"Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies" is a song originally recorded by

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

in 1974. It was the second of four charting singles released from their ''Love Games'' LP. Johnny Moore is the lead singer. The song reached the Top 10 in the UK, the second of three to do so. "Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies" also reached the Top 10 in Australia.

Composition

Interviewed on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

in 2022, the song's co-writer

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

revealed he had to persuade Johnny Moore to record the song after Moore questioned the appropriateness of a man of his age performing lyrics such as "When I pick her up from school" and "When her homework's done". Greenaway claimed he managed to convince Moore to put his voice to the record by insisting Drifters fans would be unconcerned by the lyrics and that the song would be a hit. After the song was released and reached Number 2 in 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 ...

, Moore admitted he had been wrong to question the song and from that point on referred to Greenaway as "The Doctor".

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 1974 songs 1974 singles The Drifters songs Bell Records singles Songs written by Roger Cook (songwriter) Songs written by Roger Greenaway