"Bermuda" is a song written by
Cynthia Strother and her father Eugene Rex Strother, which was initially performed and released in 1951 by -year-old Cynthia and her younger -year-old sister,
Kay Strother, who performed together under
The Bell Sisters The Bell Sisters were an American singing duo, popular in the 1950s, consisting of the sisters Cynthia and Kay Strother, who adopted their mother's maiden name of Bell.
History
The sisters are the daughters of Eugene Rex Strother (1908–1988) and ...
moniker ("Bell" was their mother's maiden name) for
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
. Their recording of the song featured
Henri René and His Orchestra.
The Bell Sisters' version of the song was its highest charting, and reached #7 on the
US pop chart national chart on February 16, 1952.
Other versions
Pop
*Roberta Lee released a version of the song for
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
(Decca #27893) in December 1951.
*Jimmy Palmer released a version of the song for
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. In the United States, it is ...
(Mercury #6774) in 1952.
*
Mimi Martel (with Nancy Brookes and the Les Morgan Orchestra) released a version of the song for
Tops Records
Tops Records was a Los Angeles-based record label owned by Tops Music Enterprises, both founded in 1947 by Carl L. Doshay and Sam Dickerman. After a prolific and profitable run, Tops merged with PRI Records in 1958, which in turn, sold to a group ...
(Tops #319 and Waldorf A/B #108) in 1952.
*The Bon-Aires released a version of the song for
King Records (King #4975) in 1956.
*
Harry Roy
Harry Roy (12 January 1900 – 1 February 1971) was a British dance band leader and clarinet player from the 1920s to the 1960s. He performed several songs with suggestive lyrics, including " My Girl's Pussy" (1931), and "She Had to Go and Lose I ...
released a version of the song for
Nixa Records
Nixa Record Company Ltd. was founded in 1950 by F. H. B. Nixon. Nixa was the second company, after Decca, to release LP records in Britain (at the time, EMI was attempting to promote 45 rpm records over 33 LP records). The record label, which trad ...
(Nixa #7746) in 1952.
*The Crew-Cuts released a version of the song for
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
(RCA #42-7577) in 1959.
*Dick Lee released a version of the song for
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
(MGM #12774) in 1959.
*Troy Walker released a version of the song on his LP for HiFi Records (HiFi #L1021) in 1960.
*
Ray Sharpe
Edward Ray Sharpe (born February 8, 1938) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His best-known single was "Linda Lu". Sharpe was described by one record producer as "the greatest white-sounding black dude ever".
Background
Born in ...
released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1960 single on
Jamie Records
Jamie Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1956 by Harold Lipsius (1913–2007) and Allan Sussel (1924–2003). Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great to Fall in Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso, was issued in 1956. Th ...
(Jamie #1149) "Gonna Let It Go This Time".
*
Roger Smith released a version of the song on his 1960 album for
Warner Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, ''Beach Romance'' (Warner #1305).
*
Linda Scott
Linda Scott (born Linda Joy Sampson; June 1, 1945) is an American pop singer and actress who was active from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Her biggest hit was the 1961 million-selling single, " I've Told Every Little Star". She went on to ...
released a version of the song as a single on
Canadian-American Records
Canadian-American Records is a record label founded by Leonard Zimmer and based in New York City and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The most popular artists for the label were the duo of Santo & Johnny and the singer Linda Scott
Linda Scott (born Linda ...
(Canadian-American #134) in January 1962 where it reached number 16 on the
US adult contemporary chart and number 70 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart.
*
The Four Seasons released a version of the song as a single on
Gone Records
Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral D ...
(Gone #5122) in February 1962.
*
Santo & Johnny
Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descent from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) and Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941).
They are known best for their instrum ...
released a version of the song on their LP for
Canadian-American Records
Canadian-American Records is a record label founded by Leonard Zimmer and based in New York City and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The most popular artists for the label were the duo of Santo & Johnny and the singer Linda Scott
Linda Scott (born Linda ...
(Canadian-American #SCALP-1018) in 1965.
Jazz
*
Ray Anthony and His Orchestra released a version of the song for
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 ...
(Capitol #1956) which reached number 24 on the
US pop chart national chart on February 23, 1952.
Ray Anthony and His Orchestra, "Bermuda" chart position
Musicvf.com, Retrieved August 8, 2016.
*Maurice King & The Wolverines released a version of the song for Okeh Records
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
(Okeh #6868) in 1952 → Re: Clarence Maurice King, Sr. (1911–1992)
Popular culture
*The song is featured in Allison Anders
Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include ''Gas Food Lodging'', ''Mi Vida Loca'' and ''Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Televisio ...
' 1996 musical biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
, ''Grace of My Heart
''Grace of My Heart'' is a 1996 American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Allison Anders and starring Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, Patsy Kensit, and John Turturro. The film charts the music career of Denise Waverly ...
'', loosely based on the life of Carole King
Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
.
References
1951 songs
1951 debut singles
1962 singles
Linda Scott songs
The Four Seasons (band) songs
RCA Victor singles
Canadian-American Records singles
{{1950s-single-stub