"Cry" is a 1951 popular song written by

Churchill Kohlman Churchill Kohlman (January 28, 1906 – May 25, 1983) was an American songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be cal ...

. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

and

The Four Lads The Four Lads was a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; "No, Not Much"; "Who Needs ...

on October 16, 1951. Singer

Ronnie Dove Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album ''Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

also had a big hit with the song in 1966.

Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads version

recorded the song at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in

, with his version of the song being released on

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 ...

subsidiary label

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 ...

as catalog number Okeh 6840. It was a No.1 hit on the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

chart that year, and one side of one of the biggest two-sided hits, as the flip side, "

The Little White Cloud That Cried "The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951. The biggest hit version was recorded by Ray and The Four Lads in 1951. The recording was released by Okeh Records as catalog number 6840. It was ...

," reached No.2 on the Billboard chart. This recording also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers lists and the flip side, "

The Little White Cloud that Cried "The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951. The biggest hit version was recorded by Ray and The Four Lads in 1951. The recording was released by Okeh Records as catalog number 6840. It was ...

," peaked at number six. When the single started to crack the charts the single was released on

catalog number Co 39659.

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

satirized this song, under the title "Try", and reported getting more angry feedback than from any of his many other parodies.

Ronnie Dove Version

had a hit with the song in 1966. Released in November, it would reach the Top 20 on both the Pop and Easy Listening Charts by the end of the year. He would go on to perform this song on

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

early the following year. This would become Ronnie's last

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit, although he would continue to chart on the Easy Listening and, later, country charts.

Chart history

Lynn Anderson version

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

had major success in the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

market with her 1972 version, released on

, which hit No.1 on the Cashbox country charts, and No. 3 on the ''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. It also charted in the Top 20 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary Charts.

Chart history

Year-end charts

Crystal Gayle version

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

had her own hit version of the song in 1986, taking it to No. 1 on the ''

chart.

Chart history

Dutch-language versions

In 1982, singer/comedian

André van Duin André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

recorded it as "Als je huilt" (a double A-side with his take on

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

's "Les Trois Cloches") which became a #1-hit in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

by mid-August. During TV-promotion he wore specially designed specs with an in-built water-sprayer for audience-exposure.

Other versions

did a 1952 parody of Johnnie Ray's version of "Cry" entitled "Try", in which he did an emotional "sobbing out of tune" performance with different lyrics. The lyrics include the title of the B-side song "The Little White Cloud That Cried", in the line "even little white clouds do it". Johnnie Ray was not initially pleased with this parody. However, he later accepted Freberg's version. *

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

recorded the song for her 1961 ''

Emotions Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

'' album. *

Gene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart with " A Hun ...

recorded the song for his album ''100 Lbs. of Clay!'' in 1961. *

Timi Yuro Rosemary Victoria Yuro (August 4, 1940 – March 30, 2004), known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer-songwriter. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice," she is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul st ...

recorded the song in 1961 for her album ''Hurt!'' *

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...

recorded the song as a B-side of " I'm Coming Home" in 1962 on ABC-Paramount 45-10338. *

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...

recorded the song on her 1963 debut album ''

I'll Cry If I Want To ''I'll Cry If I Want To'' is the debut album of Lesley Gore. The album included her hit singles "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), It's My Party" and its follow-up, "Judy's Turn to Cry". The album was rushed out after "It's My Party" became a big ...

''. *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

recorded the song on his 1964 album ''

Sweet & Sour Tears ''Sweet & Sour Tears'' is a 1964 album by Ray Charles. It is a concept album featuring songs with titles or lyrics referring to crying. In 1997, Rhino Records reissued the album on compact disc with seven bonus tracks from his early career (1956- ...

''. *

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

recorded the song on her 1968 album, ''

Take Me to Your World / I Don't Wanna Play House ''Take Me to Your World / I Don't Wanna Play House'' is a studio album by American country artist Tammy Wynette. It was released in January 1968 via Epic Records and contained 11 tracks. It was the third studio album of Wynette's career. The album ...

''. * Mina sang the song on her 1968 live album '' Mina alla Bussola dal vivo''. *

Diana Trask Diana Roselyn Trask (born 23 June 1940) is an Australian-born country and pop singer. In the early 1960s she was a regular pop music performer on United States TV shows, ''Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'' and ''Sing Along with Mitch''. From 1968 ...

took a version to #99 on the country singles charts in 1975. *

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. The "anti-star" was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, and died in his adopted home of Nurember ...

included a cover of the song on his 1978 album, '' Dynamite Daze''. *

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

did a cover of the song for his 2002 album '' Then and Now''. *

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

recorded a version on her 2002 CD ''

Liza's Back ''Liza's Back'' is a live album by Liza Minnelli recorded on April 2, 2002. It was recorded during a week of sold-out Liza Minnelli shows earlier in 2002 summer at New York’s Beacon Theate. The comeback concerts followed Minnelli’s engage ...

''. *

Eros and the Eschaton Eros and the Eschaton are an American noise pop band from Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolin ...

recorded a version for Bar None Records in 2014. *

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 ...

recorded the song for her 2009 '' A Moment in Time'' album.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cry (Churchill Kohlman Song) 1951 songs Johnnie Ray songs Ray Charles songs Lynn Anderson songs 1952 singles 1972 singles 1986 singles Crystal Gayle songs Number-one singles in the United States Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Diana Trask songs Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman Columbia Records singles Warner Records singles Okeh Records singles