Near you

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Near You is a pop song by the composer and band leader Francis Craig and the songwriter Kermit Goell. The song was the most successful music track in the US in 1947. The single by Francis Craig was the best-selling record of 1947. Near You is the track with the longest dwell time - 17 consecutive weeks - at the top of a US hit parade. The title is a standard in US pop music.

The original version by Francis Craig

Emergence

Francis Craig - Near You

After the contract with the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, whose house band had been Francis Craig's big band for 21 years since the mid-1920s, and with the NBC radio station, which had broadcast the performances of Craig's band nationwide, expired in 1947, Craig took in the 1946 Nashville based record company Bullet Records on his farewell single. On the A side was his signature melody Red Rose , on the B side the new composition Near You (Bullet 1001). The track was recorded on January 20, 1947 in the newly established Castle Studio recording studio in Nashville. The blind singer and trumpeter of his band, Bob Lamm, took over the vocal part. The record was produced by Owen Bradley , and it was the first multi-million dollar hit produced in Nashville. It was the second number one hit ever to be released by an independent label .

Musical composition and text

The original recording in F major consists of five parts: In the first two fifths Craig plays the melody on the piano, only supported by a subtle rhythm section. Then the song just breaks off and Bob Lamm sings the first verse in the next two fifths, supported by a rhythm section that comes to the fore and the brass section of the big band, followed by the second verse after a short musical interlude. After another break, the last fifth with Craig's piano solo consists of a repetition of the first fifth.

In various variations, the text merely expresses the desire of the lyric self to be able to spend the rest of its life in the immediate - also physical - proximity of its beloved. His life is only worth living when he is close to her.

success

After the record was released, the radio stations - especially at the request of young listeners - played not the A-side of the single, but the B-side Near You . The Nashville-based radio station WSM , which was owned by the insurance company National Life (the company was owned by his cousin Edwin Craig), popularized the song in the mid-south and west of the United States through numerous broadcasts. On August 9, 1947, the single, which at that time was already a hit in the American Midwest due to the numerous radio broadcasts, was discussed in Billboard Magazine .

On August 9, 1947, Craig was listed for the first time in the radio charts and reached number 1 on August 30. On September 6, 1947, the title was also placed in all other pop charts for the first time.

Bullet Records reported 400,000 orders in early September . The pressing of the record had to be outsourced to several record pressing companies in Pittsburg, Boston and New York, with the largest company Apollo producing ten thousand copies a day. When the title was able to place 6th in the Honor Roll of Hits for the first time on September 6th, six cover versions were already on the market. On September 27, 1947, the title was at the top of the following US charts: Honor Roll Of Hits, Best-Selling Sheet Music, Records Most-Played On The Air, Best-Selling Popular Retail Records and Most-Played Juke Box Records. The title was able to stay at the top of all five charts until the beginning of November.

On September 27, 1947, the Supreme music publisher, which owned the title, reported that the printed version of the sheet music had already been sold over 300,000 times.

On October 2, 1947, the Craig Orchestra began a tour of the east coast of the USA, which began in Baltimore and for which the orchestra was paid $ 2,500 per week by the promoter. Since Craig always presented himself as the sole author of the title during his appearances on stage and on the radio, Goell switched on a law firm in early December 1947 to force Craig - possibly with legal measures - to mention Goell as a co-author.

In the week that ended on December 12, 1947, Near You was listed for the last time at number 1 on the Honor Roll of Hits. On December 19, 1947, the song Ballerina Near You replaced at number 1.

In Great Britain, the title appeared on Brunswick Records and reached the top of the British charts at the end of April 1948.

Craig's single is said to have been the earliest case of a major bootleg . The small and inexperienced company Bullet Records had all sorts of pressing plants pressed the record in order to be able to meet the orders, without even having an overview of the actual production figures. Don Pierce remembers that only some of the pressed plates were accounted for with bullet, another part was marketed by the pressing plants themselves.

