| "Theme from 'A Summer Place'" | ||||
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| Single by The Lettermen | ||||
| from the album The Hit Sounds of the Lettermen | ||||
| B-side | "Sealed with a Kiss" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Length | 2:05 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Writer(s) | James Owen, Max Steiner | |||
| The Lettermen singles chronology | ||||
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The "Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film, A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film by Hugo Winterhalter. Originally known as the "Molly and Johnny Theme", the piece is not the main title theme of the film, but a love theme for the characters played by Dee and Donahue.
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Percy Faith recorded the most popular version of the tune, in the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City,[1] which spent an at-the-time record of nine consecutive weeks at number one on the still-young Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in early 1960.[2] It remains the longest-running number-one instrumental in the history of the chart. It reached number two in the UK. It hit number one in Italy under the title "Scandalo Al Sole".
Faith won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1961 for his recording. This was the first movie theme and the first instrumental to win a Record of the Year Grammy.
Faith re-recorded the song twice – first, in 1969, as a female choral version, then, in 1976, as a disco version titled "Summer Place '76".
In 2008, Faith's original version was ranked at number eighteen on Billboard's top 100 songs during the first fifty years of the Hot 100 chart.[3]
The song was the title cut to a chart-topping 1960 album by Billy Vaughn. The song was well-accepted by R&B audiences of the day, reaching number two on the Billboard R&B singles chart.
"Theme from A Summer Place" was also covered by Dick Roman, The Tornados (both in 1962), The Lettermen in 1965 (a vocal version, placing at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100) and The Ventures in 1969.
Andy Williams sang a rendition of the tune on his 1962 Gold-certified album Moon River. A jazz version of the song was recorded by the legendary singer Julie London. It appeared on her album Our Fair Lady in 1965.
Dusty Springfield's 1970 single "Silly, Silly Fool" contains a brief interpolation of "Theme From A Summer Place" toward the end of the song. The track features on her 1970 LP A Brand New Me as well as on several compilations.
American pop singer Eamon sampled "Theme from A Summer Place" for his 2006 song "Elevator". The melody serves to illustrate the song's exploration of "elevator music" as an aphrodisiac.
A version with lyrics was also recorded by Bobby Vinton.
In 2010, former Pussycat Dolls member Ashley Roberts released a dance version of the song.
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