Single Song Sunday

Following the worldwide acclaim for George's recent guest 'Single Song Sunday' I thought I should pull my finger out and do one myself. After reviewing the long list for all of a minute or two I opted for Gerry & The Pacemakers' "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying". 

There are two reasons why perhaps I should not have done. The first is that that I had forgotten about the blues song "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'" (no 'g') first made famous by Louis Jordan. Both songs have been covered extensively and several cover artists stray onto the wrong side of the 'g/ no g' boundary, which added considerably to the amount of time required for weeding out.

The second is that you really only need Gerry's version (which I adore). But the work has been done now so we are going ahead.

We start with the original recording which, to my surprise, turns out not to be the one by Gerry and the lads even though they wrote the song. They gave first dibs to Louise Cordet, a singer who had toured with them and The Beatles, and her version came out in February 1964. It was only after Louise failed to bother the charts that the band decided to release it themselves.

Gerry's version was a relative failure in the UK when it was issued in April 1964. The band's first three singles all went to #1 and their fourth made it to #2 but this peaked at #6. However it was their first big hit in the US were it got to #4. a position they never subsequently bettered.

I am going to partially retract my earlier comment about only needing Gerry's version and add one more to my personal 'must haves'. That is the rendition by the always magnificent Rickie Lee Jones on her "Flying Cowboys" album (1989). We follow that with another iconic female singer, Ronnie Spector. Her take can be found on "English Heart", her final album that was released in 2016.

We go mildly Latin next, first with the ever reliable Jose Feliciano (from 1967) and then an obscure Latin Soul take credited to The Mumy. I have not been able to find any information about it but it sounds like it dates to the late 1960s and the label says it is produced by Pagan, Alvarez & Mingo. I suppose it is possible that Pagan is Ralfi Pagan, who performed with some success on the Fania label in the 1970s, but I have no proof that is the case. 

From Latin to Continental. We commence with a super smooth French version by Lucky Blondo from 1965 followed by a marginally less smooth Greek version from 1970 by The Olympians. Lucky (real name Gerard Blondiot) later went on to record in Nashville with The Jordanaires. The Olympians did not later go on to record an album on Daptone in 2016 - that was another band of the same name - but they did churn out a lot of singles.

We end in the traditional way with some MRVs. In fact we have a double dose for you today. The first is by Dave Barker (1970), produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry with backing by an obscure band called The Wailers. The second is from 1982 and is performed by a man who sings so smoothly he is sometimes known as "the Jamaican Lucky Blondo", Mr Barry Biggs.

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Louise Cordet

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Gerry & The Pacemakers

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Rickie Lee Jones

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Ronnie Spector

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Jose Feliciano

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - The Mumy

"Tu l'Oublieras Cette Fille" - Lucky Blondo

"Grapse St' Asteria T' Onoma Sou" - The Olympians

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Dave Barker

"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" - Barry Biggs