I'm Sorry (Brenda Lee song)
I'm Sorry , sung by Brenda Lee , was a number one hit in the United States in 1960 . The title was composed by Ronnie Self , the text is by Dub Allbritten .
The production
I'm Sorry composer , Ronnie Self, born in Missouri in 1938 , started out as a rockabilly singer in the 1950s . In 1958 he had his only notable success with Be Bop-A-Lena , the title reaching number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 . In 1959 the Decca record company signed him as a composer. He had his first success as a songwriter with the piece Sweet Nothin's written for Brenda Lee , which reached number four on Billboard. Copywriter Dub Albritton started his career as a copywriter with I'm Sorry and later had other successes with Brenda Lee, e.g. B. Eventually (# 56) and Anybody but Me (# 31). On March 28, 1960, Decca produced the single That's All You Gotta Do / I'm Sorry with 15-year-old Brenda Lee under the direction of Owen Bradley . Bradley had been Lee's producer since 1958 and had made Patsy Cline a success with Walkin 'After Midnight in 1957 . Well-known instrumentalists such as Floyd Cramer (piano) and Bob Moore (bass) as well as the Anita Kerr Singers contributed to the playback . The Decca management had initially hesitated to publish the title I'm Sorry with Brenda Lee, they found it inappropriate to have a 15-year-old teenager sing about unfulfilled love (text passage: “I didn't know that love can be so cruel ! " ). Only several months after the text and music had been completed was the decision taken to publish the title as a B-side. By then, Brenda Lee, born in Atlanta in 1944, had already made a name for herself as a child and teen star. While she had previously sung rock songs like Jambalaya or Dynamite , I'm Sorry was her first romantic title. On May 16, 1960, Decca published That's All You Gotta Do / I'm Sorry under catalog number 31093.
successes
Just two weeks after it was first published, I'm Sorry entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 76. On July 18, 1960, the title was at number 1 and held its own for three weeks. Overall, I'm Sorry was able to hold its own in the Hot 100 for 23 weeks. In the US rhythm and blues charts , the title reached 4th place as the highest rating. I'm Sorry also hit the charts in other English-speaking countries . In Great Britain, the track appeared on Brunswick 5833 , was first listed on New Musical Express on July 2, 1960 , reached 10th place as the best placement and stayed in the charts for 13 weeks. Furthermore, I'm Sorry found in the charts of Australia (6th place), Canada (7th) and New Zealand (1st). Brenda Lee's I'm Sorry later became an evergreen and went down in the professional world as an early example of the so-called Nashville Sound . In 1999 the title was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award .
Germany
In Germany, I'm Sorry was brought onto the market by Brunswick in August 1960 under catalog number 12 220. The music market listed the title in the top 50 for the first time on September 10, 1960. However, it only reached its top value at number 25, but remained in the hit lists for 20 weeks.
In October 1960, the record company Electrola released a German version of I'm Sorry under the number 21662 with the 14-year-old Danish singer Gitte with the same title . The German text was provided by Lambert Fleming, Nils Nobach was responsible as producer , who had already been successful with teen star Conny , among others . Gitte's I'm Sorry was unsuccessful, however, the record went largely unnoticed.
literature
- Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , Billboard Publications New York 1988, p. 71, ISBN 0-8230-7545-1
- Booklet: Brenda Lee Anthology 1956 - 1961 , MCA Records 1991
- Günter Ehnert: British Chart Singles 1950-1965 , Taurus Press Hamburg 1995, p. 107, ISBN 3-922542-32-8
- Günter Ehnert: German Chart Singles 1956-1980 . Taurus Press Hamburg 1990, p. 123, ISBN 3-922542-24-7