After Craig had signed a record deal with Dot Records in early 1954, Dot's first single was a coupling of Craig's two greatest successes: Near You on the A-side, Beg Your Pardon on the B-side. The single was unsuccessful.

Cover versions from 1947

Among the top twenty best-selling singles in the United States in 1947 are three singles titled Near You : Francis Craig's original version at number 1, the Larry Green orchestra's instrumental version at number 8, and the Andrews Sisters version at number 16. One At the time, the sales policy of the major label was to cover successful titles from the independent label.

Immediately after the first successes of the Craig recording on the radio, Capitol Records released a recording of Near You with boogie guitarist Alvino Rey and his orchestra. Jimmy Joyce took on the vocal part, but the recording is dominated by Alvino Reys playing the guitar on his pedal steel guitar . The choir of the Alvino Rey Orchestra accompanies the recording with the rhythmic singing of meaningless syllables. The single was Rey's fifth and final top ten position, the record reached number 9 on the charts on October 17, 1947.

Columbia Records released the title in a version by pianist and band leader Elliot Lawrence . The structure of the recording was closely based on the original version, but the style was not the sentimental, rhythmic ballad as Craig had recorded the title, but more lively and dynamic. The vocal part was done by Rosalind Patton. With this recording, Elliot Lawrence managed his only top ten hit, on October 3, 1947, he was listed in the charts, the title stayed in the charts for two weeks and reached number 9.

The Andrews Sisters

Decca Records let none other than the Andrews Sisters record the title. The Andrews Sisters were accompanied by the Vic Schoen Orchestra. The structure of the three-minute song differs greatly from the Craig version. After the lyrics are sung very melodiously in the first minute by the Andrews Sisters, accompanied only by a piano and a small rhythm section, a fanfare-like use of the wind section leads to the instrumental part during the vocal part, which is played by the piano alone in the first half , in the second part the winds join. The last third of the song is sung by the Andrews Sisters again, this time accompanied by a very reserved piano and dominating brass. The Andrews Sisters version first hit the charts on October 3, 1947, reached number 4 and stayed in the top ten for ten weeks.

The most successful cover version comes from the RCA orchestra under the direction of arranger Larry Green. Similar to Craig's version, the recording begins with a one and a half minute piano solo and a rhythm section that comes to the fore, with violins being used at certain points. In the middle section, a choir sings very emotionless and distances the text, alternately accompanied by violins and winds. In the last half minute of the title, the musical theme is played again by a piano with an accompanying rhythm section. The recording ends with a short, fanfare-like brass section. The recording first entered the charts on October 10, 1947, reached number 3 and stayed in the charts for 13 weeks. RCA wanted to repeat this recipe for success with the following hit Craigs Beg Your Pardon , the cover version Greens also reached the top ten. However, they were the only top ten hits in Greens' career.

In addition to the cover versions presented above, which made it into the charts, the following recordings of Near You were released as singles by the end of 1947 : The Auditones (Rainbow 10025), Dolores Brown & the Auditions (Sterling 3001), Victor Lombardo (Majestic 7263) , Lonzo and Oscar and their Winston County Pea Pickers (RCA Victor 20-2502), Four Bars and a Melody (Savoy 657), Flash and Whistler (Universal U-6) and Glenn Davis (Midwest Recorded Specialties 263).

The Billboard version of Dick "Two Ton" Baker, who specialized in singing well-known songs as faithfully as possible, was published on the B-side with a medley of three other titles (Mercury 5066). The version by Two Ton Baker is very similar to the original, although the piano playing sounds much more bumpy than in the original and the wind section of the original version is replaced by a guitar. The single was not successful.

