Winchester Cathedral (song)
| "Winchester Cathedral" | |
|---|---|
 American issue of "Winchester Cathedral" |
|
| Single by The New Vaudeville Band | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 2:20 |
| Label | Fontana Records |
| Writer(s) | Geoff Stephens |
| Producer | Geoff Stephens |
"Winchester Cathedral" is a song released in late 1966 by Fontana Records, whereupon it shot to the No. 1 spot in Canada on the RPM 100 national singles charts[1] and shortly thereafter in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was released by The New Vaudeville Band, a novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens. Stephens was a big fan of tunes from the British music hall era (or what Americans would call "Vaudeville"), so he wrote "Winchester Cathedral" in that vein, complete with a Rudy Vallée sound-a-like (John Carter) singing through his hands to imitate a megaphone sound. Although recorded entirely by session musicians, when the song became an international hit, an actual band had to be assembled, which toured extensively under the tutelage of Peter Grant, who later went on to manage The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.
The tune went to No. four in the UK Singles Chart. It went all the way to the top in the U.S., however, displacing "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes on December 3, 1966. After a one-week run at No. 1, "Winchester Cathedral" was knocked off the summit by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", only to rebound to the top spot the following week. After two additional weeks, it was knocked off the top for good by "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees.
"Winchester Cathedral" topped the Billboard "Easy Listening" chart for four weeks [2]. Cover records by Dana Rollin and The New Happiness reached no higher than No. 70.
The song won the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording[3], despite not being a rock and roll song. An initial long-playing album including the song was issued in late 1966 by Fontana Records, also titled Winchester Cathedral.
[edit] Cover versions
- Petula Clark recorded a version for her 1967 album Colour My World.
- Allan Sherman recorded a parody version of the lyrics with the same melody on his album Togetherness, titled "Westchester Hadassah".
- Ronnie Von performed a Portuguese version ("A Catedral") on his second (self titled) album in 1967.
- The Shadows recorded an instrumental version on their album Jigsaw in 1967.
- Rudy Vallée and Tony Randall were among other artists who recorded the song.
- While not traditionally a cover, comedienne LaWanda Page sang the title during a monologue in which a dead man's butt sang the song after the funeral parlor took a champagne cork out of it.
- The Baja Marimba Band recorded a version of the song on their album 'Heads Up!' (featuring Frank DeVito on vocals).
- Lawrence Welk and his orchestra did that tune with Bob Lido on vocals.
- Frank Sinatra recorded the song for the album That's Life.
- Claude François recorded the song in French.
[edit] References
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5769&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=s9buvke89tvsrqlm5anujkjgd6. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 178.
- ^ Winchester Cathedral Songfacts
| Preceded by "Poor Side of Town" by Johnny Rivers |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single (New Vaudeville Band version) November 28 - December 5, 1966 (two weeks) |
Succeeded by "Lady Godiva" by Peter & Gordon |
| Preceded by "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes (first run) "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys (second run) |
US Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 3–9 , 1966 (one week) December 17–30, 1966 (two weeks) |
Succeeded by "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys (12/10/1966 to 12/16/1966) "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees (12/31/1966 to 2/17/1967) |
| Preceded by "The Wheel of Hurt" by Margaret Whiting |
US Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (New Vaudeville Band version) December 3, 1966 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra |
