Last Kiss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Tanpopo song, see Last Kiss (Tanpopo song). For the 2006 movie, see The Last Kiss.
"Last Kiss" is a song that was written by Wayne Cochran in 1962 and originally performed by Wayne Cochran & the C.C. Riders, although their version of the song had little success. Cochran based the song on an incident in which three teenage couples were killed when their car struck a flatbed logging truck.[1]
In 1964, J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers did a rendition to better commercial success. Their version reached #2 on the Top 40 pop charts.
In the 60's a Peruvian rock band, Los Doltons, performed this song in Spanish, reaching #1 in Peruvian radio; a couple of years after that, a Colombian singer named Alci Acosta made a version that became a hit in his country. The song was remade by a band named Wednesday in late 1973 and it reached #34 on the U.S. charts. In the early 90s, rock singer Gloria Trevi included an extended Spanish version in her first album and it became popular on Mexican pop radio.
Contents |
[edit] Pearl Jam's Version
| "Last Kiss" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by Pearl Jam | ||
| from the album No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees | ||
| B-side(s) | "Soldier of Love" | |
| Released | June 8, 1999 | |
| Format | CD single, Cassette, Vinyl | |
| Recorded | May 7, 1998 - September 23, 1998 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 3:16 | |
| Label | Epic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Wayne Cochran | |
| Producer(s) | Pearl Jam | |
| Certification | Gold | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
||
| Pearl Jam singles chronology | ||
| "Wishlist" (1998) |
"Last Kiss" (1999) |
"Nothing As It Seems" (2000) |
| No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees track listing | ||
| "Last Kiss" (Track 1) |
"Baba" (Live) (Track 2) |
|
The song was also covered in 1999 by Pearl Jam, becoming the band's biggest hit to date.[2] The idea to cover the song came about after lead singer Eddie Vedder found an old record of the song at an antiques store in Seattle. He convinced the rest of the band to try out the song and it was performed throughout their 1998 tour. The band eventually recorded the song at a soundcheck and released it as a 1998 Fan Club Christmas single.
In the following year the cover began being played by radio stations and was ultimately put into heavy rotation across the country. By popular demand the cover was released to the general public as a single, with all of the proceeds going to the aid of refugees of the Kosovo War. The cover was also featured on the compilation No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees.[3]
The cover would end up reaching #2 on The Billboard Hot 100. Guitarist Stone Gossard said about the cover: "You can try album after album to write a hit and spend months getting drum sounds and rewriting lyrics, or you can go to a used record store and pick out a single and fall in love with it."[4] Pearl Jam included "Last Kiss" on the the B-Side album Lost Dogs and the compilation Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003.
[edit] Formats and track listing
Compact Disc Single (US, Austria, Japan, and South Africa)
- "Last Kiss" (Wayne Cochran) – 3:15
- "Soldier of Love" (Cason, Moon) – 2:54
7" Vinyl Single (US and UK)
- "Last Kiss" (Wayne Cochran) – 3:15
- "Soldier of Love" (Cason, Moon) – 2:54
Cassette Single (US)
- "Last Kiss" (Wayne Cochran) – 3:15
- "Soldier of Love" (Cason, Moon) – 2:54
[edit] References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "J. Frank Wilson: Bio". All Music Guide.
- ^ Farley, Christopher John. "Last Kiss". Time. July 19, 1999.
- ^ "The Sky I Scrape: Pearl Jam FAQ". theskyiscrape.com.
- ^ Anderman, Joan. "Wisdom of Pearl". The Boston Globe. May 24, 2006.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez |
ARIA Charts (Australia) number-one single August 1, 1999 - September 12, 1999 |
Succeeded by "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega |
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This 1990s pop song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
