"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield that was a No. 1 hit for

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

in 1960. A polka-style version in German, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel", was the first German single recorded and released by Connie Francis, and it reached No. 1 on the single chart in 1960 in West Germany. Conniesheetmusic

Recording

"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was written as a bluesy ballad, and the song was recorded at Olmstead Studios (NYC) during the 1960 recording session when Francis cut the song with the Joe Sherman Orchestra. The arrangement performed by Connie Francis is noted for its organ introduction. The song originally recorded by Connie Francis entitled "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is often confused with an earlier song of the same title written by Ace Adams and Regina Adams,

Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

re-wrote part of the song but never got credit instead Gladys Hampton put her name on it. Originally first recorded by

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

December 1949 and was a 1950 hit record with the

Lionel Hampton Orchestra Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mi ...

. The song also has been recorded by

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American R&B singer who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and "I ...

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, Jan & Dean,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

the Heartbeats The Heartbeats were a 1950s American doo-wop group best known for their song "A Thousand Miles Away", which charted at No. 53 in the US ''Billboard'' listings in 1957. Career The Heartbeats began as a quartet in early 1953 in Jamaica, Queens a ...

(No. 78, 1957),

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...

, Arthur Prysock,

recorded several more times in his career,

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

Dakota Staton Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

, Nancy Wilson and

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

Chart performance

In the US, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was intended to serve as the B-side for the track "Jealous of You (Tango Della Gelosia)", which like Francis's precedent A-side hit "

Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...

" was a ballad of Italian origin. However, most American radio stations preferred to play "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and, while "Jealous of You" did reach No. 19, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 27 June 1960 and remained there the following week. It was the first song by a female artist to reach the top position of the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The first of Francis's three US No. 1's, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was also ranked on the R&B chart at No. 2 and was the only one of Francis's major hits to cross over to the C&W charts where it peaked at No. 24. A No. 5 hit in the UK, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was No. 1 in Australia for three weeks in July 1960 and in South Africa ranked as the No. 15 hit for that year. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was also No. 1 in Norway for eight weeks.

All-time charts

"Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel"

In her autobiography ''Who's Sorry Now?'', published in 1984, Francis mentioned that in the early years of her career the language barrier in certain European countries made it difficult for her songs to get airplay, especially in Germany. Francis continued that Germany's most popular singer, Freddy Quinn, often sold two to three million records per song, equivalent to about twelve million in the United States. Using this as the basis for her April 1960 recording, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", which had initially been written as a ballad, Francis convinced the songwriters to speed up the song's tempo and revive the innovative drum rhythm from Guy Mitchell's 1959 hit recording " Heartaches by the Number", which had been a No. 1 in Germany in its German cover version "Ich zähle täglich meine Sorgen" for

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

. Although "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" became her first No. 1 on the US charts, and its B-side "Jealous of Uou (Tango della Gelosia)" became a huge hit in Italy, it failed to make any impression on the German charts. Veteran lyricist Ralph Maria Siegel penned a set of German lyrics, named "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" (which translates to "Love is a strange game"), which was subsequently recorded by several artists already established on the German market such as Siw Malmkvist – self-harmonizing as the Jolly Sisters – or the Honey Twins (a German duo despite their English name). When these versions also failed to score as hits, Francis decided to record the song in German herself contrary to her producers' wishes who had advised against it despite the fact that ''Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites'' had been such a huge success and she was currently planning a second Italian album as well as a Spanish album and an album in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

. But Francis insisted on a German version of her own, and after some further friction between Francis herself, her producers and the managers of MGM Records, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" was recorded in June 1960 with producer Arnold Maxin.

Release and chart success

When the recording was finished, MGM producers on both sides of the Atlantic renewed their doubts in the song. They believed the release would mean "career suicide" for Francis in Europe. However, Francis's unusual contract with MGM Records guaranteed her unlimited control over the release of her recorded material, and she persisted. When executives of

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, distribution partner of MGM Records in Germany, pointed out that German listeners wouldn't be able to understand Francis' vocals during the first verse for the lack of correct pronunciation, Francis agreed to delete the first verse from the recording. After that, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" was finally released in an edited version. The song peaked at No. 1 in Germany for two weeks, as it did in many other countries and Francis would have six more No. 1 hits on the German charts and fifteen Top 10 hits. "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" became the best-selling single of 1960 in West Germany, where the original English version of the song also reached No. 25. Contrary to popular belief, Francis did ''not'' record any further foreign language versions of "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"; the German version is the only one recorded by herself although other artists have recorded further cover versions in various languages such as Portuguese, Swedish, or even Finnish. The B-side of the single was "Robot Man" which had been a No. 2 for Francis on the UK charts earlier that year. Since it was an English-language recording, German audiences took almost no notice of it. The unabridged version of "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" was released for the first time in 1964 in the U.S. on the album ''

Connie Francis Sings German Favorites ''Connie Francis sings German Favorites'' is a studio album of German songs recorded by U.S. entertainer Connie Francis. Background Unlike the other installments in Francis' series of "Favorites" albums, ''Connie Francis sings German Favorites'' ...

''.

Other versions

"Little" Jimmy Scott recorded it with Lionel Hampton's band in the 1950s. Already in 1960

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

had a No. 16 US country hit with his rendition of the song, produced by

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...

. During the very early 1960s, Broadway Record Label released a version of this song on an EP – 45 rpm record that featured the vocals "as sung by Popular Artists," none of which are listed. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was remade in 1979 by Debby Boone, who had previously had Top 20 C&W hits with her Connie Francis hit remakes " My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and " Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart"; however, Boone's version of "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" only reached No. 48 C&W. The song has also been an album cut for

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 ...

, James Booker,

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

Margo *** People * Margo (actress) (1917–1985), Mexican-American actress and dancer * Margo (magician), American magic performer and actress * Margo (singer), Irish singer * Margo (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name P ...

, Jody Miller,

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...

Sandy Posey Sandy Posey (born Sandra Lou Posey, June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharp's compositions "Born a Woman" and "Single Girl". She is often described as a ...

Billy Vaughn Richard Smith "Billy" Vaughn (April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991) was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. Biography Vaughn was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, United States, where his father, ...

, Kitty Wells and Bobby Vee. Translated versions of the song include those made by

Celly Campello Célia Campello Gomes Chacon, born Célia Benelli Campello, known by her stage name Celly Campello (18 June 1942 – 4 March 2003), was a Brazilian singer and performer, a pioneer in Brazilian rock. She also acted in the telenovela ''Estúpido Cu ...

( pt) (in Portuguese as "Alguém é bobo de alguém"), Marketta Joutsi and also Sinikka Lehtevä (in Finnish as "Pajunköyttä") and Siw Malmkvist (in Swedish as "Tunna skivor" and in Danish as "Den kolde skulder"). The Czech rendering "Až na severní pól" was recorded in 1962 as a duet by Yvetta Simonová ( cs) and

Milan Chladil Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

( cs). An Icelandic version, "Allir eru einhvers apaspil", was recorded by María Baldursdóttir, with lyrics written by

Rúnar Júlíusson Guðmundur Rúnar Júlíusson (13 April 1945 – 5 December 2008), alternate names: Rúnar Júlíusson or Rúni Júl, was an Icelandic pop singer, music producer and footballer from Keflavík. Football career Rúnar was a member of Keflavík � ...

( is).

References

External links

* {{authority control 1960 singles Connie Francis songs Debby Boone songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Canada Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield Songs written by Jack Keller (songwriter) Siw Malmkvist songs 1960 songs MGM Records singles