"The Story of My Life" is a song written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

and Hal David. It was published in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

. It was recorded by Marty Robbins and it reached number one on ''Billboard''s country chart in 1958, and it became a number one hit song for Michael Holliday in the UK.

Background

"The Story of My Life" was the first successful collaboration between Hal David and

. Although they did not set out to write a country song, their song was recorded by American country music singer Marty Robbins. Robbins was accompanied in the recording by the whistling of

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

Singers and a small-scale guitar. The song was released in November 1957 and peaked at number one on two US country charts (C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys), staying for four weeks on Best Sellers in early 1958. It also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching number fifteen. It reached number two on Australian Singles Chart.

Charts

Michael Holliday version

In the United Kingdom, Michael Holliday recorded a cover version on 10 December 1957 at the Abbey Road Studio. Holliday was backed by the

Mike Sammes Singers Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, with Sammes singing the deep-voiced "bom-boms". The sound engineer created an echo effect with a second tape head, producing a fuller sound to Holliday's voice. Although Holliday was dissatisfied with the record, it became his first No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1958. The song was replaced as No. 1 by Perry Como's "

Magic Moments "Magic Moments" is a popular song with music by Burt Bacharach and lyrics by Hal David, one of the first compositions by that duo. The song was published in 1957. The song was recorded by Perry Como as the B-side of his "Catch a Falling Star". I ...

", also written by Bacharach and David, the first time any songwriters had consecutive No. 1s on the British chart. In addition to Michael Holliday's No. 1 single (Parlophone 45-DB-4058), three other versions of "The Story of My Life" were released in the UK around the same time in 1958:

Gary Miller Gary Miller may refer to: *Gary Miller (politician) (born 1948), American politician * Michael Dunn (actor) (Gary Neil Miller, 1934–1973), American actor * Gary L. Miller (1947–1969), American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient * Gary Miller ...

recorded a version that reached No. 14 in the UK; a version by Alma Cogan reached No. 25; and a single by Dave King reached No. 20.

Other versions

* A pop-rock version by

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK a ...

was included on the US compilation LP ''The Best Of Herman's Hermits - Volume II'', released in 1966. * Connie Francis recorded the song in 1968 for possible inclusion in her album '' Connie Francis Sings Bacharach & David'', but it was omitted. The track was later released in 1979 on the album titled ''Connie Francis – Sings Bacharach, Kaempfert, Last & Mancini''. * Billy J. Kramer also recorded a version of "The Story of My Life" on his 2013 CD titled, "I Won the Fight". *It was also recorded by television presenter, Terry Wogan. * Jim Reeves performed the song in 1957, during one of his hour radio shows broadcasting live on WSM (AM) from The National Insurance Building in Nashville Tennessee. Performing with the

Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (née Grilli, October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Eur ...

singers, he managed to forget the lyrics mid-song. Humorously requesting his music from announcer David Cobb, he recovered for the last refrain. These recordings were released in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

on "I'm a Hit Again". * Don Williams had "The Story Of My Life" on his 1983 ''Yellow Moon'' album. *

Larry Cunningham Larry Cunningham (13 February 1938 – 28 September 2012) was an Irish country music singer, who was one of the leading figures of the showband scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Cunningham accomplished a series of "firsts" during his career. In 1964 ...

recorded a version which reached No. 16 on the Irish chart in 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of My Life, The 1957 singles 1958 singles Marty Robbins songs Connie Francis songs Don Williams songs Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach UK Singles Chart number-one singles 1957 songs