Lay Down Your Arms (1956 song)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2014) |
| "Lay Down Your Arms" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Teen Age Goodnight" |
"Lay Down Your Arms" is a 1956 popular music song with music by Åke Gerhard and Leon Landgren and lyrics by Gerhard (original "Anne-Caroline" Swedish) and Paddy Roberts (English).[1]
In the United States, the biggest hit version was recorded by The Chordettes, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard chart.[1] In the United Kingdom, Forces sweetheart Anne Shelton had the major hit, reaching No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed in the Top Twenty for 14 weeks.[1][2] Initially the BBC took a dim view of the song as it might have encouraged British troops to 'lay down their guns', at a difficult time of the post-Suez crisis and the conflict in Cyprus with EOKA. The ban was soon lifted when many requested it on "Two-Way Family Favourites", a popular Sunday lunchtime radio show.[citation needed] Another UK version was recorded by Billie Anthony.[3]
The song was also used in a British television play written by Dennis Potter called Lay Down Your Arms, which was screened on 23 May 1970. The play is set during the Suez crisis of 1956.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 27. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 63–4. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Greg Adams. "The Magic of Billie Anthony - Billie Anthony | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Lipstick On Your Collar (1993)". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
 | This 1950s pop song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |