"Don't Make My Baby Blue" is a song by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

, released as a single in March 1963. It peaked at number 51 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was later covered by

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, who had a hit with it in the UK. Laine also recorded the song in Spanish, Italian and German.

Release and reception

"Don't Make My Baby Blue" was recorded by Laine at the beginning of March 1963 at CBS Columbia Square Studios in

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

. It was produced by

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His best-known contribution ...

and features an orchestra arranged and conducted by

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, a ...

. It was released as a single at the end of March with the B-side "The Moment of Truth", a song written by Laine, Nell Western and Fred Katz that appeared on his 1963 album ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. The term has its roots in German Romanticism. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a chara ...

.'' Reviewed in ''

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 ...

'', it was described as Laine's "best record in a long, long time" with "a multi-tracked contemporary sound that's bound to rocket the vet singer to hitland". In ''

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 ...

'', it was described as being Laine's "strongest bid for teen-market acceptance" and has "over-dubbed against a first-rate

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 ...

-styled ork-chorus backdrop".

Track listing

7": Columbia / 4-42767 # "Don't Make My Baby Blue" – 2:09 # "The Moment of Truth" – 2:40

Charts

The Shadows version

In July 1965, British group

released a cover of the song as a single. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their last top-ten hit until " Don't Cry for Me Argentina" in 1978.

Release and reception

The basic track was recorded in May 1965 at the Estúdios Valentim de Carvalho in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

; however, the vocal overdubs were recorded at EMI Studios in London, though the precise date is unknown. It was released with the B-side " My Grandfather's Clock", a standard written in the late 1800s. Reviewed in ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'', it was described as having "a solid, heavy sound", "with some atmospheric old rock style guitar work backing things up. Ultra-commercial, usual pop format, but well produced and presented. A lot better than most vocal group discs". For ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'', Derek Johnson described the song as "a melodic rockaballad, with a hummable, easy-to-remember tune, it has a thumping beat, some resonant Marvin guitar work, and added piano. Extremely good of its kind, and quite unlike anything the Shads have done before".

Track listing

7": Columbia / DB 7650 # "Don't Make My Baby Blue" – 2:13 # " My Grandfather's Clock" – 2:41

Personnel

* Hank Marvin – electric lead guitar, lead vocal, multi-tracked second lead vocal * Bruce Welch – acoustic rhythm guitar, harmony vocal, multi-tracked second harmony vocal *

John Rostill John Henry Rostill (16 June 1942 – 26 November 1973) was an English musician, bassist and composer, recruited by the Shadows to replace Brian Locking in autumn 1963. He wrote many of the tunes by the Shadows including " The Rise and Fall ...

– electric bass guitar *

Brian Bennett Brian Laurence Bennett (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band memb ...

– drums *

Norrie Paramor Norman William "Norrie" Paramor (15 May 1913 – 9 September 1979) was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, both togethe ...

– piano

Charts

Other versions

* In 1964, American musician Lonnie Mack released a cover of the song as a single, though it failed to chart. * In 1966, the Tony Dallara band ''I campioni'' released an italian version of the song as ''Non farla piangere'' * In 1968, Hong Kong band Teddy Robin & the Playboys covered the song on their fourth and final studio album, ''Memories''. * In 1970, British band

The Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...

covered the song on their second studio album '' Shazam''. * In 2010, Danish singer Keld Heick covered the song on his album ''Time Machine''.

References

{{The Move 1963 singles 1965 singles Frankie Laine songs The Shadows songs The Move songs Songs written by Barry Mann Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil 1963 songs Columbia Records singles Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor