"Darlin'" is a song written in 1970 by English sax player Oscar Stewart Blandamer. It was first released under the title "Darling" by the British

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

band

Poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

in 1978. It was later a chart hit for

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

and David Rogers. The track was subsequently recorded by numerous artists including Tom Jones,

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

, Smokie and Johnny Reid.

Background

British

band

formed in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, England, in 1977. They competed in the sixth series of ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'', a British television

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

. "Darling" was released as their debut single in 1978, produced by Barry Kingston and released through his label RK Records in the United Kingdom. Songwriter Oscar Stewart Blandamer wrote the track in 1970. Producer David Mackay picked up the song for Scottish singer-songwriter

, who recorded it for his album ''Falling in Love'' (1979).

Frankie Miller version

Miller recorded the song in 1978 and had an international hit with it. It reached number 1 on the

Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide chart ...

, and 6 in 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 ...

. It also reached the Top Ten (#8) in Australia in 1979.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

David Rogers version

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, ...

version was recorded by the American singer David Rogers. Released on the Republic label, it was never included on an album. Rogers' recording was a relatively minor hit reaching #18 on the '' Billboard'' country singles charts.

Charts

Other cover versions

Tom Jones

Johnny Reid

Other artists

released a cover version in 1979, which served as the B-side to her number one single "

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." In 1980 the song was one of two by Bonnie Raitt included on the soundtrack of the film,

Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...

. It was not released as a single, although her other contribution, Don't It Make Ya Wanna Dance ''was'' issued to Country radio. It failed to crack the Top 40 on the chart, peaking at #42. In 1981 Welsh pop singer Tom Jones released the song as a single from his

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 i ...

album ''Darlin'''. Jones' rendition also reached the country music Top 20, peaking at #19 there in addition to reaching number 3 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

.Whitburn, p. 216 The British band Smokie recorded a cover version in their 2000 covers album ''Uncovered''. In 2004 singer

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

released a version of the song on her album ''

Simply Believe ''Simply Believe'' is the fourteenth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released on 13 April 2004 by Yanis Records. The singles from ''Simply Believe'' were the two French duets with Kareen Antonn, both originally released as sol ...

''. In 2007 Canadian singer Johnny Reid also released a version of the song on the album '' Kicking Stones''. His version peaked at number 57 on the Canadian Hot 100.

References

{{authority control 1978 singles 1979 singles 1981 singles 2007 singles Tom Jones (singer) songs Johnny Reid songs David Rogers (singer) songs Open Road Recordings singles 1970 songs