"A Lover's Question" is a 1958

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

, R&B hit for

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...

. The single was written by

Brook Benton Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as Brook Benton, was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960 ...

and Jimmy T. Williams and was

's most successful

and R&B release. The bass singer is Noah Hopkins. "A Lover's Question" made it to #6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was #1 for one week on the R&B chart.

Background

*The best-known version of the song is in mono. However, a stereo version was released on the LP ''Atlantic History of Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 4'', along with several other rare stereo versions of late 1950s Atlantic hits.

Jacky Ward version

In 1978, Jacky Ward had a successful remake of the song, peaking at #3 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

*In 1961, a cover by

Ernestine Anderson Ernestine Anderson (November 11, 1928 – March 10, 2016) was an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than six decades, she recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She sang at Carnegie Hall, ...

reached #98. *In 1969, a cover by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

reached #48. *

Jay and the Americans Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...

released a cover version of the song on their 1970 album, '' Wax Museum, Vol. 1''. *In 1975,

Loggins & Messina Loggins and Messina was an American rock- pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", " House at Pooh Corner", and " Your Mama Don' ...

's cover reached #89. *Country singer

Del Reeves Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1933 – January 1, 2007) was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also know ...

took the song to #14 on the

chart in 1970.

References

1958 songs 1958 singles 1978 singles Clyde McPhatter songs Del Reeves songs Jacky Ward songs Jay and the Americans songs Songs written by Brook Benton Mercury Records singles {{1950s-pop-song-stub