"It's Late" is a song written by

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

, who recorded it on August 28, 1958. However, it was not released and its first appearance was on a compilation album by

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to 19 ...

in 1980. It is better known for its release as a single by

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

in February 1959, subsequently reaching number 3 in the UK, number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 30 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in that year. The song is featured on the 1959 album ''

Ricky Sings Again ''Ricky Sings Again'' is the third rock and roll album by Ricky Nelson, released in 1959. The Jordanaires provide vocal accompaniment. Track listing #"It's Late" (Dorsey Burnette) - 1:59 #"One of These Mornings" (Dorsey Burnette) - 1:54 #"B ...

''. "It's Late" is ranked number 74 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine's Top 100 songs of

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Shakin' Stevens version

In 1983

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

recorded the song and released it as a single on the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

label as the first single from his album ''

The Bop Won't Stop ''The Bop Won't Stop'' is an album by Welsh rock and roll singer Shakin' Stevens, released in November 1983 by Epic Records. Compared to his previous albums, this album was not as successful, only peaking at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart des ...

''. Some of the singles were issued as a novelty-shaped

picture disk Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

. It peaked at number 11 on 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 ...

Charts

References

1959 songs 1959 singles Songs written by Dorsey Burnette Ricky Nelson songs Shakin' Stevens songs Imperial Records singles {{1950s-single-stub