"(It's No) Sin" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

with music by George Hoven and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

by Chester R. Shull. It was a No. 1 song on ''Billboard'' charts released by

Eddy Howard Edward Evan Duncan Howard (September 12, 1914 – May 23, 1963) was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Eddy Howard was born in Woodland, California, and after attending San Jose State Coll ...

in 1951. This song should not be confused with "It's a Sin", another popular song of the same era.

Lyrics

The song is about someone whose love interest is leaving, but who insists that it's no sin to keep on loving the person forever.

First recordings

The most popular recordings of the song were made by

The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Foun ...

and

, both top 10 hits in 1951. The recording by Eddy Howard was released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

(catalog number 5711). It first reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart on September 14, 1951, and lasted 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 1, staying there for eight weeks. It also reached No. 1 on Cashbox for a week. It was ranked No. 4 on ''Billboard''s 1951 year-end chart. The recording by The Four Aces was released by Victoria Records (catalog number 101). It first reached the ''

'' chart on September 7, 1951, and lasted 22 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 4. This was The Four Aces' first charting record, and led to their receiving a contract with a major company,

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. It was ranked No. 31 for 1951. The song was the No. 1 song on '' Your Hit Parade'' for seven weeks.

Other contemporary recordings

A number of artists also recorded and released the song in 1951. The Four Knights and Savannah Churchill both peaked in the chart the same week as Eddy Howard in November 1951; The Four Knights reaching No. 14 while Savannah Churchill reached No. 5. Churchill's recordings was also ranked No. 39 on ''Billboard''s 1951 year chart.

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

recorded it in October 1951 and

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

recorded it with his All-Stars in January 1952 (entitled It's No Sin (Est-Ce Un Peche?)). Knud Pfeiffer wrote the Danish lyrics. The Danish title is "Er det synd".

Raquel Rastenni Raquel Rastenni (21 August 1915 – 17 August 1998), born Anna Rachel Rastén, was a Danish- Russian singer. She was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in an apartment in the poor part of the city. Her Jewish parents immigrated to Denmark from Russia ...

with Radiodansekorkesteret recorded it in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1952. The song was released on a 78 rpm record by

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

(X 8043).

Later recordings

*The song was revived in 1964 by

The Duprees The Duprees are an United States, American musical group of doo-wop style who had a series of top-ten singles in the early 1960s. Their highest-charting single, "You Belong to Me (1952 song), You Belong to Me" reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 1 ...

, a group that made a number of recordings of 1950s hits. This version peaked at No. 74 on the US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. *

Ronnie Dove Ronald Eugene Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop music, pop and country music singer who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960s and several country chart records in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Ronnie Dove, th ...

released a country version of the song for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sin 1951 singles Number-one singles in the United States 1951 songs Eddy Howard songs The Four Aces songs