"More Than I Can Say" is a song written by

Sonny Curtis Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include " Wa ...

and

Jerry Allison Jerry Ivan Allison (August 31, 1939 – August 22, 2022) was an American musician. He was best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo cha ...

, both former members of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

's band

the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top ...

. They recorded it in 1959 soon after Holly's death and released it in 1960. Their original version reached No. 42 on the British ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...

'' Chart in 1960. It has been notably performed by singers

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

and

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

Original version

"More Than I Can Say" was the third single from the Crickets' second release, '' In Style with the Crickets''. The song was written by guitarist

and drummer

in around an hour in 1959. The hook was left unfinished at the time, and at the time of recording, the hook was left this way with no lyrics, only the "wo-wo yay-yay", which became a memorable part of the song. The single went on to become a minor hit in the UK, entering the top 40 and peaking at No. 26. Curtis considers this song to be one of his most enduring, looking back at the success subsequent artists have had performing it.

Personnel

- vocals, guitar * Joe B. Mauldin - bass *

- drums *

Dudley Brooks Dudley Brooks (December 22, 1913 – July 17, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. Biography Brooks was born on December 22, 1913, in Los Angeles, California.

- piano

Charts

Bobby Vee version

was an American

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

singer whose prominence in the music industry arose from tragedy. After Holly,

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...

and

The Big Bopper Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace," " Running Bear", and " White Ligh ...

were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, a then-teenaged Vee was one of a group of local musicians recruited to play at the next leg of a scheduled concert in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) In 1961, Vee (whose other hit singles include " Take Good Care of My Baby" and " The Night Has a Thousand Eyes") recorded "More Than I Can Say", and it reached No. 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was a bigger hit in the United Kingdom, where the song and its B-side, "Staying In", peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached No. 8 in New Zealand. It was featured on his 1961 self-titled album, ''

''.

Beatles live cover version

According to author Mark Lewisohn in ''The Complete Beatles Chronicle'' (p. 364),

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

performed "More Than I Can Say" live in 1961 and 1962 (in Hamburg and Liverpool and elsewhere). Author Allen J. Weiner in ''The Beatles: The Ultimate Recording Guide'' (p. 206) confirms this, noting that it came from a setlist made at the time by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

. It is unclear whether the lead vocal was by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

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

or Harrison. No recording is known to survive.

Leo Sayer version

Leo Sayer's version of "More Than I Can Say" spent five weeks at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1980 into January 1981. Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications) Sayer's version of the song was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It also spent three weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, while it spent two weeks atop the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

in Australia. Sayer has said that while looking for an "oldie" to record for his album '' Living in a Fantasy'', he saw a television commercial for a greatest hits collection by Bobby Vee and chose the song on the spot: "We went into a record store that afternoon, bought the record and had the song recorded that night." The music video for the song was frequently aired on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

when that channel launched on August 1, 1981.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

J.C. Lodge version

June Lodge did a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

version that became popular in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1982.

References

External links

Leo Sayer single release info at Discogs
{{authority control 1959 songs 1960 singles 1961 singles 1980 singles The Crickets songs Bobby Vee songs Leo Sayer songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Zimbabwe Songs written by Sonny Curtis Songs written by Jerry Allison Song recordings produced by Alan Tarney Coral Records singles Warner Records singles