(Lionel Bart)
Australia
#3 Sydney
Co-charted in Sydney with the original version by Cliff Richard & The Drifters.
Single on Festival label.
Col Joye was a pioneering Aussie pop star of the rock'n'roll era (b. Colin Jacobsen, 1937) who in 1957 joined his brother Kevin's jazz band that was to become Col Joye and the Joy Boys. He had ten Top 10 hits in the Sydney charts alone from May 1959 to May 1962, including four #1s, and was a star on television pop show Bandstand. Something of a legend in Australia, his rock'n'roll suit is on display at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum.
Further reading: See, for example, the Col Joye bio at AllMusic.
(Lionel Bart)
USA
Single on Kapp label.
Singer, composer, dubbing artist, director and actor, real name David Hess, who co-wrote Speedy Gonzales and a number of songs for Elvis Presley. In 1956 he recorded the original version of Otis Blackwell’s All Shook Up, a big hit for Elvis in 1957.
Further reading: His varied career is outlined by Matthew Patay at IMDb, where you can also read his filmography, and his website is at www.davidhess.com. Thanks to Rob Pingel.
(Lionel Bart)
UK
Original version
#1 UK #30 USA #3 Sydney #17 Melbourne #4 Brisbane #3 Adelaide #6 Perth
Song written by Lionel Bart, real name Lionel Beglieter (1932-1999), perhaps best known for his musical Oliver! See his biography at All Music Guide and his filmography at IMdB.
The Drifters later changed their name to The Shadows to avoid confusion with the American Drifters.
Also recorded by Frankie Davidson (1959), Roger Ruskin Spear (1972), and by British band Mud.
(Lionel Bart)
UK
#1 UK #1 Sydney #1 Brisbane #1 Melbourne #1 Adelaide #1 Perth
Released in aid of Comic Relief with the cast of BBC-TV’s The Young Ones. The lyrics of both versions are at International Lyrics Playground.
Pop Archives
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Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2021. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Joop Jansen, More…