"Young Love" 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 repetit ...
, written by
Ric Cartey and Carole Joyner,
and published in 1956. The original version was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones on November 24, 1956. It was released in 1956 by Stars Records as catalog number 539 and one month later by
RCA 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 A ...
as catalog number 47-6751. Cartey's version never charted.
The song became a hit several times over the years with three near-simultaneous versions released by
Sonny James
Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...
,
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...
, and
the Crew-Cuts
The Crew Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop m ...
in 1957,
and was later
covered with hit versions by
Lesley Gore in 1965 and
Donny Osmond in 1973. The recordings by James, Hunter and Osmond were all number-one hits: James's on the country and radio airplay charts, Hunter's on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...
, and Osmond's 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 ...
.
Sonny James version
The recording by American country singer
Sonny James
Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...
was released by
Capitol Records as catalog number 3602. It first reached the ''
Billboard'' chart on January 5, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 1; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 2; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 4; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 2. On ''Billboards country music charts, it was a No. 1 hit for nine weeks, and remained the longest-reigning of James's 23 chart-topping songs on the chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the
No. 8 song of the year for 1957.
The recording was produced by Ken Nelson and was recorded October 30, 1956, at Bradley Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The vocal backing was provided by Harlan Powell, one of James's band members at the time, Gordon Stoker and one other individual. The
Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Voc ...
backed Sonny James on several songs in the late 1950s and on a few of his songs when he returned to Capitol in 1963, but it was the vocal sounds of The Southern Gentlemen, who joined him in August 1964, that provided his vocal background thru 1971.
The
flip side of James's version of "Young Love" was a song called "
You're the Reason I'm in Love." That song was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard country charts in early 1957. In 1971, 14 years after the original, James re-recorded that song in a faster-tempoed, horn-heavy rendition as "That's Why I Love You Like I Do" (the original slower-tempoed song featured an electric guitar solo); the newly recorded, re-titled version was released as a single and reached No. 1 in June 1972.
In the book ''
Helter Skelter'' by
Vincent Bugliosi
Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972.
He became best known for s ...
and
Curt Gentry
Curtis Marsena "Curt" Gentry (June 13, 1931 – July 10, 2014) was an American writer, born in Lamar, Colorado.
He is best known for co-authoring, with Vincent Bugliosi, the 1974 book '' Helter Skelter'', which detailed the Charles Manson murder ...
, James' version of this song is mentioned to have been frequently played on the radio at the
Spahn Ranch
Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre (22.3 ha) movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming b ...
. It was also a term of endearment used by
Charles Manson in reference to his female followers.
In 2020, this version was featured in the Netflix psychological thriller film, The Devil All the Time.
Tab Hunter version
The recording by American actor and singer
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...
was released by
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...
as catalog number 15533. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on January 19, 1957. It peaked at No. 1 on the following charts: the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, the Juke Box chart, and the composite chart of the top 100 songs. This version stayed No. 1 for a full six weeks and became a
gold record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
. ''Billboard'' ranked this version as the
No. 4 song for 1957. The success of this record led
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, where Hunter was a contract player, to form
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
.
The Crew-Cuts version
The recording by the Canadian vocal group
The Crew-Cuts
The Crew Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop m ...
was released by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
as catalog number 71022. It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on January 26, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 17; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 17; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 24.
Lesley Gore version
American pop star
Lesley Gore recorded a version of "Young Love" for Mercury Records in late 1965. Her rendition was released on her sixth studio album. ''Lesley Gore Sings All About Love,'' in January 1966. In March of that year, after the album's first two singles failed to make the top 50, Gore's recording was released as the third and final outing from the album as catalog number 72553. The single first entered the ''Billboard'' chart on March 26, 1966, and eventually peaked at #50. Gore's version also reached a peak of #24 in Australia, and #43 in Canada. The song was Lesley Gore's biggest commercial success for 1966, and she would not have another chart hit until February 1967 with "
California Nights
"California Nights" is a song written by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Liebling and recorded by Lesley Gore. The song appeared on her 1967 album, '' California Nights''.
Composition
The song was produced by Bob Crewe and arranged by Hutch Davie. T ...
".
Donny Osmond version
In 1973, the song was revived by American
teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
By region Asia
East Asia possess ...
Donny Osmond on
MGM Records. His version featured Donny's spoken recitation on the first half of the second verse. The
Mike Curb and
Don Costa
Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''.
...
produced version became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching No. 23 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 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 ...
, spending four weeks at the top in August 1973,
and #4 on the Canadian
RPM Magazine
''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...
Top 100.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other versions
*In 1969 a
duet version of the song was made by
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singers
Connie Smith
Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...
and
Nat Stuckey
Nathan Wright Stuckey (December 17, 1933 – August 24, 1988) was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with " Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Than ...
. Their version reached No. 20 on the Country Music charts.
*In 1976,
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...
charted with the song, reaching No. 48 on ''Billboard''s country chart and No. 93 on the pop chart.
*In 1993,
Twister Alley covered the song on their self-titled album, and released it as a single. It peaked at No. 70 on the
US Country singles chart.
References
External links
Lyrics of this song*
{{Authority control
1956 singles
1957 singles
1964 singles
1969 singles
1973 singles
1976 singles
The Crew-Cuts songs
Sonny James songs
Connie Smith songs
Nat Stuckey songs
Donny Osmond songs
Stella Parton songs
Ray Stevens songs
Twister Alley songs
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in the United States
Number-one singles in Australia
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Billboard Top 100 number-one singles
Rockabilly songs
1956 songs
MGM Records singles