Theme song from the Milton Berle Show

The Milton Berle Show , which was initially broadcast under the title Texaco Star Theater from 1948 to 1953 , was the most popular entertainment show in the early stages of television in the United States. The show ran under various titles from June 8, 1948 to January 6, 1967. After 1956, the TV show lost its position as the most popular against the backdrop of new broadcast formats such as "Toast Of The Town", later the " Ed Sullivan Show" Music and entertainment broadcast. Berle chose “Near You” as the theme song , which he sang at the end of every show since 1948. As the theme song of the most popular TV entertainment show of the pre-rock 'n' roll era, the song remained a long-term standard in the consciousness of the population after its success in 1947.

Later cover versions (selection)

Numerous cover versions have been published since the title was first published in 1947. Only the versions by Roger Williams (1958) and Boz Scaggs (1971) were in the US singles charts , but the song was found on the following albums, which were noted in the album charts: Billy Vaughn Golden Saxophones (1960) , Nat King Cole Dear Lonely Hearts (1962), Ferrante & Teicher Golden Piano Hits (1962), Bill Justis 12 More Big Instrumental Hits (1963) and Bill Black ’s Combo Bill Black’s Combo Goes Bigband (1964).

In 1958, Roger Williams achieved his second top ten success with his version of Near You after his number one hit Autumn Leaves from 1955. The single was listed on August 18, 1958 for the first time in the charts and reached number 10, it was 17 weeks in the Hot-100. Roger Williams' version was the most successful cover version since 1947.

Jerry Lee Lewis recorded the track as an instrumental for Sun Records in 1959 . Three recordings were made, but the title was not released during his contract with Sun. The Lewis version first appeared in 1975 on the UK album Jerry Lee Lewis & His Pumping Piano (UK catalog number: Charly CR 30002). All three recordings were released in 1983 as part of the twelve LPs collection The Sun Years .

The track was recorded by Tammy Wynette and George Jones in December 1974 , and it was their last recording session together before their divorce. The track was produced by Billy Sherill and initially not released by the record company Epic Records . Only after Wynette and Jones recorded the country hit Golden Ring in a joint recording session in 1976 , their version of Near You was released in December 1976 (Epic 50314). The single reached first place on the country charts on February 4, 1977 and was able to stay there for two weeks.

