"The Man in the Raincoat" is a song written by Warwick Webster, which was first released by
Priscilla Wright in April 1955,
and became a hit in the United States. Another hit version was released by
Marion Marlowe later that year.
Priscilla Wright versions
Priscilla Wright's original version was recorded at the studios of
CFPL, where Don Wright was station manager.
[Hawthorn, Tom.]
Singer lowered her voice, and raised her profile
, ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', March 28, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2018. The song was originally recorded for the Canadian
Sparton label,
and was released in the United States on the
Unique label.
Wright was 14 at the time the song was released,
and was the daughter of
Don Wright,
who was the arranger on the recording. Priscilla Wright performed the song on
Ed Sullivan's ''
Toast of the Town'' on July 3, 1955.
Priscilla Wright re-recorded the song in 1988. This version reached No. 8 on ''
RPM''s Adult Contemporary chart.
Chart performance
The song reached No. 12 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 ...
'' Top 50 Best Selling Records chart, in a tandem ranking of Priscilla Wright,
Marion Marlowe,
Karen Chandler, and
Lita Roza's versions, with Priscilla Wright and Marion Marlowe's versions marked as bestsellers, while reaching No. 10 on ''Cash Box''s chart of records disk jockeys played most, in a tandem ranking of Priscilla Wright and Marion Marlowe's versions, and No. 11 on ''Cash Box''s chart of "The Nation's Top Ten Juke Box Tunes". The song also reached No. 11 on ''
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 ...
''s Honor Roll of Hits.
The song was ranked No. 50 on ''Billboard''s ranking of "1955's Top Tunes", based on the Honor Roll of Hits.
Priscilla Wright version
Marion Marlowe version
Claudine Longet version
In 1967,
Claudine Longet released a version of the song as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
of "Small Talk" and on the album ''
The Look of Love''.
References
1955 singles
1955 songs
Cadence Records singles
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