Walk on By (Leroy Van Dyke)
Walk on By is the title of a country song. It was written by Kendall L. Hayes and stayed at number one on the country singles chart for 19 weeks in 1961 in the version of country singer Leroy Van Dyke .
History of origin
Country singer Leroy Van Dyke's first recording session in September 1956 resulted in his most successful title Auctioneer via a cattle auctioneer . Van Dyke became famous straight away thanks to the enormous sales success of three million copies. However, his record company Dot Records failed to post a similarly successful hit. Five more singles followed until Van Dyke was brought to Mercury Records by Shelby Singleton in early 1961 .
Walk on By was supposed to be Mercury's second single. Van Dyke was a demo tape of Walk on By the office of the music publisher Lowery Music in Nashville. Its office manager Gary Walker thought the song was unfinished, but Van Dyke chose the song written by Kendall L. Hayes (1936-1995). Hayes was working as an accountant at the time. A second verse was missing and Walker wrote it that evening. After slightly changing the chorus, a song was created about love for a married woman, which is supposed to remain hidden from the public. You meet outside the city and pretend you don't know each other.
Recording and publication
Under production direction by Shelby Singleton, the piece of music was recorded on May 12, 1961 in Nashville. Van Dyke's accompaniment consisted of Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland (guitar), Jerry Kennedy and Kelso Herston (guitar), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano), Buddy Killen and Harold Bradley (bass), Willie Ackerman (drums) and Margie Singleton ( the wife of the producer) in the accompanying choir. Mercury initially wanted the B-side My World Is Cavin 'in , then, at Van Dyke's insistence, opted for Walk on By as the A-side. The arrangement and the staffing in the studio is a typical production of the Nashville sound , a mixture of country music and pop music .
The single came on the market in August 1961 (Mercury # 71834) and entered the country singles chart on September 4, 1961 , where it was number one for 19 weeks from September 25. The piece also developed into a successful crossover title with a fifth place in the pop charts. The piece, with unusual lyrics for a country song of the time and featuring Hank Garland's distinctive guitar playing, became a standard in country music. Shortly after the record was released, Garland suffered a catastrophic car accident in September 1961 that ended his career.
Statistics and cover versions
According to the BMI , author Hayes has only entered 50 compositions, of which Walk on By received a BMI award. In total there are at least 150 versions of one of the most successful country hits with sales of 1.5 million copies. Van Dyke himself estimates sales at three million copies. Van Dyke sang a German version under the title Geh 'nicht über in 1961, which was adopted by Rex Gildo in the same year . The English-language original version by Van Dyke reached number 14 in the German music charts in June 1962. The producer's wife, Margie Singleton, released an answer song called I'll Just Walk on By in September 1962 . Donna Fargo covered the song in 1980. The version reached number 43 on the country singles chart. Another cover version from 1988 of Asleep at the Wheel reached number 55 there. The British singer Seal covered Walk On By in 2004 .
The Billboard Magazine has Walk on By its anniversary edition of 1 November 1994 (100th anniversary) selected the largest country hit between 20 October 1958 to 25 June 1994 based on sales, airplay and dwell in the hit parade.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Billboard Magazine, February 25, 1995: Kendall Hayes Dies , p. 22
- ↑ BMI entry via Hayes ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, 158
- ↑ Country gold tour about the nomination ( memento from January 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )