"Linda" is a popular

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 repetiti ...

written, taking its name from then-one-year-old future star

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

. It was written by Jack Lawrence and published in 1946.

Composition

The song was written in 1942 when Lawrence was in the service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, taking its name from the then one-year-old daughter of his attorney, Lee Eastman. (His daughter was Linda Eastman McCartney, future first wife of the

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

.) The song did not get published until after Lawrence left the military, and was then recorded by a number of performers, but the biggest hit was by Ray Noble's orchestra (with a vocal by

Buddy Clark Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Wor ...

). Other charted versions were by Charlie Spivak (vocal by Tommy Mercer); Paul Weston (vocal by Matt Dennis); and by Larry Douglas.

Recordings

The recording by Ray Noble and

was recorded on November 15, 1946, and released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on March 21, 1947, and lasted thirteen weeks on the chart, peaking at number one. The recording by Charlie Spivak was recorded on November 19, 1946, and released by RCA Victor Records. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on March 28, 1947, and lasted nine weeks on the chart, peaking at number six. In 1962 Jan & Dean did a version of the song for Liberty Records that reached #28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Their next song, the #1 Surf City, made them a Surf Duo but their previous work was primarily doo-wop/Teen appeal.

Namesake

Note: There is another song titled "Linda", written by Ann Ronell for the film score of ''

The Story of G.I. Joe ''The Story of G.I. Joe'', also credited in prints as ''Ernie Pyle's Story of G.I. Joe'', is a 1945 American war film directed by William A. Wellman, starring Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, in ...

'' (1945). It was nominated for an Oscar.

Recorded versions

* Marcus Belgrave * Sam Butera * Jimmy Clanton *

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

– for his album ''

Como Swings ''Como Swings'' was Perry Como's fifth RCA Victor 12" long-play album, released in 1959. The album's concept was one of lively swing arrangements by Joe Lipman of standards from the Great American Songbook. The album was, in part, recorded to ...

'' (1959) *Priscilla Cory performed the song in the movie '' Deadman's Curve'', the story based on Jan and Dean in 1978. Priscilla is the great grand daughter of inventor Nathan B. Stubblefield. *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

– sang the song on three occasions on his

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

in 1947. * King Curtis * Dennis Day * Dale Hawkins * Jan and Dean – ''Jan & Dean Take Linda Surfin (1963). *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

* Ray Noble and His Orchestra (

vocal) * Paul Petersen *

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentlem ...

– ''Girls I Have Known'' (1958). *

Line Renaud Line Renaud (born 2 July 1928) is a French singer, actress and AIDS activist. Early life Line Renaud was born Jacqueline Ente in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the we ...

Frank Rosolino Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Rosolino was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, He performed with the big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields ...

* Bob Scobey *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

* Jerry Vale – ''I Remember Buddy'' (1958). * Adam Wade

References

External links

The story behind the song
1942 songs 1963 singles Songs with lyrics by Jack Lawrence Jan and Dean songs {{1940s-pop-song-stub