Poor little fool

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Poor little fool
Ricky Nelson
publication June 1958
length 2 min 33 s
Genre (s) Rockabilly
Author (s) Sharon Sheeley
album Ricky Nelson (July 1958)

Poor Little Fool is a rockabilly song composed and written by Sharon Sheeley . The song was interpreted by Ricky Nelson , and the corresponding single became the first number one hit on the newly created Billboard Hot 100 on August 4, 1958 .

Emergence

Sharon Sheeley was in love with Don Everly at the time the song was written . The news of his marriage made her melancholy and on the way back from a concert by the Everly Brothers she put this feeling on paper in the form of a poem. Although she could neither read nor write music, she devised a melody that she thought might go well with the text. In a talent show by radio host Art Laboe , Sheeley first performed the song in public with her sister Mary Jo and friend Hope. Although the reaction to it was negative, the trio made a demo of the song. The piece should be like a fast-paced rock 'n' roll song byElvis Presley sound.

Sheeley offered the demo to Ricky Nelson, who was initially skeptical. To convince him of her song, Sheeley made up the story that the song was written for Elvis Presley, that she knew the author and that Elvis Presley would record the song when he returned from Germany. This and the idea of ​​being able to record a song for Elvis before him convinced Nelson. He presented the demo to his accompanying musicians James Burton and James Kirkland, who didn't like the song at all. But Nelson had given Sheeley the promise and asked the two to rearrange the song . Burton and Kirkland slowed the tempo of the song and changed the progression of the chords . Ricky Nelson recorded this version and it became his biggest hit.

The single was released on Imperial Records in June 1958 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 4, 1958 . This made it the first number one single on this newly created hit list. In the US country charts, the single reached third place. With this title Nelson achieved a complete "cross-over" hit, because the title was also listed in the R&B charts, where it was number 3. The title reached number 4 in the British charts.

Music and lyrics

The song is in C major, does not have a bridge or chorus and lives from the “ lullaby-like singing” in which the protagonist mourns his days as Casanova and complains that he is now getting the receipt for all the romantic games of this time. The "song that was soaked with self-pity" was praised by Billboard Magazine in a contemporary review as a "rockabilly tune" with strong vocals and good rhythm .

\ relative c '{\ key c \ major \ tempo 4 = 80 << {% Voice "1" \ partial 8 e8 | g8 g8 g8 g8 a8 a16 a16 ~ a8 a8 | f8 f8 f8 f8 g4 r8 e8 | g8 g8 g8 g8 a8 a8 ~ a8 a8 | f8 f8 f8 f8 g4 r8 e16 d16 | c4 ~ c8 c'8 a4 r4 | r8 d, 8 ~ d8 f16 a16 g4 ~ g8 e8 | c1} \ addlyrics {I | used to play a __ round with hearts that | hast ed at my call But | when I met that little girl I | knew that I would fall. Poor little | fool, oh yeah, | I was a fool, uh | huh} \\ {% Voice "2" \ partial 8 r8 | <gc e> 2 <ace> 2 | <fac> 2 <gb d> 2 | <gc e> 2 <ace> 2 | <fac> 2 <gb d> 2 | <g e> 2 <ace> 2 | <fac> 2 <gb d> 2 | <g e '> 1} >>}

Cover versions

The Internet database Coverinfo.de lists nine cover versions, including one in Portuguese with Tony Campello's Pobre de mim from 1959 and one in French with Stephen Bruce 's Pauvre de moi from 1958. The interpretation by Billy Mo under the title Mary, My Girl also dates from 1958, as does Paul Rich's cover. Brian Hyland promptly took up the title and published his version in 1961. Patti Page covered the song on her album Golden Hits of the Boys in 1962. More recent are the recordings of Johnny Angel from 1998, the Slapbacks from 2003, Harbor Lights from 2005 and 2006 from Voyces . Nick Venet quoted Poor Little Fool in his 1960 play, My Dream .

literature

  • Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . Updated and Expanded 5. Billboard Books, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2 , pp. 40 .
  • Sheree Homer: Ricky Nelson, Rock and Roll Pioneer . McFarland, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4766-0019-2 , pp. 49 ff .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Sheree Homer: Ricky Nelson, Rock'n'Roll Pioneer . P. 49.
  2. ↑ a b c Sheree Homer: Ricky Nelson, Rock'n'Roll Pioneer . P. 51.
  3. ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Record Research, Menomonee Falls WI 1994, p. 425; US catalog number: Imperial 5528
  4. ↑ The third place was reached in the "Best Seller" subchart, in the "Jockey Charts" the title came to place 8. See Joel Whitburn: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits. 1944-2006 . 2nd Edition. Billboard Books, New York NY 2006, p. 243
  5. ↑ Joel Whitburn: Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. 1942-2004 . Billboard Books, New York NY 2006, p. 420
  6. ↑ Stephen Nugent, Anne Fowler, Pete Fowler: Chart Log of American / British Top 20 Hits, 1955-1974 . In: Charlie Gillett, Simon Frith (Eds.): Rock File 4 . Panther Books, Frogmore / St. Albans 1976, p. 256
  7. ↑ Maury Dean: Rock and Roll: Gold Rush . Algora Publishing, 2003, ISBN 978-0-87586-227-9 , pp. 110 .
  8. ^ Arnold Shaw: Rock 'n' Roll. The stars, the music and the myths of the 50s . 2nd Edition. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1978, ISBN 3-499-17109-0 , p. 235 (American English: The Rockin '50s . Translated by Teja Schwaner).
  9. ↑ Review Spotlight On Pop Records: Ricky Nelson - Poor Little Fool . In: Billboard . June 23, 1958, p. 44 .
  10. ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 . Record Research, Menomonee Falls WI 1996, p. 590; US catalog number: Mercury 20712
  11. ↑ Coverinfo.de accessed on May 8, 2013