"Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" is a 1961 pop song by the American singer Sue Thompson. The song was written by John D. Loudermilk and was released as Thompson's debut single, from her Hickory Records debut album Meet Sue Thompson. The song also spawned multiple successful cover versions.
Although Thompson was in her thirties when she recorded "Sad Movies", her singing style and young-sounding voice appealed to many of the Baby Boomers whose influence was starting to become apparent on the US music charts.[1] Loudermilk was inspired to write the song after a girlfriend of his went to see the 1960 film Spartacus: "After the movie went off, they turned the bright lights on, and it was just an ambience killer. The person I was with had tears in her eyes and said, 'Sad movies make me cry'."[2]
Released as a single in 1961, "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" was Thompson's first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number five in October.[3] The song also reached the top of the BillboardEasy Listening chart, which had been created earlier in 1961, and was the second song by a female vocalist to top the list.[2] In Australia, the song topped out at number six on the Kent Music Report, in Canada it reached number 30 co-charting with The Lennon Sisters, while in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart.[4][5]
In November 1961, French pop singer Sylvie Vartan recorded the song in French as "Quand le film est triste" ("When the film is sad"). The song peaked at Number 29 on the French Belgian charts,[6] and was featured on her debut album Sylvie a year later.
The Lennon Sisters also recorded a version of "Sad Movies" in August 1961 for their album of the same name which peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the Easy Listening chart.[2]
British pop singer and radio presenter Carol Deene released a version in September 1961 as her debut single, which charted at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.[7]
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