"Tears on My Pillow" is a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

song written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The composition was first recorded by

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

End Records End Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner. In 1962 the label was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records. Among its more successful recording acts were the Flamingos, the Chantels, and Little Anthony ...

and was that group's debut recording under that name. Their original recording of the song became a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' top-10 hit, peaking at 4, No. 3 in Canada, and was the Imperials' first million-seller. It was also a two-sided hit, with its flip side, "Two People in the World," also becoming a major hit. Although it remains one of the Imperials'

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s, "Tears on My Pillow" has been extensively covered, including a No. 1 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 ...

version by

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

in January 1990.

The Imperials' original version

Early copies of the single were credited simply to "The Imperials," a group which had previously been known as "The Duponts" and "The Chesters."

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

gave the group's lead singer, Anthony Gourdine, top billing while introducing the single over the air and the moniker of "Little Anthony and the Imperials" stuck. "Tears on My Pillow" was a #4 hit single in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Selling over a million copies, "Tears on My Pillow" was the most successful single of the Imperials' doo wop period. Its success would be matched only by the Imperials' 1964 single "

Goin' Out of My Head "Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied th ...

." The Imperials ("Little Anthony" Gourdine, Clarence Collins, Ernest Wright, Tracy Lord, and Nate Rogers - the last two of whom were later replaced by

Sammy Strain Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials (1958–1972; 1992–2005) and The O'Jays (1975–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being twice in ...

) performed the song on numerous TV programs, including The Dick Clark Show and on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Oldies special, ''Rock, Rhythm, and Doo-Wop'' in 1958 and 2002 respectively. They also performed the tune on the ''American Bandstand 40th Anniversary Special'' (also in 2002).

Covers

The song has been covered many times, most notably by Kylie Minogue and also by

Johnny Tillotson Johnny Tillotson (born April 20, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored nine top-ten hits on the pop, country, and adult contemporary ''Billboard'' charts, including " Poetry ...

in 1969, his version reaching No. 119 U.S. ''Billboard'', #98 ''Cash Box'' and #94 in Canada. The song was also performed by

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After g ...

in the movie Grease from 1978 and included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

Other uses

"Tears on My Pillow" is referenced by

Dean Friedman Dean Friedman (born May 23, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar and other instruments, including the harmonica. Although considered a one-hit wonder in the US, he has had multiple singles chart in other terr ...

in his 1977 hit song "

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

." It is included in the lyrics, "I met a young girl, she sang mighty fine, 'Tears on My Pillow' and '

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's s ...

'." The song was also used in the season one seventh episode of ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * S ...

'' entitled "The Weaker Sex," which originally aired as episode six. The character Rembrandt Brown (played by Cleavant Derricks) sings the song repeatedly on the street in an effort to raise money for a motel room.

Kylie Minogue version

Australian singer

released a cover of "Tears on My Pillow" as the final single from her second studio album, '' Enjoy Yourself'', on January 8, 1990. Minogue's cover was also included on the soundtrack of the film '' The Delinquents'', which she also starred in. The song reached No. 1 on the

for one week in January 1990, and reached No. 35 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart.

Critical reception

Bill Coleman from ''

'' wrote, "Aussie lass offers a faithful reading of the

Little Anthony & the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

classic. Pop and AC programmers should take note." A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' said the song "has been re-interpreted in a wholly predictable way."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Tears on My Pillow" shows Kylie in a black dress with a

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

hairstyle singing the song. It is inter-cut with clips from the 1989 film ''The Delinquents''.

Live performances

Minogue performed the song on the following concert tours: *

Disco in Dream/The Hitman Roadshow Disco in Dream is the debut concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. Although headlined by Minogue, the tour was an ensemble show alongside fellow Stock Aitken Waterman acts Sinitta and Dead Or Alive and supported her first ...

Enjoy Yourself Tour Enjoy may refer to: Music *Enjoy, an album by Bob Sinclar *Enjoy, a song by Janet Jackson *Enjoy, a song from Björk's album ''Post'' *Enjoy Records, an American record label * ''Enjoy'' (play), a 1980 comedy play by Alan Bennett * ''Enjoy!'' (Des ...

(performed as an a cappella) *

Rhythm of Love Tour The Rhythm of Love Tour was the third concert tour by Kylie Minogue, in support of her third studio album '' Rhythm of Love'' (1990). Beginning on 10 February 1991, the tour visited Australia and East Asia. The concerts showcased a more confi ...

Let's Get to It Tour The Let's Get to It Tour was the fourth concert tour by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. As stated by Minogue herself in 1991, the tour was technically a continuation of the previous Rhythm of Love Tour which had already visited Australia ...

Anti Tour The Anti Tour was the thirteenth concert tour by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, as part of the "K25" project. The tour began on 18 March 2012 in Melbourne, Australia at the Palace Theatre and concluded on 3 April 2012 in London, E ...

* Kylie Summer 2015 Tour (performed as an a cappella) The song was also performed on: * ''

The Kylie Show ''X'' is the tenth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. EMI Music Japan released it first in Japan on 21 November 2007, before its release in Australia by Warner Music Australia two days later. The album was released in the Uni ...

'' 2007 TV special

Track listings

CD single # "Tears on My Pillow" - 2:33 # "We Know the Meaning of Love" (Extended) - 5:50 # "Tears on My Pillow" (More Tears Mix) - 4:14 7-inch vinyl single # "Tears on My Pillow" - 2:28 # "We Know the Meaning of Love" - 3:25 12-inch vinyl single # "Tears on My Pillow" (More Tears Mix) - 4:14 # "We Know the Meaning of Love" (Extended) - 5:50 US and Canadian cassette # "Tears on My Pillow" - 2:33 # "Nothing to Lose" - 3:20

Charts and certification

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1958 debut singles 1989 singles 1990 singles Songs written by Al Lewis (lyricist) Little Anthony and the Imperials songs The McGuire Sisters songs Kylie Minogue songs New Edition songs Bobby Vee songs S Club 8 songs Martha and the Vandellas songs Bobby Vinton songs Chuck Jackson songs Neil Sedaka songs Reba McEntire songs Jodeci songs Lorrie Morgan songs The Fleetwoods songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Doo-wop songs 1958 songs Pete Waterman Entertainment singles