorded and released the rocksteady single, "You Don't Love Me" produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One...
recorded a version produced by Bunny LeeBunny LeeEdward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
. Bizarrely when the song was originally released in Jamaica on WIRL it was credited to Suzette and the Lynn Taitt Orchestra rather than to Penn. - In 1968 Martha and the VandellasMartha and the VandellasMartha and the Vandellas were among the most successful groups of the Motown roster during the period 1963–1967...
released their version on the Ridin' High album