| "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sue Thompson | ||||
| from the album Meet Sue Thompson | ||||
| Released | 1961 | |||
| Format | 7" (45 rpm) | |||
| Genre | Pop, Easy listening | |||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Hickory Records | |||
| Writer(s) | John D. Loudermilk | |||
| Sue Thompson singles chronology | ||||
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"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 appears on Thompson's 1962 Hickory Records album Meet Sue Thompson.
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.[1] The song also reached the top of the Billboard Easy Listening chart, which had been created earlier in 1961, becoming the second song by a female vocalist to top this list.[2] In Australia, the song topped out at number six on the Kent Music Report, while in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart.[3]
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.[4] 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]
The Lennon Sisters also recorded a version of "Sad Movies" in 1961 which peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the Easy Listening chart.[2] Other artists who have covered the song include:
- Brazilian group Trio Esperança, who recorded in 1962 a version called "Filme Triste", with words written by Romeu Nunes;
- British pop singer Carol Deene (whose version of the song charted at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart[5]
- At the same time as Thompson's recording), 1961, French pop singer Sylvie Vartan recorded the song version("Quand le film est triste");
- In the seventies, the song had a German disco group Boney M. version;
- A Spanish version by Queta Garay entitled "Las caricaturas me hacen llorar".