Sandie Shaw
Sandra Ann Goodrich (born 26 February 1947), known by her stage name Sandie Shaw, is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Some ...
in 1964–65.
Background
The track was recorded at Pye Recording Studios in
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...
in a session whose personnel included guitarists
Big Jim Sullivan
James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English guitarist.
Best known as a session guitarist, he was one of the most in-demand studio musicians in the UK in the 1960s ...
and Vic Flick.
Originally envisioned as a ballad, "Girl Don't Come" was ultimately recorded at the tempo of Shaw's first hit "
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written by American songwriting duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted ...
". Shaw disliked this arrangement of the song and had to be persuaded to record it, preferring that it be relegated to the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of another track, the Chris Andrews ballad "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You". Shaw's manager Evelyn Taylor favoured "Girl Don't Come" but acquiesced to Shaw's wishes. However, when Shaw performed both songs on a British television show, "Girl Don't Come" drew the better reaction and radio airplay: it was as "Girl Don't Come" that the single entered the UK chart (dated 12 December 1964) to peak at No. 3 in the week of 23 January 1965. "Girl Don't Come" has also been recorded by
Debby Boone
Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...
,
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
Eddie Rambeau
Eddie Rambeau (born Edward Cletus Fluri; June 30, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor.
Career
While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his mana ...
and
Ronnie Spector
Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".
...
.
International impact
"Girl Don't Come" gave Shaw a No. 2 hit in South Africa and in Canada. In Australia, the song reached No. 48. Like "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "Girl Don't Come" became a regional hit in the United States – where it was released in February 1965 – without entering the
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
, although it peaked at No. 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week of April 23, 1965. It fared slightly better on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, peaking at No. 35 the week of April 3, 1965. Shaw was unable to do U.S. promotion – including a ''
Shindig!
''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,Studio Uno'', the top variety show in Italy, "E ti avrò" became a No. 11 hit in 1966–67 (the single's B-side: "Viva l’amore con te" was a version of Shaw's UK No. 1 hit " Long Live Love"). Also in 1966, Shaw's Spanish-language version of "Girl Don't Come" entitled "No vendrá" was released on an EP in Spain, which also included Spanish versions of her hits "Tomorrow", "Long Live Love" and "Message Understood".
Lill Lindfors recorded a Swedish version entitled "Ingen kom" for her 1967 album ''Du är den ende''.
In popular culture
Shaw's original version was featured in
Mike Figgis
Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work on '' Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers' ...