Tweedlee Dee
| Tweedlee Dee | |
|---|---|
| LaVern Baker | |
| publication | 1954 |
| Genre (s) | blues |
| Author (s) | Winfield Scott |
| Cover versions | |
| 1955 | Georgia Gibbs |
| 1955 | Frankie Vaughan |
| 1973 | Little Jimmy Osmond |
Tweedlee Dee is a rhythm and blues song that Winfield Scott wrote for LaVern Baker . The song was recorded by her in 1954 in the Atlantic Studio in New York for Atlantic Records and became Baker's first hit. It reached number 4 on the Billboard R&B charts and number 14 on Billboard's pop charts. The song was the first hit not only for Baker, but also for Winfield Scott.
The song was an attempt to adapt a black voice to the tastes of white buyers. Although attempts were made to adapt it to pop style when the song was recorded, a Georgia Gibbs cover soon appeared and was released by Mercury Records . As the big companies had better distribution channels, this recording became a hit on the pop charts (gold record for over 1 million records sold), while Baker's recording only became a big hit on the R&B charts. It was common practice at the time for big record labels to cover black R&B hits and adapt them to the tastes of the white market, but at Tweedle Dee, Mercury didn't even bother to adapt, reported Tom Dowd , the Atlantic recording engineer , hired the same arranger and the same musicians. LaVern Baker tried to lobby her congressman for federal legislation against such adoptions of the arrangement of songs, but her initiative failed. This procedure is still legally compliant to this day.
Cover versions
- Georgia Gibbs (1954)
- Ellie Russell & the Three Belles (1955)
- Chet Atkins (instrumental, 1955)
- Teresa Brewer (1955)
- Siw Malmkvist (1955)
- Pee Wee King (1956)
- Elvis Presley (1956)
- Connie Francis (1959)
- Pat Boone (1961)
- Wanda Jackson (1961)
- Little Jimmy Osmond (1973)
- Ike & Tina Turner (1974)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jim Dawson, & Steve Propes (1992). What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record. Boston & London: Faber & Faber. Pp. 164-169. ISBN 0-571-12939-0 .
- ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. 1942-2004. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 26
- ↑ The song reached number 14 in the juke box charts, in the bestseller charts it reached number 22, see Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 29
- ^ Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll ((2nd Ed.) Ed.). New York, NY: Da Capo Press. Pp. 37-38, 52, 71, 130. ISBN 0-306-80683-5 .
- ^ Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll ((2nd Ed.) Ed.). New York, NY: Da Capo Press.S. 37-38, 52, 71, 130. ISBN 0-306-80683-5 .
- ↑ Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Pp. 174-176. ISBN 0-02-061740-2 .