"Candy Kisses" is a 1949 song written and recorded by American country crooner George Morgan. "Candy Kisses" was George Morgan's debut release on the charts and was his only #1 on the Best Selling Folk charts, where it stayed for three weeks. The B-side of "Candy Kisses", a song entitled, " Please Don't Let Me Love You" reached #4 on the same chart.

Background

"Candy Kisses" is a song composed by country crooner George Morgan, earning that category for his smooth voice. The song developed one day in 1947 while George was on his way to work during his time at

WWST WWST (102.1 FM, "Star 102.1") is a radio station licensed to Sevierville, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville market. The station is owned by SummitMedia. The station is a Top 40 (CHR) station that broadcasts with 15,000 watts of power and is ...

radio as an early morning talent. During his commute, he hummed along to his car engine while thinking about an ex-girlfriend whom he just broke up with. He had the song roughly thought up within twenty minutes. The song became his theme song that day over at WWST and he carried his theme song with him into 1948 when he landed a new job at WWVA radio in Wheeling, W. Va. In December 1948, Morgan got a record deal and signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Just two weeks later, he was hired as a vocalist replacing

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 ...

at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

. Morgan debuted there on September 25, 1948 and stayed for the next 27 years. By the age of 24, Morgan recorded "Candy Kisses" for Columbia Records in January 1949 and the song jumped to number one on the best-selling folk charts where it remained for three weeks. By the end of the year, "Candy Kisses" sold more than 2 million copies, and had ten top cover versions. This song was also the first song featured on the self titled album "Candy Kisses". The song was so meaningful to Morgan that he even named his first daughter Candy.

Cover versions

In addition to the hit version by singer/songwriter, George Morgan, there were several other versions of the song "Candy Kisses" released in 1949. The song was first recorded by

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline an ...

on December 21, 1948, and released in January, 1949, a month before Morgan recorded his version, and

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

and

Elton Britt Elton Britt (born James Elton Baker; June 27, 1913 – June 22, 1972) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Biography Britt was born on a farm near Marshall, Arkansas. His father was James Baker, and he had two sis ...

also recorded the song before Morgan.

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 Woodland is a city in and the county ...

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

The Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Bea ...

, Eddie Kirk and Bud Hobbs also released cover versions. Despite the many versions, George Morgan's was the only one to be positioned at #1 on 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 ...

top 40 country hits back in 1949.
Later cover versions include: *

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 their album '' Haley's Juke Box'' in 1960. *In 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 ...

recorded the song for his album '' Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again''. *In 1984,

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

released a version of the song on his album ''I Am What I Am''. The song was track B1 on the album released by MCA Records. *

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

’s cover version of the song was released in 1997 on the Rock Star Records’ album, ''Rockin' It Country Style (The Legendary Chuck Foreman Recordings 1953-55).'' *George Morgan's daughter, country singer

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

, also released her version of "Candy Kisses" on her 1998 album, ''The Essential Lorrie Morgan.'' Lorrie also sang the song at the Grand Ol’ Opry 70th Anniversary bash, singing against a backdrop of a video of her father.HELDENFELS, R. D. "Grand Ole Opry Throws itself a 70th-Birthday Bash Tonight on CBS." The Gazette: 0. Jan 04 1996. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.

References

External links

"Candy Kisses" (1949 single) by George Morgan, on YouTube

"Candy Kisses" 1961 television appearance by George Morgan, on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candy Kisses (George Morgan Song) Songs about kissing 1949 songs George Morgan (singer) songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Eddie Cochran songs Songs written by George Morgan (singer)