"Tears" (also known as "Tears for Souvenirs") is a song written by lyricist Frank Capano and composer Billy Uhr, which was popularised by

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

in 1930. It was later made famous in a version recorded by

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...

, released as a 45 rpm single in 1965, which became a bestselling No. 1

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

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 ...

Song synopsis

The main theme is based on Delilah's aria "

Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix "" is a popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's opera ''Samson and Delilah'', known in English as "Softly awakes my heart", or more literally "My heart opens itself to your voice". It is sung by Delilah in act 2 as she attempts to ...

" ("Softly awakes my heart") from Act II of Camille Saint-Saëns's opera ''

Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah are Biblical figures. Samson and Delilah may also refer to: In music * ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown * "Samson and Delilah" (t ...

'', which dates from 1877.

Background

The song "Tears" was first published on October 20, 1930. The Bob Haring Orchestra recorded it on December 4. A notable early recording of it was by

and His Connecticut Yankees, as a waltz, in New York on December 7 that year. Subsequent American recordings that month were by Sleepy Hall and his Collegians (the Brunswick Studio Orchestra), Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra,

Seger Ellis Seger Pillot Ellis (July 4, 1904 – September 29, 1995) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He also made a few brief film appearances, most notably in collaboration with director Ida Lupino. Life and career He was born in Houston, Texas, ...

, and the Blue Grass Boys with

Lee Morse Lena Corinne "Lee" Morse (née Taylor; November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was an American jazz and blues singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and actress. Morse's greatest popularity was in the 1920s and early 1930s as a torch singer, a ...

. 1931 saw recordings of the song by the Dick Robertson Orchestra with Ray Raymond, Lester McFarland and Robert A. Gardner, and the

Lionel Belasco Lionel Belasco Maracaibo (Venezuela) 1881 – ) was a prominent Venezuelan pianist, composer and bandleader, best known for his calypso recordings. Biography According to various sources, Belasco was born in Maracaibo (Venezuela), the son of ...

Orchestra. In the UK, "Tears" was recorded in early 1931 by a number of British dance bands: Lew Sylva and his Band (a pseudonym for Harry Bidgood, with vocals by

Bob and Alf Pearson Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson (15 August 1907 – 30 December 1985) and Alfred Vernon Pearson (15 June 1910 – 7 July 2012), who were mainly known for their singi ...

), Bert and John Firman, The Ambassador Club Band (directed by Eddie Grossbart, with vocals by

Sam Browne General Sir Samuel James Browne, (3 October 1824 – 14 March 1901) was a British Indian Army cavalry officer, known best as the creator of the Sam Browne belt. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantr ...

), Jock McDermott and his Band, Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra (with vocals by

Val Rosing Valerian Rosing (1910–1969), also known after 1938 as Gilbert Russell, was a British dance band singer best known as the vocalist with the BBC in the BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall. Rosing was the son of Russian tenor Vladimir Ro ...

), and the Radio Dance Orchestra.

Music charts

Although best known as a comedian,

was a prolific recording artist throughout the 1960s, and most of his music recordings were serious, not comic. His debut single "Love is like a Violin" reached No. 8 in 1960. Between that and "Tears", he released nine further singles, several of which charted (though none of them made the top 20). Dodd's revival of "Tears" first reached the

in September 1965. The single spent 24 weeks in total on the chart, with five of those at No. 1. It sold over 1,000,000 copies in the UK, becoming the biggest-selling single of 1965 in the UK, and was the third- biggest selling single of the 1960s; it was the only non- Beatles song in the top 5. In 2017, it was listed as the UK's 39th-best selling single of all time (82nd with streaming), with sales of 1,523,690. Dodd's recording also reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Cover versions

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

released a cover of the song in 1966. His version reached No. 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while reaching No. 27 on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. In Canada, Vinton's version reached No. 24 on the "''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Play Sheet" and No. 14 on ''RPM''s "GMP Guide".GMP Guide
, ''

'', Volume 5, Ed. 3, March 14, 1966. Accessed October 24, 2015

Parody versions

"Tears" was parodied in a section of the song "I'm Bored" by 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 a ...

on their album ''

Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

'' (1967).

References

{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1965 singles Ken Dodd songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Bobby Vinton songs 1929 songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles