"Is It True" is a song released in 1964 by
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 ...
. In 1964, Brenda Lee was flown by Decca to England to cut a single record, initially conceived for release exclusively in the United Kingdom, but it was in fact also released in the US shortly after release in the UK. "Is It True" was written by
John Carter and Ken Lewis, then two of England's top songwriters.
The single reached No. 17 on both the United Kingdom's ''
Record Retailer
''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...
'' chart and the United States'
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached No. 8 on Canada's ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' "Top 40 & 5" and No. 11 on Canada's
CHUM Hit Parade.
The guitarist on the single was
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
who achieved an early
wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...
effect (0:38-0:42) before the effect became popular.
[Walter Everett Associate Professor of Music ''The Foundations of Rock : From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite"'' Department of Music Theory The University of Michigan - 2008 "The wah pedal was rarely used before 1968; just how is that effect achieved in Brenda Lee's 1964 record, “Is It True” ..."] The drummer on the session was
Bobby Graham, the production was by
Mickie Most
Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...
and it was recorded at Decca's #2 recording studio in West Hampstead, London.
References
1964 songs
Brenda Lee songs
Songs written by Ken Lewis (songwriter)
Songs written by John Carter (musician)
Decca Records singles
1964 singles
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