"Hushabye" is a song that was written by

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

and

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as " ...

in 1959 for the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

doo-wop quintet

the Mystics The Mystics are an American rock and roll group that began in Brooklyn, New York, United States, in the late 1950s. The group was known as The Overons, a quintet that, when signed to Laurie Records, consisted of Phil Cracolici (born 1937, lead) ...

. The group's recording of the song was a

Top 20 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 charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

hit.

Background

In the spring of 1959, the Mystics recorded the modern South African folk song " Wimoweh" to serve as their debut release on

Laurie Records Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), ...

: after Laurie shelved the track as lacking hit potential - the song would in fact become a 1961 #1 hit for

the Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...

as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" - the Mystics were set to record the

composition " Teenager in Love". According to Al Contrera of the Mystics, the day after the Mystics had first heard "Teenage in Love", Laurie Records president Gene Schwarz advised the group that "their song" would instead be given to

Dion & the Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal trio prominent throughout the 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo M ...

who had recorded three

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 "cont ...

hits, Schwarz's position being that "Teenager in Love"'s potential to be a smash hit was more likely to be realized via a recording by an established act. ("Teenager in Love" as recorded by Dion & the Belmonts would indeed rise as high as #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.) (Al Contrera quote:)"We were very disappointed. And Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman were disappointed too, because they wrote Teenager in Love'specifically for us. So Doc says: 'We’re gonna write another song for you.'...And Gene Schwartz said to Doc and Morty: 'Could you write something in the flavor of " Little Star" by

the Elegants The Elegants was an American doo-wop vocal group, that started in 1958 by Vito Picone, Arthur Venosa, Frank Tardogno, Carman Romano and James Moschello in South Beach, Staten Island, New York. Before their nursery rhyme inspired song, " Little ...

?'”. "Little Star", a #1 hit in the summer of 1958, had been an uptempo song built around lines from the nursery rhyme "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star": with "Hushabye", Pomus and Shuman accommodated Schwarz's request by similarly building the song from the opening lines of the traditional

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

entitled " "Hush-a-bye". Personnel on the recording session for the Mystics' "Hushabye" included

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of ...

and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitars and Panama Francis on drums. Released in April 1959, the record would spend sixteen weeks on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (nine of those in the top 40), peaking at #20. Adopted by disc jockey

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

as the closing tune on his televised Saturday night "Big Beat Show", "Hushabye" would essentially establish the Mystics as one-hit wonders as their follow-up release "Don't Take the Stars" stalled at #98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the group's subsequent four Laurie Records releases were all Hot 100 shortfalls.

The Beach Boys version

Overview

"Hushabye" was covered by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

on their 1964 album '' All Summer Long'', featuring Brian Wilson and

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...

on lead vocals. In 1993, two new versions of the song appeared on the Beach Boys' ''

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

'' box set, one live version and the other a split track with vocals in one channel and instruments in the other.

Personnel

Partially sourced from Craig Slowinski. The Beach Boys *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...

– backing vocals, bass guitar *

– lead vocals, backing vocals * Brian Wilson – lead vocals, backing vocals, piano * Carl Wilson – backing vocals, electric guitar *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

– backing vocals, drums Additional musicians *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

– 6-string bass guitar (uncertain) *

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player ...

– 6-string bass guitar (uncertain)

Other versions

* 1966 –

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ...

, '' Up And Away'' * 1969 –

Jay and the Americans Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...

, '' Sands of Time'': single reached #62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (lead vocalist Jay Traynor had been a latterday member of the Mystics) and #42 in Canada. * 1972 -

Robert John The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, ''Atlantic 45-2884'': single reached #99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 * 2000- Stacey Kent, Album '' The Christmas song''

References

External links

George Galfo's Mystics (with Original Founding Mystic)Original Mystics with Phil Cracolici-original voice of Hushabye
{{authority control 1959 songs Songs with lyrics by Doc Pomus Songs with music by Mort Shuman The Beach Boys songs Jay and the Americans songs Robert John songs