"Vacation" is a 1962 single by

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

which was her final top-ten hit in both the US and the UK.

Connie Francis version

Background

"Vacation" was written by Francis, Gary Weston, and Hank Hunter. Hank Hunter had written the previous Connie Francis single "Second Hand Love" and Francis would subsequently chart with the Hunter compositions "

I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" is a 1962 single by Connie Francis, released in that December to peak at #18 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. The song reached #22 UK in December 2008 via a remake by Gabriella Cilmi ...

" (1962) and "Drownin' My Sorrows" (1963). "Vacation" became Francis' only hit on which she had writing credits. Francis has stated: "when Vacation"was brought to me, they only had 'V-a-c-a-t-i-o-n in the summer sun.' That's all they wrote. I wrote the rest of the words and didn't even take credit for it." (In reality, Francis has always received songwriting credit on the track.) The song was originally intended as a

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 ...

but proved more radio friendly than the intended hit, "The Biggest Sin of All". Both sides of the single were recorded at Columbia Recording Studio in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

on June 18 1962, with

Bill McElhiney William Krohmer McElhiney (May 20, 1915 – February 9, 2002) was a musical arranger, trumpeter, band leader, and musical director who was based in Nashville, Tennessee. As a performer, his most notable contribution was the signature trumpe ...

of the

Nashville Brass Danny Davis (May 29, 1925 – June 12, 2008) was an American country music band leader, trumpet player, vocalist and producer, best known as the founder and leader of the Nashville Brass. Early life and career Danny Davis was born as George J ...

performing, arranging, and conducting duties.

Chart impact

"Vacation" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in July 1962 to peak at number 9 the first week of September 1962: on the Top 100 Singles chart in '' Cashbox'' "Vacation" peaked at number 10. "Vacation" debuted on 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 ...

at number 40 in the first week of August 1962 and peaked at number 10 in the first week of that September. The track became a hit in several territories in the autumn of 1962 reaching number three in Australia, number two in Hong Kong, and number five in Israel. In Japan, where Francis' version was co-ranked with a cover by Michi Aoyama, "Vacation" reached number one in December 1962. Enough US radio stations played "The Biggest Sin of All", as well or instead of "Vacation", for "The Biggest Sin of All" to appear on the ''Cash Box'' top 100 for one week at number 89. The track also appeared on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart in ''Billboard'' with a number 16 peak. It is also noted that this is the last song that would reach the top 10 in any type of chart for Connie.

Alisa Mizuki version

"Vacation" was recorded by

Alisa Mizuki is a Japanese actress, singer, and model. Mizuki is represented by the talent agency Vision Factory. Born in Nerima, Tokyo to Japanese-American parents, Mizuki began modelling for magazines and appearing in commercials at the age of four. On M ...

for the Mizuki-led film ''Nurse no Oshigoto: The Movie'' and released as a single on April 24, 2002, under the name of the main character, Izumi Asakura with Nurse no Oshigoto. Mizuki's "Vacation" is a Japanese-language cover of the 1962

hit of the same name. The Japanese lyrics were written by Kenji Sazanami. The song is included on Mizuki's fourth compilation album '' History: Alisa Mizuki Complete Single Collection''. The single is Mizuki's first to be issued in CCCD format. "Vacation" debuted on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Weekly Singles chart at number 72 with 2,790 copies sold in its first week. The single charted for two weeks and has sold a total of 5,360 copies. Track listing Charts

References

{{Alisa Mizuki 1962 singles 2002 singles Alisa Mizuki songs Connie Francis songs 1962 songs MGM Records singles