"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and published in 1952. Recorded as a single by

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts betw ...

it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953. Since the original Snow version, "Fool Such as I"—as the song is sometimes known—has been recorded and released as singles several times, by artists such as

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, and Baillie & the Boys.

Other versions

Elvis Presley version

The recording by

was a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

. Initially released as B-side to " I Need Your Love Tonight", it reached number one in the UK as an A-side single. Presley's recording reached number two in the United States (stalled behind the Fleetwoods' " Come Softly to Me"). The song was recorded on June 10, 1958, at RCA's Studio B,

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, while Presley was on leave from the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. The recording featured guitar by

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as 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 release ...

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and Presley, bass by

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

, drums by

D. J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

and

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville ...

and piano by

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

and backing vocal by the Jordanaires, with the bass voice provided by Ray Walker. It reached number sixteen on the R&B charts.

Tommy Edwards

The Tommy Edwards version reached number 13 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' survey. Listed a co-best-seller with the Jo Stafford version, it lasted 11 weeks in their chart.

Jo Stafford

The recording by

was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalog number 39930. It 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 advertis ...

'' Best Seller chart on February 28, 1953, at number twenty, its only week on the chart.

Petula Clark

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

's French language version titled "Prends mon Coeur", was more successful in France (number 9, 1960) than Presley's version.

Bob Dylan

In 1967,

recorded the song during the '' Basement Tape'' sessions. For many years never officially released, the recording had been widely bootlegged, and was finally released November 4, 2014, on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete''. Dylan recorded the song again in April 1969; that version was released in 1973 by Columbia on the '' Dylan'' album. On the 1973 '' Dylan'' album and several associated Columbia 1973 singles, the song is wrongly credited to "B. Abner" and "LeFevre Sing Pub Co (BMI)". This is a different song with the same title, written by Buford Abner of the Swanee River Boys. This mistake has not been corrected, and on www.bobdylan.com the song is still credited to "B. Abner".

Rodney Crowell

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

covered the song in 1979. The release was not a success, peaking at No. 90 in the Billboard country charts. It was his second charting single after "

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

" in the previous year which barely scraped the bottom of the charts as well. Both songs were included in his debut album '' Ain't Living Long Like This''.

Baillie & the Boys

In 1990, Baillie & the Boys released the song from the band's album '' The Lights of Home''. This version, released under the title "Fool Such as I", peaked at No. 5 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. It was the trio's last Top 10 hit on the country charts.

Slim Whitman

Whitman also recorded his own country version on the Imperial Records label in 1959.

The Smiths

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

recorded a cover based on Elvis's rendition in February 1987 at Firehouse Studios in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. It was meant to be used as a B-side to a single from Strangeways, Here We Come. As of 2023 the song remains unreleased. * 2022 - John Greene, ''Back to Earth''

Chart performance

Elvis Presley

Baillie & the Boys

Year-end charts

References

External links

I Need Your Love Tonight / (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such As I Guide
part o
The Elvis Presley Record Research Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fool Such As I, A 1952 songs 1953 singles 1959 singles 1969 singles 1990 singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles Hank Snow songs Elvis Presley songs Bob Dylan songs Jo Stafford songs Rodney Crowell songs Baillie & the Boys songs Tommy Edwards songs Petula Clark songs Slim Whitman songs Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning RCA Records singles