Love Letters (song)
| "Love Letters" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ketty Lester | ||||
| B-side | "I'm a Fool to Want You"[1] | |||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Era | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Ketty Lester singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Love Letters" is a 1945 popular song with lyrics by Edward Heyman and music by Victor Young. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the movie of the same name, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1945 but lost out to “It Might as Well Be Spring”.
Ketty Lester version
In 1961, Era Records released Ketty Lester's single "I'm a Fool to Want You" b/w "Love Letters". Radio listeners and disc jockeys preferred the B-side, and Lester's recording of "Love Letters", which featured Lincoln Mayorga's sparse piano arrangement and Earl Palmer on drums, rose to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 early in 1962.[2]
The record also reached #2 on the R&B chart and #4 in the UK Singles Chart, selling over 1 million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[3] In 1991, it was ranked 176th in the RIAA-compiled list of Songs of the Century.
Chart performance (Ketty Lester)
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Kent Music Report | 10 [4] |
| Ireland IRMA | 8 [5] |
| New Zealand RIANZ | 6 [6] |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 [7] |
| USA Billboard Hot 100 | 5 [8] |
| USA Hot R&B | 2 [9] |
Covers
- Dick Haymes (in 1945, US #11)[10]
- Elvis Presley (in 1966, US #19, UK #6)[11]
- Alison Moyet - (1987, UK #4)[12]
References
- ^ "Ketty Lester Discography". Soulful Kinda Music. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ Profile, Oldies.com; accessed August 15, 2015.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 148. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June 23, 1962". Billboard.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June 16, 1962". Billboard.
- ^ "Billboard Magazine, June, 1962". Billboard.
- ^ "UK Official charts company". UK official charts company.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard. p. 371.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 R & B and Hip-hop Hits. Billboard. p. 338.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 205. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, Billboard Books, New York, 1992
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
