"Answer Me" is a popular song, originally titled "Mütterlein", with German lyrics by Gerhard Winkler and

Fred Rauch Fred Rauch ( Vienna, 28 September 1909 – Gmund am Tegernsee, 1 June 1997) was an Austrian singer and songwriter. He wrote the original German lyrics "Schütt die Sorgen in ein Gläschen Wein, Mütterlein" with Gerhard Winkler, which became '' ...

. "Mütterlein" was published on 19 April 1952. English lyrics were written by

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...

, and the song was published as "Answer Me" in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on October 13, 1953. Contemporary recordings of the English lyric by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American Singing, singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to hi ...

and David Whitfield both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1953.

"Mütterlein"

Mütterlein, an old-fashioned term of endearment for a mother in German, was the title used by Gerhard Winkler for a song marking his mother's 75th birthday in 1952. The first artist to record it was Leila Negra, and there were also versions in Danish, Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian. Fred Rauch later wrote new German lyrics, and titled it "Glaube Mir (Answer Me)". This version sold half a million copies for Wolfgang Sauer, a singer and pianist.

"Answer Me"

Sigman originally wrote his English lyrics as a religious-themed song, "Answer Me", in which the first line reads 'Answer me, Lord above', as a question posed to God about why the singer has lost his lover. This lyric was recorded by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

on June 22, 1953. Laine's version did not chart when released in his native America, where it was titled "Answer Me, Lord Above". British light operatic tenor David Whitfield recorded the song on September 23 the same year. Despite competition from other recordings of "Answer Me", only the two versions by Whitfield and Laine appeared on the UK Singles Chart. Both were released in the UK in October 1953. Whitfield's recording of "Answer Me" first entered the UK chart on October 10, whilst Laine's (released in the UK simply as "Answer Me") appeared two weeks later. The song was banned by the BBC after complaints, owing to the religious nature of the lyrics.''The Times Online''
August 6, 2008 "The music the BBC banned"

Bunny Lewis Bridges Georges McGibbon Lewis (12 November 1918 – 7 September 2001) professionally known under pen name Bunny Lewis, also known professionally under various pseudonyms was a London-based manager, record producer and composer and music manager ...

, Whitfield's manager and producer, asked songwriter

to amend his lyric. Rather than asking the question to God about why the singer had lost his love, the lyric was instead addressed directly to the lost lover. In the new lyric, "Answer me, Lord above..." was changed to "Answer me, oh my love...", with other appropriate changes. This revised version was recorded by Whitfield on October 27. On November 6, his version of "Answer Me" reached No. 1 in the UK in its fourth week on chart. On 13 November 1953, for the first time in UK Singles Chart history, one version of a song was knocked off the top spot by another version of the same song, when Frankie Laine's "Answer Me" made No. 1 in its third week on chart, deposing Whitfield's version after a week. Four weeks later, on December 11, whilst Laine was still at No. 1, Whitfield returned to No. 1 with "Answer Me" for a second and final week, with both records sharing the No. 1 position; this was the first time in British chart history that two versions of the same song were jointly listed at No. 1. In total, Laine's "Answer Me" spent eight weeks at the top of the UK charts.

Other contemporary recordings

In October 1953, alongside the hit versions by David Whitfield and Frankie Laine, two versions of "Answer Me" by female singers were released in the UK, by Anne Shelton with The George Mitchell Choir and Jean Campbell. Other recordings available in the UK during the song's period of chart success were by Monty Norman, Harry Farmer (organ), Reggie Goff,

Victor Silvester Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 190014 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first hal ...

and his Ballroom Orchestra, and Nat 'King' Cole. On the UK's sheet music charts, "Answer Me" first charted on October 17, 1953. On November 7, its fourth week on chart, it reached No. 1, where it would spend ten weeks (including one week jointly with " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"). Frankie Laine re-recorded "Answer Me" with the revised secular lyric in Hollywood on 29 December 1953. This version, titled "Answer Me, My Love", was not released until it appeared on the 1955 LP ''Lovers' Laine''. He would record the song again twice more at future sessions. On December 9, 1964, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael, Laine recorded "Answer Me, O Lord" in Hollywood. This version was issued on his album ''I Believe'', which consisted of religious material. In January 1982, "Answer Me, O Lord" was recorded by Laine with the Don Jackson Orchestra and released by Ronco the same year on an album of his re-recorded hits entitled ''The World Of Frankie Laine''. The original Nat King Cole recording, titled "Answer Me, My Love", was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

(catalog number 2687). This recording 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 advertise ...

'' Best Seller chart on February 24, 1954, and lasted for 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 6. It was the only version of the song to chart in America.

Recorded'''' versions

* The Bachelors (1969) - featured on the LP ''The World of The Bachelors Vol 3'' *

Gene Ammons Eugene "Jug" Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons, Gene Ammons is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and ...

* Petula Clark (1965) - from the album '' The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener'' (1968) * Nat King Cole (1954) * Harry Connick, Jr. (2009) *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

* Barbara Dickson (1976) - became her first UK top 10 hit, peaking at No. 9 * Franck Pourcel (1983) - featured on the LP ''In a Nostalgia Mood'' * Renée Fleming * The Happenings * Bobby Hatfield * Engelbert Humperdinck *

(1953) * Gisele MacKenzie *

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

(2000) - from the album '' Both Sides Now'' * Ray Peterson (1960) *

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

* P. J. Proby (1965) * Johnny Rivers * Don Shirley * Ray Stevens (1968) * Jerry Vale (1972) * David Whitfield (1953) - two versions, with different lyrics * Bryan Ferry *

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

The Harptones The Harptones are an American doo-wop group, which formed in Manhattan in 1953. The group never had a top forty pop hit, or a record on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart, yet they are known for both their lead singer Willie Winfield and their pian ...

(1960) *

Tierney Sutton Tierney Sutton (born June 28, 1963) is an American jazz singer. Career Sutton was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and attended ...

(2012) * Mark Wynter (1964) * Will Young (2016) German versions * Leila Negra * Rudi Schuricke *

Wolfgang Sauer Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

(1954) as "Glaube mir"

Other performances

*The song was performed in concert (but not recorded) by Bob Dylan in 1991. *The song is in the

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

live repertoire; he has performed it at least 15 times with his trio and solo from 2010 onwards. See Keith Jarrett Live in Budapest 2020

References