"Early in the Morning" is a song written by

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

and Woody Harris.

Background

Darin brought the song to

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing produ ...

, but as he was under contract with

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

, a subsidiary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, Brunswick released a recording of it crediting the "Ding Dongs". New York disc jockeys liked the record, and Atco soon discovered the deception. Brunswick was forced to turn over the masters to Atco, which released the record in 1958, crediting the "Rinky Dinks".

Cover version

A version by

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

, quickly released by Brunswick (as

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

9-62006), competed in the UK (Coral Q 72333) with Darin's single (London 45-HL-E.8679, crediting the Rinky-Dinks); future releases were issued under Darin's name.

Chart performance

*The recording credited to the "Rinky Dinks" peaked at #24 on the pop chart and #8 on the Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart. *The Buddy Holly recording peaked at #32 on the ''

Billboard 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 ...

''.

References

1958 songs 1958 singles Bobby Darin songs Buddy Holly songs Songs written by Woody Harris Songs written by Bobby Darin Coral Records singles Atco Records singles {{1950s-single-stub