"Release Me" (sometimes rendered as "Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)"), is 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 ...

written by

Eddie "Piano" Miller Edward Maurice Lisbona (16 July 1905 – 30 November 1989) was an English songwriter, who under the name of Eddie "Piano" Miller, was also a popular piano player and bandleader of the 1950s and 1960s. Lisbona was born in Manchester, England. ...

and

Robert Yount Robert Gene Yount (October 20, 1929 – June 30, 2005) was an American musician, singer and songwriter in the country music genre. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Between 1949 and 1954 Yount worked as a guitarist and songwriter for Edd ...

in 1949. Four years later it was recorded by

Jimmy Heap Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

& the Melody Masters (in 1953), and with even better success 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 ...

(1954), Ray Price (1954), and

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier to women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God W ...

(1954). Jivin' Gene ourgeois& the Jokers recorded the tune in 1960, and that version served as an inspiration for

Little Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

, who reached number one on the R&B chart and number eight on the pop chart with her big-selling cover.

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

followed in 1963, along with

Lucille Starr Lucille Marie Raymonde Savoie (May 13, 1938September 4, 2020), known professionally as Lucille Starr, was a Canadian singer, songwriter, and yodeler originally from Saint Boniface, Manitoba. She was best known for her 1964 hit single, "The Frenc ...

including a translation in French (1964),

Jerry Wallace Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "Primrose Lane" that was later used as the theme ...

(1966),

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 ...

(1967), Engelbert Humperdinck (1967) who was number one on the UK Singles Chart and many others in the years after such as Jewels Renauld (2022). Engelbert Humperdinck’s version of “Release Me” has the distinction of holding the number one slot on the chart in the UK for six weeks during March and April 1967, and preventing

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songw ...

" / "

Strawberry Fields Forever "Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Penny Lane". It represented a departur ...

" from reaching the top spot. Humperdinck's "Release Me" was also the highest selling single of 1967 in the UK, recording over one million in sales. Actual sales stand at 1.38 million copies.

Writing credits

Although Miller later claimed to have written the song in 1946—only being able to record it himself in 1949—he actually co-wrote it with Robert Yount in 1949. As they were working at that time with Dub Williams, a pseudonym of James Pebworth, they gave him one-third of the song. The song was released with the writing credited to Miller-Williams-Gene, as Yount was using his stage name of Bobby Gene. Although owner of

Four Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Lew ...

William McCall would usually add his pseudonym "W.S. Stevenson" to the credit of songs he published, he failed to do so in 1949. However, in 1957, Miller and Yount entered into a new publishing agreement with Four Star Records, in which "W.S. Stevenson" replaced Williams as co-writer. Yount signed away his royalty rights to William McCall in 1958, after which the credits to the song officially became "Miller-Stevenson", although multiple variations also existed. For example, Engelbert Humperdinck's United Kingdom 45 is credited to Eddie Miller, Robert Yount, Dub Williams and Robert Harris. The Harris credit, however, turned out to be another pseudonym for James Pebworth (along with Dub Williams). With the bankruptcy of Four Star’s successor in interest, the copyright to the song was acquired by

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firms ...

. When the initial term of copyright ended in 1983, it was renewed for a second term. Between 1983 and 1985 Acuff-Rose paid royalties to Yount, until they were notified by the family of the deceased William McCall of the 1958 assignment. Acuff-Rose then suspended payments until the dispute between the claimants was resolved. On December 24, 1996 the

United States Courts of Appeals The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal judiciary. The courts of appeals are divided into 11 numbered circuits that cover geographic areas of the United States and hear appeals fr ...

, Ninth Circuit, upheld the claim of the McCalls.

In country music

In country music, "Release Me" became a hit for Jimmy Heap, Kitty Wells, and Ray Price, all in 1954. Even though Price had several major hits beforehand, "Release Me" is sometimes considered his breakthrough hit. The song had elements of the shuffle, Price's signature sound that would become more evident on future successes such as "

Crazy Arms "Crazy Arms" is an American country song which was a career-making hit for Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a number 1 country hit that year, establishing Price's sound, and redefining honky-tonk music. It was Price's ...

." Price's version was part of a double-A sided hit, paired with another song that introduced fans to the shuffle: "

I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)"' is a song co-written and originally released as a single by American country artist Ray Price. After becoming a major country hit in 1954, the song has been covered by numerous artists such as Cowboy Copas, ...

" Both sides went on to become major hits for Price, with "Release Me" peaking at No. 6 and "I'll Be There" stopping at No. 2.

Engelbert Humperdinck version

In 1965, Humperdinck, who at the time was performing under the name of Gerry Dorsey, met up again with an old friend of his,

Gordon Mills Gordon William Mills (15 May 1935 – 29 July 1986) was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter. He was born in Madras, British India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. During the 1960s and 1970s ...

. By that time Mills was successfully managing Tom Jones. Mills added Dorsey to his management roster and changed his name. As Humperdinck, the singer released a couple of near misses in the UK although one song, "Dommage, Dommage", was successful in Europe. Early in 1967, Humperdinck was asked to stand in for

Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine ha ...

, who was ill, on ''

Sunday Night at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...

'', a TV

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

that was one of the highest-rating programs in the UK at the time. He sang "Release Me" on the show. It reached number one 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 ...

on 2 March and stayed there for six weeks, keeping "

" / "

" by

off the top spot, the first time the Beatles had not reached the top since their debut single. Humperdinck's recording stayed in the charts for a record fifty-six consecutive weeks. The B-side, "Ten Guitars", became a surprise hit in New Zealand among young Maori moving to the cities for work, and, not long after, the wider New Zealand music scene as well. 'Ten Guitars' later served as the name for a documentary on New Zealand popular music.

