Pop Archives

Col Joye & The Joy Boys - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
Australia Australia
#6 Sydney #5 Brisbane #11 Adelaide #1 Perth

Single on Festival label, charted May 1962.

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.

Thanks to Dave Overett and Tony Le Fournour for suggestion.


Ricky Nelson - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA USA
#24 Melbourne

On LP Album Seven By Rick on Imperial, March 1962.

Released as a single in Australia in 1962 (presumably to coincide with the local single by Col Joye), but not released as a single in the US until October 1963.

See the fine discography at the Rick Nelson Official Website.


Gene Pitney - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA USA

Album track on The Many Sides of Gene Pitney.


Laurie London - Today’s Teardrops (1961)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
UK UK

Single on Parlophone, produced by George Martin.

British lad (b.1944) who had an international smash hit with pop gospel record He's Got The Whole World In His Hands (1957).

Further reading: Wikipedia entry on Laurie London.  Discography at British Beat File and record details at PopMusicInfo.


Siw Malmkvist - For sent skall syndarn vakna (1961)

(Pitney - Schroeder - [+ lyricist])
Sweden Sweden

Version by popular Swedish singer who also recorded Sadie The Cleaning Lady in Swedish, German, Danish and English.


Roy Orbison - Today’s Teardrops (1960)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA USA
Original version

Single on Monument, B-side of Blue Angel.


Anna-Lena Lofgrens - Morgen hast du keine Sorgen (1964)

(Pitney - Schroeder - Niessen)
Sweden Sweden
Later version

German version by Swedish singer using the instrumental track from Siw Malmkvist’s 1961 version För sent skall syndarn vakna.


Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones - Today’s Teardrops Polka

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder [+ arranger?])
USA USA
Later version

Popular Chicago polka band formed in 1963 by former rockabilly and rock’n’roll performer (Eddie Bell & His Bell Aires, The Masked Man [Hi Yo Silver], 1960). The Versatones are now led by his son.

I can’t date this confidently: it was on a c.1987 album Let’s Celebrate Again, but I don’t know whether that was its original release.