"Chain Gang" is a 1955 song written by Sol Quasha and Herb Yakus. In 1956, a recording by American singer Bobby Scott reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, whilst a version by English singer Jimmy Young peaked at number 9 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. A

work song A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. Definitions and ...

, its chart success followed that of the similarly themed "

Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliff ...

", a transatlantic number one for

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

Chart versions

Bobby Scott

Bobby Scott's version of "Chain Gang" was issued on

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

in December 1955. The song was Scott's first pop single; the teenage musician had already backed

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

and

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...

as a jazz pianist. Gordon Whitey Mitchell, who played alongside Scott in the Gene Krupa Quartet, remembered him practicing his singing on tour "affecting a 'black' sound", and described "Chain Gang" as featuring "that same fake voice". The song employs a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

-tinged arrangement. It was included in a ''

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 ...

'' article rounding up 1956's

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

hit singles. Scott's recording was a hit, peaking at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was the first hit for

, founded in August 1955. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. "Chain Gang" was ultimately Scott's only hit single. Reviewing Scott's recording, ''

'' described the song as "an earthy, folksy lament that seems to be a descendant of '

'" and praised Scott's "wonderful, warm, husky charm". The song is included in Bruce Pollock's book ''Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era'', with the writer describing it as an "early taste of jazz/rock".

Jimmy Young

Jimmy Young's version of "Chain Gang", recorded with Bob Sharples and His Music, was released as a single in the United Kingdom in March 1956. The single marked a change in style for Young, who was best known for his

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

recordings. The recording employs a slapback echo effect on Young's vocal. His last line is treated with a longer, sustained tape delay. An anonymous review in the ''Gramophone Record Review'' described the record as "quite one of the corniest attempts I've heard for some time. Poor Jimmy is completely submerged beneath all the hammering of the hard labour brigade." Max Jones of the '' Daily Herald'' described the record as "not strong-voiced enough to sell it full blast, but still likely to make a hit". Writing in ''Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Modern Pop'', British musician and journalist Bob Stanley described Young's "Chain Gang" as "just plain weird", citing the "caterwauling brass, whipcrack snare, moaning convicts" of the backing and spotlighting the song's climax in which "it trips out into proto- dub, Young's voice echoing into a void of tape delay and lonesome stand-up bass, oblique, dissolving". Stanley notes that the vocal production on "Chain Gang" bears similarities to that on "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" but predates the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

record's UK release. Young's version is among the 1950s and 1960s recordings listed in

Mim Scala Emilio "Mim" Scala (born 1940) was the co-founder, with Sir William Pigott-Brown, of the London-based television, film and theatrical agency Scala Brown Associates. Early life and career Born in London in 1940, Mim Scala attended St Augustine' ...

's memoir ''Diary of a Teddy Boy: A Memoir of the Long Sixties''.

References

{{Reflist 1955 singles 1956 singles Songs about prison Songs about labor ABC Records singles Decca Records singles Ca