Cindy, Oh Cindy
Cindy, Oh Cindy is the title of an initially English-language hit that was published in 1956. In 1957, the German version was a great record success for Margot Eskens and Wolfgang Sauer .
Emergence
The American songwriting team Robert Nemiroff and Burt D'Lugoff wrote the song in a foxtrot rhythm under the pseudonym Robert Barron / Burt Long. When the melody they resorted to the old song of the stevedores Pay Me My Money Down (German: Number I finally got my salary) back, Lydia Parrish 1942 in her book Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands published. The American folk song group The Weavers used the original lyrics to make the song known at their Carnegie Hall concert in 1955. Barron / Long provided their version with a new text in which a seafarer longs for his Cindy, whom he will see again at home.
Development in the USA
The Barron / Long version was released in the United States in September 1956 by both the Glory record company with Vince Martin and by RCA Records with Eddie Fisher . Both versions were included in the top 100 of the US music magazine Billbord . Vince Martin started there on October 13, 1956 with place 49, while Eddie Fisher followed on October 20 with place 40. In the weeks that followed, both performers rose almost in lockstep, before Eddie Fisher won the race on December 15th in tenth place. Vince Martin came off only marginally worse with twelfth place.
In later years, other versions of Cindy, Oh Cindy , appeared in the US . In 1962, The Highwaymen released a single with the Barron / Long title on United Artists . Also in 1962, The Beach Boys recorded the song in a slightly modified text version, but it was initially unpublished. It finally appeared as a bonus track in 2001 on the CD Surfin 'Safari / Surfin' USA . In 1998 Cindy, Oh Cindy appeared on Perry Como's CD For You .
In English-speaking countries
In November 1956 the recordings of Eddie Fisher appeared on His Master's Voice and Vince Martin on London Records . Just like in the US, the Fisher version sold best, the New Musical Express listed it at number five, while Vince Martin only reached number 26. A cover version with British singer Tony Brent was also released in November 1956 by Columbia Records and reached number 16. Eddie Fisher's version was released in Australia and New Zealand, while the recording with Vince Martin was also published in Canada.
On the German market
From November 1956, two German-language versions of Cindy, oh Cindy competed in the Federal Republic of Germany . Kurt Feltz wrote the text and modified it a little. He described the fate from Cindy’s point of view ("your heart must be sad, the man you loved left you alone"). The German interpreters were Margot Eskens on Polydor and Wolfgang Sauer on Electrola . Sauer's version was the first to appear in the top 30 of the music magazine Musikmarkt on January 21, 1957 , Margot Eskens was only listed on February 2, 1957. In the following weeks both interpreters reached number one, but Margot Eskens prevailed, who maintained the top position in the top 30 for ten weeks, while Wolfgang Sauer only held the top position for three weeks. Margot Eskens was also in front in the 1957 annual charts. In March 1957, the Telefunken record company also tried to share in the success of Cindy, oh Cindy . She released a single with Gitta Lind , which went largely unnoticed. The original with Eddie Fisher, which RCA had brought onto the German market in early 1957, also went unnoticed. In the GDR an interpretation by Fred Frohberg appeared on Amiga .
Singles discography
| Performers | Label | published | country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Fisher | RCA 6677 | 9/1956 | United States |
| Eddie Fisher | His Master's Voice 273 | 11/1956 | UK |
| Eddie Fisher | RCA 6677 | 1957 | Germany |
| Vince Martin | Glory 247 | 9/1956 | United States |
| Vince Martin | London 8340 | 11/1956 | UK |
| Tony Brent | Columbia 3844 | 11/1956 | UK |
| Margot Eskens | Polydor 23363 | 11/1956 | BR Germany |
| Wolfgang Sauer | Electrola 8667 | 11/1956 | BR Germany |
| Gitta Lind | Telefunken 45923 | 3/1957 | BR Germany |
| Fred Frohberg | Amiga 50607 | GDR |
literature
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Guide US Chart Singles 1950–1963 Taurus Press 1992, ISBN 3-922542-47-6 .
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Records British Chart Singles 1950-1965 Taurus Press 1995, ISBN 3-922542-32-8 .
- Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit balance sheet German chart singles 1956–1980. Taurus Press 1987, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 .