"Tammy" 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 with music by

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...

and lyrics by

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...

. It was published in 1957 and made its debut in the film ''

Tammy and the Bachelor ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' is a 1957 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Debbie Reynolds as Tambrey "Tammy" Tyree, Walter Brennan as Grandpa Dinwitty and Leslie Nielsen as Peter Brent. It is the first of the four Tammy fi ...

''. It was nominated for the 1957

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. "Tammy" is heard in the film in two versions. The one that became a number one hit single for

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

in 1957 is heard midway through the film, and was a UK 2 hit single in the same year. Another version was heard during the main titles at the beginning of the film and was a hit for the

Ames Brothers The Ames Brothers were a singing quartet, consisting of four siblings from Malden, Massachusetts, who were particularly famous in the 1950s for their traditional pop music hits. Biography The Urick brothers were born in Malden, Massachusetts. ...

. There have been several other

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of the song. The song's title served as the inspiration for

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

's first record label. In 1959, Gordy set up a new record company, and wanted to call it "Tammy Records" after the song, but the name was taken and "Tamla" was chosen instead. The main Motown label was created later that year and the two labels were incorporated into the

Motown Record Corporation Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

in 1960. Tamla served as a primary R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

subsidiary throughout Motown's existence.

Debbie Reynolds version

The most popular version, by actress and singer

, was released by

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

as catalog number 61851. The backing orchestrations were done by Joseph Gershinson. 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 ...

'' charts on July 22, 1957, and peaked at No. 1 on all the U.S. charts: the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the composite chart of the top 100 songs.Whitburn, Joel: ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'' (7th Rev. edition ed.), New York: Watson-Guptill Publications The single "Tammy" earned her a gold record. It is featured in the films '' The Long Day Closes'', ''

The Big Lebowski ''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken i ...

'', and ''

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'' is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is a ''roman à clef'', rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follo ...

'', and was

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

in the song "A Different Feeling" by Australian electronic band

The Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums '' Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower'' (2016), and '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020), as well as their live and ...

on their 2000 album "

Since I Left You ''Since I Left You'' is the debut studio album by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches, released on 27 November 2000 by Modular Recordings. It was produced by group members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann (under the pseudonym Bob ...

Ames Brothers version

A recording by the

, heard over the main titles of ''

'', also charted. It 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 47-6930. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on July 22, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 5; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 24; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 29. On the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' charts, where all versions were combined, the song reached No. 1.

Other versions

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in ''The Helen Mo ...

sang "Tammy" on the premiere episode of her short-lived 1957–1958 comedy/variety show, ''The Polly Bergen Show,'' aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on September 21, 1957. *

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...

recorded an instrumental version on his album ''Velvet Guitar'' in 1959. *

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

recorded an orchestral version in 1960 *

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 a version for his 1957 album, ''Around the World''. *

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 ...

recorded the song in 1957 for use 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 networ ...

and it was subsequently issued on the CD '' New Tricks – 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition'' (2017). *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

released a guitar-based instrumental version of the song with his 1961 record

Chet Atkins' Workshop ''Chet Atkins' Workshop'' is the fourteenth studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins. Full of pop and jazz stylings and no country, this became his best-selling LP to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Pop album charts. Hist ...

. This version features a fingerstyle arrangement, as well as a fairly prominent tremolo sound added to Atkins' electric guitar – it is worth noting that this is one of the few instances where Atkins used this particular electronic effect for a recording. *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

released a version on his 1962 album, ''

Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing ''Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing'' is the eighth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released early in 1962 by Columbia Records. This was his first project after leaving Cadence Records, where his albums each had a ...

''. *

Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...

returned to England in 1963 to record this song with conductor Wally Stott on his RCA Victor Red Seal album, ''Women in My Life.'' *A

Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc for him. His other hits included ...

version of "Tammy" was recorded for his LP ''The Love Album'' (

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

R-6165). *In 2002, the song was recorded by

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

for his album, ''Livingston And Evans Songbook''. *Swedish singer-songwriter

Jens Lekman Jens Martin Lekman (; born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan Ric ...

recorded a version of the song on his 2005 Australian tour EP '' You Deserve Someone Better Than a Bum Like Me''. *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

has stated that her performance of " Hopelessly Devoted to You" in the movie '' Grease'' is inspired by Debbie Reynolds' performance of "Tammy" in ''Tammy and the Bachelor''. *

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatra ...

covered the song in 1963. *A spare instrumental version was used in the youth dance scene at the end of the landmark Danish film '' Tree of Knowledge''. *It was recorded by the

Graham Bond Organisation The Graham Bond Organisation (GBO) were a British jazz/rhythm and blues group of the early 1960s consisting of Graham Bond (vocals, keyboards, alto-saxophone), Jack Bruce (bass), Ginger Baker (drums), Dick Heckstall-Smith (tenor/soprano saxoph ...

on its ''

The Sound of '65 ''The Sound of 65'' is the debut album by rhythm & blues/jazz group The Graham Bond Organisation and featuring its best-known line-up of Graham Bond on vocals, alto saxophone, Hammond B-3 organ and Mellotron, Jack Bruce on vocals, acoustic a ...

'' album. *After seeing the film ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' at the age of 12, Thomasina Montgomery changed her name to 'Tammy' and would later become Motown singer

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

. *

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known as Slim Whitman, was an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. He claimed he had sold in excess of ...

also recorded a version of the song for the album ''Slim Whitman Sings'' (1962). *

sampled the song in their track "A Different Feeling" from their album ''

''. *

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

parodied the song in the sketch ''Gray Flannel Hat Full of Teenage Werewolves'': "When I hold your sweet hairy hand tight in mine... Clammy! Clammy!" *A piano version of "Tammy" is played by an Omega Theta Pi member in the opening scene of the 1978 film ''

National Lampoon's Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

''. *Welsh singer

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

issued a recording of the song on an EP in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tammy (song) Ames Brothers songs Andy Williams songs Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Debbie Reynolds songs Songs written for films Songs with lyrics by Ray Evans Songs with music by Jay Livingston Trini Lopez songs 1957 singles 1957 songs