Remarks

  1. ↑ For the meaning of the title see Jasen, David A .: Tin Pan Alley. An Enclycopedia of the Golden Age of American Song . New York, NY: Routledge, 2003, p. 92
  2. ↑ In 2009 the single from Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feeling surpassed the record as a single with two number one hits on one single, which reached number 1 one after the other, as a single track Near You holds the record to this day. Dean, Maury: Rock and Roll: Gold Rush . Algora Publishing, 2003, p. 490f (Rock Music. History and Cristicism. Vol. 1)
  3. ^ Thompson, ED: More Nashville Nostalgia . Nashville, Tennessee: Westview Publishing, 2004, p. 223
  4. ↑ Zak, Albin J .: I Don't Sound Like Nobody. Remaking Music in 1950s America . University Of Michigan Press, 2010, p. 86
  5. ^ Kosser, Michael: How Nashville became Music City: 50 years of Music Row Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonhard Corporation, 2006, p. 4
  6. ^ Bumble, John W .: "Castle Recording Laboratory" . In: Shepard, John (Ed.): Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. Vol. 1: Media, Industry and Society. London / New York: Continuum, 2003, p. 653
  7. ↑ Lee, Brenda: Little Miss Dynamite. The Life and Times of Brenda Lee . With the collaboration of Robert K. Oermann and Julie Clay. New York: Hyperion, 2002, p. 89
  8. ↑ Steve Eng's claim that Near You was the first major hit by an independent label is not true. The Harmonicats reached the top spot with Peg o 'my Heart as early as the summer of 1947 . See Eng, Steve: Jimmy Buffett. The Man from Margaretaville revealed . New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1996, p. 29; For the success of Peg o 'my Heart, see Ruhland, William: Breaking Records. 100 Years of Hits . New York, NY: Routledge 2004, p. 102
  9. ↑ "just two lips away"
  10. ↑ "Make my life worthwhile / By telling me that I'll / Spend the rest of my days / Near you"
  11. ^ Billboard Magazine , August 9, 1947, issue, p. 33
  12. ^ Billboard Magazine , August 30, 1947 issue, Records Most-Played on the Air, p. 28
  13. ^ Honor Roll Of Hits, Best-Selling Sheet Music, Best-Selling Popular Retail Records, and Most-Played Juke Box Records; For the success of the title from August 9 to October 4, 1947, see chart in: Billboard Magazine , January 24, 1948 issue, p. 19
  14. ^ Billboard Magazine , September 13, 1947, issue, p. 20
  15. ^ Billboard Magazine , September 13, 1947, issue, p. 28
  16. ^ Billboard Magazine , October 4, 1947 issue, pp. 110, 112, 114, 116, 118
  17. ^ Billboard Magazine , Nov. 8, 1947 Issue, p. 4
  18. ^ Billboard Magazine , October 4, 1947, issue, p. 19
  19. ^ Billboard Magazine , September 27, 1947 issue, p. 19
  20. ^ "When Writers Fall Out; Goell Wants Credit From Craig " . In: Billboard Magazine , December 13, 1947 issue, p. 22
  21. ^ Billboard Magazine , December 20, 1947 issue, p. 24
  22. ^ Billboard Magazine , December 27, 1947 issue, p. 22
  23. ^ Billboard Magazine , May 8, 1948, issue, p. 22
  24. ↑ "The guys that would press the records would send them a bill for what hey pressed, but the number of records that went out the back door was another matter." Quoted from: Broven, John: Records Makers and Record Breakers. Voices of the independent Rock'n'Roll Pioneers . University of Illinois Press, 2008, p. 281
  25. ^ US catalog number: Dot 15159; see also: Billboard Magazine , April 15, 1954 Issue, p. 22
  26. ^ For example, Near You, see Tawa, Nicholas: Supremely American. Popular Songs in the 20th Century: Styles and Singers and What They Say about America . Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005, pp. 104f
  27. ↑ US catalog number: Capitol B-451; B-side: Oh, Peter
  28. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 41
  29. ↑ U.S. catalog number: Columbia 37838; B-side: How Lucky You Are
  30. ^ Billboard Magazine, September 20, 1947 issue, p. 39
  31. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 32
  32. ↑ US catalog number: Decca 24171; B-side: How Lucky You Are
  33. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 9
  34. ↑ US catalog number: RCA Victor 20-2421; B-side: Pic-A-Nic-In
  35. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 24
  36. ↑ The list of cover versions on Plasketes is incomplete, only the more successful versions are listed there. George Plasketes: Play It Again. Cover songs in Popular Music. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing, 2010, p. 56
  37. ^ Billboard Magazine , January 4, 1948, issue, p. 22
  38. ↑ For more information on the show, see Brooks, Tim / Marshe, Earl: The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network And Cable TV Show. 1946 To Present . 8., revised. Ed., New York City, NY: Random House, 2003, pp. 778-780
  39. ↑ Madigan, SP: "Texaco Star Theater (aka The Milton Berle Show)" . In: Browne, Ray B. / Browne, Pat (Eds.): The Guide To United States Popular Culture . Madison, Wisconsin: University Of Wisconsin Press, 2001, pp. 833f
  40. ↑ Compilation after Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Album Tracks 1955-1992 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc., 1993, p. 304
  41. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 650
  42. ^ UK catalog number: Sun 102; compare Tilch, KD: Rock LPs 1955-1970. Vol. 2: FL . 3rd ext. Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, pp. 956f
  43. ^ Roland, Tom: The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits . New York City, New York: Billboard Books; London: Guinness Publishing Ltd., 1991, pp. 186f

literature

  • Ikard, Robert W .: Near You: Francis Craig, Dean Of Southern Maestros . With a music CD. Franklin (Tennessee): Hillsboro Press, 1999 ( Tennessee Heritage Library Bicentennial Collection ) - ISBN 978-1577361619 .

Web links