"Let Me Go, Lover!", a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, was written by

Jenny Lou Carson Jenny Lou Carson, (January 13, 1915 – December 16, 1978), born Virginia Lucille Overstake, was an American country music singer-songwriter and the first woman to write a No. 1 country music hit. From 1945 to 1955 she was one of the most prolifi ...

and Al Hill, a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and

Ben Weisman Benjamin Weisman (November 16, 1921 – May 20, 2007) was an American composer. He wrote 57 songs recorded by Elvis Presley, more than any other songwriter. Biography Weisman was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in Brooklyn, New Yor ...

. It is based on an earlier song called "

Let Me Go, Devil "Let Me Go, Devil" is a song written in 1953 by Jenny Lou Carson. Carson greatly admired the talents of Hank Williams. Williams' battle with alcoholism and subsequent death inspired her to write the song. It was first recorded on July 2, 1953, by ...

", about

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

Background

"Let Me Go, Lover" was first featured on the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

program '' Studio One'' on November 15, 1954, and caught the fancy of the public. The episode was a murder mystery that revolved around a hit record and a disc jockey. Producer Felix Jackson asked

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

for a recording to use in the show, and Miller provided

Joan Weber Joan Weber (December 12, 1935 – May 13, 1981) was an American popular music singing, singer. Early years Weber was raised in Paulsboro, New Jersey, and marriage, married to George Verfaillie, a young bandleader. She was pregnant in 1954 ...

's version of "Let Me Go, Lover". Miller took advantage of the recording's exposure on national television and sent copies of the record to 2,000 disc jockeys, who began to play it on their radio stations. Weber was pregnant when she recorded the song. A result of the program was to illustrate how efficiently a song could be promoted by introducing it to the public via radio or a TV production. The recording was released by

as catalog number 40366.

stocked national record stores the week before the program and because of its availability the record sold over 100,000 the first week of its release.

Chart performance

Weber's record of the song first reached the ''Billboard'' magazine charts on December 4, 1954. By January

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, it had hit No. 1 on all the ''Billboard'' charts (the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the Juke Box chart). The song reached No. 16 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 ...

, and was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

Cover Versions

It was also quickly

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by a number of other singers: *Among the cover versions was one by

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

. This recording was released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

as catalog number 70511. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on December 18, 1954. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 8; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 24; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 12. *Another cover, by

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

and

The Lancers Les Lanciers or The Lancers is a square dance, a variant of the Quadrille, a set dance performed by four couples, particularly popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is a composite dance made up of five figures or ''tours'', each performed four ...

, was recorded on November 18, 1954, and released by

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

as catalog number 61315. It reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' chart and No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart. *

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

also released the song in 1954, reaching No. 26. On the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Best-Selling Records chart, all the versions were combined, and the song was also a No. 1 hit on that chart. *

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...

's version ("Let Me Go, Woman") went to No. 1 on the country music charts in 1955. *

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

had the song released as a single in 1955, reaching No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. *In March 1955,

Ruby Murray Ruby Florence Murray (29 March 1935 – 17 December 1996) was a Northern Irish singer. One of the most popular singers in the British Isles in the 1950s, she scored ten hits in the UK Singles Chart between 1954 and 1959. She also made pop chart ...

reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart with her version. *

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for re ...

's version of the song went to No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964. *It was also covered by

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

, and turned out to one of the last songs he recorded before his death in 1983.

References

Bibliography

*Rogers, Arnold & Langley, Jerry (2005). ''Many Tears Ago: The Life and Times of Jenny Lou Carson''. Nova/Nashville Books. {{Authority control 1954 singles 1955 singles Billy Fury songs Dean Martin songs Hank Snow songs Joan Weber songs Kathy Kirby songs Patti Page songs Peggy Lee songs Ruby Murray songs Teresa Brewer songs Number-one singles in the United States Songs written by Jenny Lou Carson Songs with lyrics by Fred Wise (songwriter) 1954 songs