The End of the World (Skeeter Davis song)
| "The End of the World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Skeeter Davis | ||||
| from the album Skeeter Davis Sings The End of the World | ||||
| B-side | "Somebody Loves You", "Blueberry Hill" | |||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:33 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee | |||
| Producer(s) | Chet Atkins | |||
| Skeeter Davis singles chronology | ||||
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"The End of the World" is a pop music hit song recorded by Skeeter Davis that enjoyed international success in the 1960s.
Background
"The End of the World" was written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee; the latter drew on her sorrow from her father's death.
Davis recorded her version on June 8, 1962 at the RCA Studios in Nashville, produced by Chet Atkins, and featuring Floyd Cramer.[1] Released by RCA Records in December 1962, "The End of the World" peaked in March 1963 at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Billboard country singles,[2] No. 1 on Billboard's easy listening, and No. 4 on Billboard's rhythm and blues.[3] It is the first, and, to date, only time that a song cracked the Top 10 on all four Billboard charts. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 song of 1963.[4]
In the Skeeter Davis version, After she sings the whole song through in the key of B-Flat, The song goes up by a half step to the key of B, where Skeeter speaks the fist two lines of the final stanza, before singing the rest of the stanza, ending the song.
Davis's recording of "The End of the World" was played at Atkins's funeral in an instrumental by Marty Stuart, and at Davis's own funeral at the Ryman Auditorium.
Davis's version has been featured in Girl, Interrupted, Riding In Cars With Boys, Daltry Calhoun, An American Affair, The Boat That Rocked, "The Grown-Ups" episode of Mad Men,[5] "Blue on Blue" episode of Under the Dome, and the opening credits of the BYU TV series Granite Flats.
Chart performance
| Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 32 |
| U.K. Singles Chart[6] | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1[7] |
The Carpenters version
| "The End of the World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Carpenters | ||||
| from the album Live in Japan | ||||
| B-side | "Sing" (live with the Kyoto Children's Choir) | |||
| Released | March 5, 1975 | |||
| Format | Cassette | |||
| Recorded | June 4–9, 1975 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:04 | |||
| Label | A&M/King Records, Universal | |||
| Writer(s) | Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee | |||
| Producer(s) | Richard Carpenter | |||
| The Carpenters singles chronology | ||||
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In 1975, American pop music duo Carpenters released a cover of "The End of the World" as a promotional single from their live album Live in Japan. It was recorded at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan.
Sonia version
| "End of the World" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sonia | ||||
| from the album Everybody Knows | ||||
| B-side | "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" | |||
| Released | August 25, 1990 | |||
| Format |
CD Single 7" Single 12" Single | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Writer(s) | Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee | |||
| Producer(s) | Stock, Aitken & Waterman | |||
| Sonia singles chronology | ||||
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In 1990, British singer Sonia covered "End of the World". The fifth and final single from her debut album, Everybody Knows, it reached number 18 in the UK,[8] the same chart position as the original.[6] The single's B-side "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" appeared on Sonia's debut album. This was her final single with Stock Aitken Waterman.
Formats and track listings
- 7" single
- "End of the World"
- "Can't Help the Way That I Feel"
- CD single and 12" vinyl single
- "End of the World"
- "Can't Help the Way That I Feel"
- "Counting Every Minute" (Tick Tock Remix)
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 18 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 18 |
Other versions
A No. 2 hit in Sweden in September 1966 via a local cover by Mike Wallace & the Caretakers, "The End of the World" has also been remade by a number of other artists including Jessica Andersson, Anika (as a b-side to her single "Yang Yang" and on her album Anika), Eddy Arnold, Chie Ayado, Best Coast, Debby Boone, Brilliant, Carola (in Finnish as "Maailmain"), The Carpenters, Rivers Cuomo, Bobby Darin, Lana Del Rey, Barbara Dickson, Dion, Mary Duff, Allison Durbin, Judith Durham, Exposé, Agnetha Fältskog, Rosie Flores, Emi Fujita, Girls, Nina Gordon, Herman's Hermits (as the B-side of "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"), Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann (released on the b-side to Eurovision Song Contest winner song 1963; Dansevise), Satoko Ishimine, Joni James, Brenda Lee, Lobo, Julie London, Claudine Longet, Loretta Lynn, Al Martino, Johnny Mathis, Anne Mattila (in Finnish as "Maailmain"), Imelda May, Maywood, John Cougar Mellencamp, Anita Meyer, the Mills Brothers, Ronnie Milsap, Dorothy Moore, Mud, Anne Murray, Leigh Nash, Nomeansno, Patti Page, Helen Shapiro, Anne Shelton, Vonda Shepard, Nancy Sinatra, Sonia, The Tokens, Twiggy, Twinkle, The Vanguards, Bobby Vinton, Jeff Walker, Dottie West, and Lena Zavaroni. In 2009 Susan Boyle remade "The End of the World" for her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream.
A cover version by Allison Paige peaked at number 72 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in May 2000.[9]
A Mandarin version 《后会无期》 was covered by Hong Kong singer Gem Tang. Subsequently there was another Mandarin version titled "星梦之光", lyrics written by an SNH48 member, Wu Yanwen, and performed by SNH48 themselves in 2015.
Appearances in media
The song was used as the opening and closing theme for the political thriller radio drama Pandemic, produced by BBC Radio 4 .[10] The song was also used in the 1999 drama film "Girl, Interrupted". The song is used in the Stephen King/Stephen Spielberg CBS TV series Under the Dome season one episode five, Blue on Blue.
References
- ↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 10 - Tennessee Firebird: American country music before and after Elvis. [Part 2]" (AUDIO). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 180.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 147.
- ↑ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1963
- ↑ Levinson, Paul (2009-11-02). "Mad Men 3.12: The End of the World". InfiniteRegress.tv. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Skeeter Davis UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 73.
- ↑ Sonia UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ↑ Bronson, Fred (May 13, 2000). "Country Is Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- ↑ BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama - Pandemic
External links
| Preceded by "Rhythm of the Rain" by The Cascades |
"Billboard" Middle-Road number-one single by Skeeter Davis March 16, 1963 (four weeks) |
Succeeded by "Can't Get Used to Losing You" by Andy Williams |
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