Chart performance

Other versions

* Ray Price (1954) *

(1954) *Jimmy Heap (1954) *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

(1958) *

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Frizzell released many songs that charted ...

(1959) *

Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003). Biography The brothers were born in Hardy, Ark ...

(1962) (album ''City Limits'') *

(1962) *

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

(1963) *

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

(1963) (album ''Sing Great Country Hits'') *Cindy Malone (1963) * Billy Vaughn (1963) *

The Orlons The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. The group won gold discs for three of their singles. Career The quartet consisted of lead singer Rosetta Hightower (June 23, 1944 – August 2, 2014), Sh ...

(1963) (album ''All The Hits'') *

(1964) *

(1966) *

(1967) * Engelbert Humperdinck (1967) *

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

(1967) *Los Quandos (1967) (in Spanish with the title "Sueltame") *John Vance Sound (1967) *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatu ...

(1967) (album ''Class of '67'') *

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

(1968) *

Earl Grant Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also p ...

(1968) *

(1968, 1998) *

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

(1968) *

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song " Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greate ...

(1968) *

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and w ...

(1969) *

Toni Williams Henry Anthony Williams (28 May 1939 – 1 October 2016), known professionally as Toni Williams or Antoni Williams, was a Cook Island-born New Zealand pop singer, who began singing at the Gandhi Hall in Auckland City where he became a local s ...

(1969) * John Holt (1970s) *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(1970) *

Roger Ruskin Spear Roger Ruskin Spear (born 29 June 1943 in Hammersmith, London) is an English sculptor, multimedia artist and multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinet, piano, guitars, percussion) who was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Career After Sp ...

(1971) *

Victor Wood The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(1971) (album ''Mr. Lonely'') *

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

/ Conway Twitty (1973) *

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

(1973) *

Johnny Rodriguez Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Tejano and Texas country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish. In the 1970s an ...

(1973) *

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde ar ...

(1974) *

Yvette Horner Yvette Horner ( Hornère; – ) was a French accordionist, pianist and composer known for performing with the Tour de France during the 1950s and 1960s. During her 70-year long career, she gave more than two thousand concerts and released around ...

(1977) * Madness (1980, 1986) *

(1982) *(Credited to), "Stumpus Maximus & The Good Ol' Boys" (1989), however the contributors are actually

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

backing their future tour manager Malvin Mortimer; the cover is a parody and starts out as an exaggerated pub-singer version of the opening verses, becoming more and more extreme as the song progresses. In the last verse, Stumpus' histrionics are interrupted by a brief belch, followed by a polite "'scuse me" before going back up to eleven. *

The Mike Flowers Pops The Mike Flowers Pops (also known as MFP, The Pops or The Mike Flowers Pops Orchestra) are a British easy listening band fronted by Mike Flowers (real name Michael Roberts). Mike Roberts was born in Liverpool in 1960, now married with 2 childre ...

, another parody. (1996) *

Junior Kimbrough David "Junior" Kimbrough (July 28, 1930 – January 17, 1998) was an American blues musician. His best-known works are "Keep Your Hands off Her" and "All Night Long". Early life Kimbrough was born in Hudsonville, Mississippi, and lived in the no ...

(2002) *Akira Kobayashi & Four Beat Paradise (2005) * George Canyon (2007) *

with

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

(2010) * Alexander Stenerud (2010 on the Norwegian show: Beat for Beat) *

Tokyo Jihen , also known as Tokyo Incidents, is a Japanese rock band formed by Ringo Sheena, after leaving her solo career. The band's debut single " Gunjō Biyori" was released in September 2004, and they ended activities in February 2012. The band sold 2. ...

(2010 ULTRA C Live Tour, lead vocals by Ukigumo) *

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

(duet with

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

(2012) in album ''Release Me'')

In popular culture

In 1994, an instrumental version of the song was adopted as the theme music to British

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams (actor), M ...

''. One sketch also featured a performance of the song by comedian

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows '' Harry & Paul'' and ''Harry ...

as character Kenny Valentine. In 1997 it featured in an Irish advert for Jacob's Cream Cracker's. The Engelbert Humperdinck recording was featured in the episode "Going to Pot" of the 1970s British sitcom '' The Good Life''. British journalist and author

Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951) is an English author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for ''The Mail on Sunday'' and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens h ...

has described Humperdinck's hugely successful version as "the real revolutionary anthem of the Sixties" and "far more influential than

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

", drawing a comparison between the song's lyrics and the desire of the public to be released from the

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...

that had prevailed in society until the 1960s. The

version of the song was used in the 2009 film Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in a POV shot of iguanas on a coffee table. In 2013, the song was recorded by the New Zealand trio

Sole Mio SOL3 MIO (stylised as SOLΞ MIO) is a New Zealand musical trio consisting of Moses Mackay, Pene Pati and Amitai Pati. Of Samoan descent and classically trained, Moses is a baritone, and the Pati brothers are operatic tenors. Albums and tour ...

for their debut album

SOL3 MIO SOL3 MIO (stylised as SOLΞ MIO) is a New Zealand musical trio consisting of Moses Mackay, Pene Pati and Amitai Pati. Of Samoan descent and classically trained, Moses is a baritone, and the Pati brothers are operatic tenors. Albums and tour ...

References

External links

BBC Interview with Engelbert Humperdinck
{{Authority control 1949 songs 1954 singles 1962 singles 1967 singles Engelbert Humperdinck songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Eddie Miller (songwriter) Schlager songs Ray Price (musician) songs Kitty Wells songs Johnny Adams songs Madness (band) songs Song recordings produced by Don Law Songs about divorce