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Love Letters in the Sand

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"Love Letters in the Sand"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1931
Released1931 (1931)
Composer(s)J. Fred Coots
Lyricist(s)Nick Kenny, Charles Kenny

"Love Letters in the Sand" is a popular song first published in 1931.

It began life as a poem by Nick Kenny. J. Fred Coots read the poem in the New York Daily Mirror, and obtained Kenny's permission to set the poem to music. He went through 4 different melodies before settling on the published version known today. The melody bears similarity to the 1881 song The Spanish Cavalier.[1] Lyrics were credited to both Nick Kenny and his brother Charles Kenny.

The song was first recorded on 26 August 1931, as a "vocal chorus" sung by Helen Rowland within a foxtrot played by the Majestic Dance Orchestra.[2] George Hall popularized the song on his radio show, later making it his theme song. Ted Black and His Orchestra, with vocalist Tom Brown, had the first major hit recording of the song in 1931. Pat Boone had a major hit with the song in 1957.[1]

The melody has been used for songs in at least eight other languages.[3]

Pat Boone version

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"Love Letters in the Sand"
Single by Pat Boone
from the album Pat's Great Hits
A-side"Bernardine"
ReleasedApril 1957
Recorded1957
GenreTraditional pop
Length2:12
LabelDot
Songwriter(s)J. Fred Coots, Nick Kenny and Charles Kenny
Producer(s)Billy Vaughn
Pat Boone singles chronology
"Why Baby Why"
(1957) 		"Love Letters in the Sand"
(1957) 		"Remember You're Mine"
(1957)

Pat Boone's version became a major hit in June and July 1957, spending 5 weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 100, with 34 weeks in total on the chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1957.[4] In Canada, the song spent two weeks at number one.[5] The song was used in Boone's 1957 film Bernardine. Boone did the whistling in the instrumental portion of the song as well. The song originally had a short instrumental introduction, but most versions begin with Boone's voice.

Charts

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Chart (1957) Peak
position
Australia[citation needed] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 5
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[5] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[9] 2
US Billboard Top 100[10] 1
US Cash Box Top 100[11] 1

Other versions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Tyler, Don (2007-04-16). Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-7864-2946-2.
  2. ^ Love Letters in the Sand by Majestic Dance Orchestra - Vocal Chorus by Helen Rowland, retrieved 2024-03-30
  3. ^ Love Letters in the Sand by Majestic Dance Orchestra - Vocal Chorus by Helen Rowland, retrieved 2024-03-30
  4. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1957
  5. ^ a b "CHUM's Top 10, June 24, 1957". CHUM Tribute Page. 1957-06-24. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  6. ^ "Pat Boone – Love Letters in the Sand" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ^ "Pat Boone – Love Letters in the Sand" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  8. ^ "Pat Boone – Love Letters in the Sand" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  9. ^ "Pat Boone: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  10. ^ "Billboard Top 100". Billboard. June 17, 1958.
  11. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, week ending July 13, 1957".
  12. ^ "Ted Black and his Orchestra "Love letters in the sand" 1931". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  13. ^ Commerce, United States Congress Senate Committee on (1958). Hearings. p. 362.
  14. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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