"Bouquet of Roses" is a 1948 song written by Steve Nelson (
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
) and
Bob Hilliard
Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: " Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle ...
(
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, a ...
). It was originally recorded by
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...
and his Tennessee Plow Boys and his Guitar in Chicago on May 18, 1947. It was released by
RCA Victor
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 Aris ...
as catalogue number 20-2806 (in USA) and by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
on the
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
label as catalogue numbers BD 1234 and IM 1399. "Bouquet of Roses" was Eddy Arnold's third number one in a row on the Juke Box Folk Record chart and spent 19 weeks on the Best Selling Folk Records chart. In 1949, when RCA Victor introduced its new
45 RPM single format this record was among seven initial releases (Catalog #48-0001) and the first in the Country and Western category.
Arnold would re-record "Bouquet of Roses" several times during his career.
The song spent 54 weeks on the country music charts, accounting for the longest amount of time spent on that chart. The record held until September 2010, when it was broken by
Lee Brice
Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...
's "
Love Like Crazy."
Chart performance
Cover versions
*1948
Dick Haymes
Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host ...
*1949, Netherlandish singer
Eddy Christiani
Eduard "Eddy" Christiani (21 April 1918 – 24 October 2016) was a Dutch guitarist, singer, and composer. He was best known for songs like ''Zonnig Madeira'' (1938), ''Ouwe Taaie'' (1943), ''Op De Woelige Baren'' (1948), ''Kleine Greetje Uit De ...
recorded a still popular Netherlandish translation/interpretation of the song ''Bouquetje Rode Rozen'' that has been attributed to other Netherlandish songwriters. Because of the moment of release these Netherlandish claims are obviously fraudulent.
*1957
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...
in the album ''
The Song of Robbins''.
*1958
Margaret Whiting
Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...
recorded for her album ''Margaret''.
*1960
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
included the song on the album ''
Haley's Juke Box''
*1962
Les Paul and Mary Ford
Les Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife musical duo who performed and recorded during 1945–1963. They both sang and played guitars.
Ford and Paul were music superstars during the first half of the 1950s, putting out 28 hit ...
included in their album ''Bouquet of Roses''.
*1963
Al Martino
Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...
for his album ''I Love You Because''.
*1963
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
included in the album ''Rawhide's Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites''.
*1963
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
in the album ''
Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again''.
*1963
The Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...
recorded for their album ''The End of the World''.
*1964
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...
for their album ''Great Country Hits''
*1964
Slim Whitman
Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...
for his album ''Country Songs / City Hits''
*1965
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 ...
included the song in his album ''
Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits
''Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits'' is a long-playing vinyl album of country and western themed songs recorded by Bing Crosby for Capitol Records on October 29 and 31, 1963.
The album was re-released on CD by Collectors' Choice Music ( ...
''.
*1965
Vic Damone
Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit " You're Breaking My Heart", an ...
for the album ''Country Love Songs''.
*1967
Bobby Vinton
Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...
for his album ''
Please Love Me Forever
"Please Love Me Forever" is a song written by John Malone and Ollie Blanchard. The song was originally released by Tommy Edwards in 1958. Hit versions were later released by Cathy Jean and the Roommates in 1960 and Bobby Vinton in 1967.
Tommy Ed ...
''
*1975,
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...
recorded the song which peaked at number eleven on the country chart.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouquet Of Roses (Song)
Songs about flowers
1948 songs
1975 singles
Eddy Arnold songs
Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year
Mickey Gilley songs
Songs with lyrics by Bob Hilliard
RCA Records singles
Playboy Records singles
Songs written by Steve Nelson (songwriter)