"Blue on Blue" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David, first recorded[3] and released by Bobby Vinton in April 1963, backed by Burt Bacharach and his Orchestra.[4] Vinton's single spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 3 on July 6, 1963,[5][6] while reaching No. 2 on Billboard's Middle-Road Singles chart.[7][8] Vinton's single was a major hit in many other nations as well.
| "Blue on Blue" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bobby Vinton | ||||
| from the album Blue on Blue | ||||
| B-side | "Those Little Things" | |||
| Released | April 30, 1963[1] | |||
| Recorded | April 3, 1963[2] | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:21 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Burt Bacharach Hal David | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Morgan | |||
| Bobby Vinton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was ranked No. 42 on Billboard's end of year ranking "Top Records of 1963".[9]
The success of "Blue on Blue" prompted Bobby Vinton to record an entire album of blue-themed songs, also titled Blue on Blue, which produced an even bigger hit in the No. 1 "Blue Velvet".[10]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 3 |
| US Billboard Middle-Road Singles[8] | 2 |
| Israel - Kol Yisrael[11] | 1 |
| Canada - CHUM Hit Parade[12] | 4 |
| New Zealand - "Lever Hit Parade"[13] | 5 |
| Australia - Music Maker[14] | 7 |
| Hong Kong[15] | 9 |
Cover versions and samples
editThe song has been covered or sampled by many artists, including:[4]
- Paul Anka (1963)
- Percy Faith (1964), Maureen McGovern (1991), and many others.[4]
- In 2017, Marc Almond released the song on his album of mainly covers called "Shadows & Reflections". Almond had previously sung "Blue on Blue" at a Burt Bacharach evening at the London Palladium, during which Bacharach performed as well.
- Samples of a cover by Gals and Pals from 1966 were included in Röyksopp's song "So Easy".[4]
- "Blue on Blue" was also covered by Say Lou Lou in 2015 and used in commercials for the Swedish clothing company Gina Tricot.
References
edit- ^ "Bobby Vinton's All-Time Greatest Hits," Varese (Vintage) Sarabande CD compilation, copyright 2003
- ^ "Bobby Vinton's All-Time Greatest Hits," Varese (Vintage) Sarabande CD compilation, copyright 2003
- ^ "Bobby Vinton's All-Time Greatest Hits," Varese (Vintage) Sarabande CD compilation, copyright 2003
- ^ a b c d Dominic, Serene (2003). Burt Bacharach: Song by Song. New York: Schirmer. pp. 104–5. ISBN 0-8256-7280-5. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ Lonergan, David (2005). Hit Records, 1950-1975. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 22. ISBN 0-8108-5129-6. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ a b Bobby Vinton - Chart History - The Hot 100 Archived 2016-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Billboard.com. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ Bobby Vinton - Chart History - Adult Contemporary Archived 2016-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Billboard.com. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ a b "Middle-Road Singles", Billboard, July 6, 1963. p. 36. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ "Top Records of 1963", Billboard, Section II, December 28, 1963. p. 30. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 146. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, October 5, 1963. p. 22. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade", CHUM, Week of June 17, 1963
- ^ "Lever Hit Parade" 18-Jul-1963, Flavour of New Zealand. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, August 17, 1963. p. 35. Accessed October 23, 2015
- ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, October 19, 1963. p. 34. Accessed October 23, 2015
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