"The Gypsy" 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 Billy Reid and published in 1945. The ballad tells the story of a person who visits a Gypsy

fortune teller Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...

and is reassured that their partner is faithful. Though they both know it to be untrue, the narrator resolves to return, "'Cause I want to believe the Gypsy".

History

"The Gypsy" was originally introduced in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

by Billy Reid's orchestra and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

, who was also his partner. 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 ...

, the song was recorded by Bill Kenny &

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely a ...

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

, and

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

's orchestra, and was a hit for all three. *The recording by

featuring Bill Kenny was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

as catalog number 18817. It first reached the ''

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 ...

'' chart on May 2, 1946 and lasted 18 weeks on the listings, peaking at No. 1, and was also number one on the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

for three non-consecutive weeks. *The song was also recorded by

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and othe ...

featuring the female cabaret star

Hildegarde Hildegarde Loretta Sell, known as Hildegarde (February 1, 1906 – July 29, 2005) was an American cabaret singer, who was well known for the song "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup". Early life She was born Hildegarde Loretta Sell in Adell, Wisco ...

singing. It was released by Decca Records as catalog number 23511 in March, 1946. This version was regarded as a musical "flop", however. *The recording by

was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as catalog number 36964. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on May 2, 1946 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 2. This recording was a two-sided hit, with the flip side, "

Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)" is a popular song. The music was written by Bernie Wayne, the lyrics by Ben Raleigh. The song was published in 1946. Three versions were popular in 1946: by Dinah Shore, by Andy Russell, and by S ...

," reaching No. 3 the same year. *The recording by

was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

as catalog number 20-1844. It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on May 9, 1946 and lasted 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 4.

Other recordings

The Gypsy was also recorded by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

on July 29, 1946, during the famous "Lover Man" session after which he was committed to the

Camarillo State Mental Hospital Camarillo State Mental Hospital, also known as Camarillo State Hospital, was a public psychiatric hospital for patients with both developmental disabilities and mental illness in Camarillo, California. The hospital was in operation from 1936 to ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the song with the Commanders in October, 1953 and it was released on Decca Records as catalog number 28995. The song appears on ''

Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio ''Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio'' is a 1959 album by Sonny Stitt, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson trio. Reception ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' rated the album three and a half stars out of four and wrote of the session, "t ...

'' which was released in 1957.

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

recorded the song on his 1958 sophomore album ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

''. Cooke was strongly influenced by The Ink Spots, and this was one of several songs previously performed by the group that he later covered.

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

recorded the song on his 1959 album ''

The Birth of a Band! ''The Birth of a Band!'' is an album by Quincy Jones that was released by Mercury with performances by Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, and Phil Woods.

''.

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

recorded the song on his 1962 album ''

Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain ''Sinatra Sings Great Songs From Great Britain'' is an album by Frank Sinatra, arranged by Robert Farnon, recorded in London in June 1962 at CTS Studios by Eric Tomlinson, a renowned recording and film industry dubbing engineer, who would go o ...

''. A more recent version, by

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and performer

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Lit ...

, was included in his 1997 release ''A Thousand Footsteps in the Sand'', actually recorded in 1992. The Ink Spots' recording of the song appears on the soundtrack of the 2008 film ''

Revolutionary Road ''Revolutionary Road'' is American author Richard Yates's debut novel about 1950s suburban life in the East Coast. It was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1962, along with ''Catch-22'' and ''The Moviegoer''. When published by Atlantic ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gypsy, The Songs written by Billy Reid (British songwriter) 1945 songs 1946 singles Dinah Shore songs The Ink Spots songs Guy Lombardo songs Dorothy Squires songs

History

Other recordings

See also

References