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The Story of My Life (Marty Robbins song)

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"The Story of My Life"
Single by Marty Robbins
from the album Marty's Greatest Hits
B-side"Once-a-Week Date"
ReleasedNovember 1957
RecordedJuly 22, 1957 [1]
GenreCountry
Length2:33
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Marty Robbins singles chronology
"Please Don't Blame Me"
(1957)
"The Story of My Life"
(1957)
"Just Married"
(1958)

"The Story of My Life" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.[2] It was published in 1957. It was recorded by Marty Robbins and reached number one on Billboard's country chart in 1958, and it became a number one hit song for Michael Holliday in the UK.

Background

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"The Story of My Life" was the first successful collaboration between Hal David and Burt Bacharach.[3] Although they did not set out to write a country song, their song was recorded by American country music singer Marty Robbins.[2][4] Robbins was accompanied in the recording by the whistling of the Ray Conniff Singers and a small-scale guitar.[5] The song was released in November 1957 and peaked at number one on two US country charts (C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys), staying for four weeks on Best Sellers in early 1958.[6][7] It also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching number fifteen.[8] It reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart.[citation needed]

Charts

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Chart (1957–1958) Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[9] 2
US (Billboard Most Played by Jockeys)[10] 15
US (Billboard C&W Best Sellers)[6] 1

Michael Holliday version

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In the United Kingdom, Michael Holliday recorded a cover version on 10 December 1957 at the Abbey Road Studio. Holliday was backed by the Mike Sammes Singers, with Sammes singing the deep-voiced "bom-boms". The sound engineer created an echo effect with a second tape head, producing a fuller sound for Holliday's voice.[11] Although Holliday was dissatisfied with the record,[11] it became his first No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1958.[12] The song was replaced as No. 1 by Perry Como's "Magic Moments", also written by Bacharach and David,[13] the first time any songwriters had consecutive No. 1s on the British chart.[4]

In addition to Michael Holliday's No. 1 single (Columbia 45-DB-4058), three other versions of "The Story of My Life" were released in the UK around the same time in 1958: Gary Miller recorded a version that reached No. 14 in the UK;[14] a version by Alma Cogan reached No. 25;[15] and a single by Dave King reached No. 20.[16]

Other versions

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References

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  1. ^ Praguefrank
  2. ^ a b Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 24 - The Music Men. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  3. ^ Whorf, Michael (2014). American Popular Song Lyricists: Oral Histories, 1920s-1960s. McFarland. p. 61. ISBN 9780786490615.
  4. ^ a b David, Eunice (2016). Hal David: His Magic Moments : There is Always Something There to Remind Me. Dorrance Publishing Company. p. 13. ISBN 9781480931008.
  5. ^ Dominic, Serene (2003). Burt Bacharach: Song By Song. Music Sales. ISBN 9780857122599.
  6. ^ a b "C&W Best Sellers in Store". Billboard. January 20, 1958. p. 78.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 293.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 532.
  9. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade, week of December 9, 1957".
  10. ^ "Most Played by Jockeys". Billboard. January 13, 1958. p. 60.
  11. ^ a b Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (2010). 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857123602.
  12. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 81. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  13. ^ Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 35–6. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  14. ^ "Gary Miller". The Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "Alma Cogan". The Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records. p. 626. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
  17. ^ "Larry Cunningham". The Irish Charts.