Tears on My Pillow
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| "Tears on My Pillow" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Little Anthony & the Imperials | ||
| Released | 1958 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Genre | Doo wop | |
| Length | 2:19 | |
| Label | End 1027 |
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| Writer(s) | Sylvester Bradford Al Lewis |
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| Chart positions | ||
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US #4 |
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| Little Anthony & the Imperials singles chronology | ||
| -- | "Tears on My Pillow" (1958) |
"The Glory of Love" (1958) |
| "Tears on My Pillow" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by Kylie Minogue | ||
| Released | November 1989 | |
| Format | 12" single 7" single CD single Cassette single |
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| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 2:19 | |
| Label | PWL | |
| Producer(s) | Stock Aitken Waterman | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Kylie Minogue singles chronology | ||
| "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (with Band Aid) (1989) |
"Tears on My Pillow" (1989) |
"Better The Devil You Know" (1990) |
- A different song entitled "Tears on My Pillow" was a #1 British hit for Johnny Nash in 1975. Another different song entitled "Tears on My Pillow" was co-written and performed by Gene Autry in 1941.
"Tears on My Pillow" is a doo wop song, written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958 (see 1958 in music). The composition was first recorded by Little Anthony & the Imperials on End Records, and was that group's debut recording under that name. Although it remains one of the Imperials' signature songs, "Tears on My Pillow" has been extensively covered, including a number-one version by Kylie Minogue in 1989 (see 1989 in music).
[edit] Overview
[edit] Original version
Early copies of the single were credited simply to "The Imperials", a group which had previously been known as "The Duponts" and "The Chesters". Brooklyn, New York deejay Alan Freed gave the group's lead singer, Anthony Gourdine, top billing while introducing the single over the air, and the moniker of "Little Anthony & the Imperials" stuck.
"Tears on My Pillow" was a #4 hit single in the United States, with its b-side, "Two People in the World", becoming a hit as well. Selling over a million copies, "Tears on My Pillow" was the most successful single of the Imperials' doo wop period. Its success would be matched only by the Imperials' 1965 single "Goin' Out of My Head".
[edit] Covers
A cover of "Tears on My Pillow" by Sha Na Na was featured on the soundtrack to Grease. In 1986, New Edition released a Motown-covers album Under the Blue Moon that included a cover of "Tears on My Pillow." In the New Edition version, Little Anthony Gourdine himself appeared as a guest vocalist.
"Tears on My Pillow" reached #1 in the United Kingdom when Australian singer Kylie Minogue released it as a single from her second album, Enjoy Yourself. The single was released in November 1989 in Australia, and on January 8, 1990 in Europe. Minogue's cover was also included on the soundtrack of the film The Delinquents, which she also starred in. The song was the #1 single on the UK Singles Chart for one week in January 1990, and reached #35 in Canada.
"Tears on My Pillow" has also been covered by Chuck Jackson, Bobby Vee, Lou Christie, Martha and the Vandellas, Bobby Vinton, Johnny Tillotson, Neil Sedaka, Reba McEntire, Jodeci, Clem Snide, S Club 8, Lorrie Morgan, and Derrick Morgan with Lyn Tait & The Jets.
| Preceded by "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids On The Block |
UK number one single (Kylie Minogue version) January 21, 1990 |
Succeeded by "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor |
