"Because They're Young" is an instrumental performed by

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (April 26, 1938 – April 30, 2024) was an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including ...

. It appeared on his 1960 album, '' $1,000,000 Worth of Twang''.

Background

"Because They're Young" was written by

Aaron Schroeder Aaron Harold Schroeder (September 7, 1926 – December 2, 2009) was an American songwriter and music publisher. Early years Born in Brooklyn, Schroeder graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art a ...

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'' ...

, and

Wally Gold Wally Gold (May 15, 1928 – June 7, 1998) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and music business executive from Teaneck, New Jersey. Personal life Gold was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Gold moved to ...

, and produced by

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and

Lester Sill Lester Sill (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was a United States record label executive, music publisher and recording artist manager within the West Coast Rock & Roll, West Coast R&B and Surf genres. Sill rose to become the president of ...

. It ranked #37 on ''

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 ...

'' magazine's Top ''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

'' songs of

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

Chart performance

Other versions

* James Darren released a vocal version as a single in 1960. It went to #29 in the UK and #4 in New Zealand. *

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British Pop music, pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as poss ...

put out her rendition on 10 March 1962.

Popular culture

* The song was featured in the 1960 movie, ''

Because They're Young ''Because They're Young'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Dick Clark as Neil Hendry, an American high-school teacher who tries to make a difference in the lives of his students. The film co-stars Tuesday Weld ...

'' sung by James Darren and arranged by Ernie Freeman. * In the 1960s, various rock radio channels used ''Because They're Young'' as their

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

. * Since 1984, ''Because They're Young'' is the official

of the Flemish musical nostalgia radio show '' De Pré Historie''. The same theme was also used for the TV adaptation.

References

1960 songs 1960 singles Songs written by Aaron Schroeder Songs written by Wally Gold Duane Eddy songs James Darren songs Song recordings produced by Lee Hazlewood Song recordings produced by Lester Sill 1960s instrumentals Radio theme songs Music television series theme songs {{1960s-single-stub