"Lotta Lovin'" is a song by American
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...
singer
Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps.
Background
The song was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles and released as a 45 single with "Wear My Ring", co-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, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...
as the B side. Gene Vincent performed the songs on his first appearance on the TV show ''
American Bandstand'', hosted by
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...
.
The lead guitarist on the track was Johnny Meeks, who had replaced
Cliff Gallup
Clifton E. Gallup (June 17, 1930 – October 9, 1988) was an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps throughout the 1950s.
Biography
In February 1956, local radio DJ Sheriff Tex Davi ...
.
The song was produced by
Ken Nelson. Bernice Bedwell wrote the song, who played the song over the telephone to Vincent. He also recorded "In My Dreams" and "Lonesome Boy" by Bedwell.
Reception
It reached #7 on the
U.S. R&B chart and #13 on the
U.S. pop chart in 1957.
Other versions
*
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 19 ...
, as a single in 1965, but it did not chart.
*
Don McLean
Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...
, on his 1978 album ''
Chain Lightning''.
*
Jeff Beck and
Big Town Playboys, on their 1993 album ''
Crazy Legs''.
*
Ray Campi
Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer and musician, nicknamed "The King of Rockabilly". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white double bass, which he often jumped on top of an ...
in 1996
*
Danny Gatton
Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz".
Career
Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...
in a recording released in 1998
References
1957 songs
1957 singles
1965 singles
Gene Vincent songs
Mickey Gilley songs
Don McLean songs
Jeff Beck songs
Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer)
Capitol Records singles
{{1950s-single-stub