The Minute You're Gone
| "The Minute You're Gone" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Just Another Guy" (Neil Diamond) |
"The Minute You're Gone" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard, that spent a week at number one in the UK Singles Chart in April 1965.[1][4] The song was written by Jimmy Gately, a Nashville, Tennessee based fiddle player and singer. This song originally made No. 95 in the US charts and No. 9 in the country charts for Sonny James in 1963.[1][2] It was also recorded by Al Martino, Faron Young and Loretta Lynn.
Cliff Richard version
Richard's recording of the song had come about with the involvement of Richard's American label Epic Records, which wanted to present Richard in the US with more American songs. Bob Morgan, executive A&R producer from Epic met with Richard's A&R producer Norrie Paramor and Richard to map out recording plans and brought 50 songs of US origin for them to screen. About 15 songs were selected and plans were made to record in New York, Nashville and Chicago according to the different styles of the songs selected, which ranged from pop-country, pure country, ballad and medium tempo. In Nashville, Richard recorded the singles "The Minute You're Gone", "Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)" and "On My Word" with Billy Sherrill producing with backing by Nashville session musicians together with Elvis Presley's vocal group The Jordanaires. Arrangement and conducting on "The Minute You're Gone" was by Stan Applebaum.[3][5][6][7]
"The Minute You're Gone" provided Richard with his eighth UK number one single. It was also his first UK chart topper he had recorded without The Shadows backing.[1] However, at the corresponding time in the US, Epic curiously chose to release the soft ballad "Again" (another of his Nashville recorded tracks) as a single with "The Minute You're Gone" as the B-side. Although "Again" received a 4 star rating from Billboard, it had no chart success.[8][9]
Meanwhile, "The Minute You're Gone" became another international hit for Richard outside the Americas. In an interview with The Mail On Sunday in 2008, lamenting the lost opportunity in America, Richard said of "The Minute You're Gone", "This is a real hidden gem in many ways because, although it reached No. 1 in Britain, it wasn't even released in America. At that time, The Beatles were taking off in the States and anyone who had a No. 1 here was guaranteed a top five there, including The Bachelors, who weren't rock artists as such but had a huge hit. I thought it was my big chance but the US record company said it wasn't right for their market. Hello? What wasn’t right? It was No. 1 in many countries."[10]
Chart Performance
| Chart (1965-1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[11] | 1 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] | 6 |
| Hong Kong[13] | 2 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[14] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] | 21 |
| Malaysia[16] | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[17] | 6 |
| Singapore[16] | 1 |
| South Africa[18] | 8[A] |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 19 |
Notes:
- A ^ Chart position is taken from the first week of the South Africa "SA Top 20 Charts". The single was available prior to the period of the first chart and so may have charted higher if the chart had existed at the time. Billboard unfortunately did not publish all their South Africa charts in the weeks around this time.
References
- ^ a b c d e Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 91. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ a b Jimmy Gately at AllMusic
- ^ a b "Epic (US record label) - 'The Minute You're Gone' credits". www.45cat.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 177. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Jon Kutner (26 May 2010). 1000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-85712-360-2.
- ^ Billboard - Talent - New Twist Mapped: Blends English with U.S., Vice Versa. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 11 July 1964. p. 20. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1991). Cliff Richard The Complete Recording Sessions 1958-1990. London: Blandford. p. 63. ISBN 0-7137-2242-8.
- ^ "The Cliff Richard Collectors Guide - Overseas Singles - United States". www.cliffrichardsongs.com. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ Billboard - Singles Reviews - 4 Star section. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 13 February 1965. p. 55. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Hoyle, Antonia (2008-11-02). "Free CD of Cliff Richard's greatest hits in today's Mail on Sunday | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
- ^ "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
{{cite book}}:|format=requires|url=(help) - ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (5 June 1965). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Minute You're Gone". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Cliff Richard – The Minute You're Gone" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ a b Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (17 July 1965). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Cliff Richard – The Minute You're Gone". VG-lista.
- ^ "SA Top 20 Charts". sacharts.wordpress.com. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ Johansson, Carl-Owe (1980). Rock Around the Clock - Saturday Night Fever 1955-1978. Vara, Sweden: Dominique muzic-club.
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