"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" is a 1964 hit song by

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

, issued on DCP Records. It was a ''

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 ...

'' top 20 pop hit, peaking at number 15, and number 12 in Canada.

Background

"I'm on the Outside (Looking In)" was written by

Teddy Randazzo Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935 – November 21, 2003) was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as " Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", " Pretty Blue Eyes", ...

and Bobby Weinstein, and was the group's comeback single, ending a long period of inactivity. After the group's first hit-making period, with such hits as " Tears on My Pillow", "Two People In The World", and "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop", lead singer "Little Anthony" Gourdine left the group for a solo career. Both he and the group released records separately, but none of them were hits. By 1963, both entities had faded from the charts. In the interim, The Imperials had gone through some membership changes as well. While original members Ernest Wright and group founder Clarence Collins had remained with the group, the other original members, Tracy Lord and Nathanial Rogers, left the group, and Sammy Strain joined the group. In late 1963, writer and producer Teddy Randazzo, a childhood friend of some of the group members and now a songwriter for

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'' ...

Productions, contacted the group, saying that he had written a song that he wanted them to record, and from that point on, things began to change for The Imperials. Gourdine, Wright, Collins, and Strain went to the studio and recorded "I'm On The Outside (Looking In)". With the help of New York disk jockey

Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was a New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he frequently referre ...

, the song became an immediate hit and re-established The Imperials as a hitmaking force. This song was the first of a long string of hits by Randazzo for the group, which helped them transcend their status as a teen

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

group and established them as successful in the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio format. Gourdine, Wright, Collins, and Strain reunited in 2003 and performed the song 39 years after they originally recorded it on the PBS special: ''Soul Spectacular: 40 Years of R&B''.

Credits: The Imperials

*"Little Anthony" Gourdine *Clarence "Wah-hoo" Collins *Sammy Strain *Ernest Wright *Producers: Teddy Randazzo and

Cover versions

Among the cover versions that were recorded: *

The Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...

, on 1967's Make It Happen. *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

, in 1972 during the '' Song Sung Blue'' sessions, unreleased until the album's 2017 reissue as a bonus track, and again on 1988's '' Once in a While''. * Baby Washington, on 1968's ''With You in Mind'' LP. * The Moments

Sources

*''When Rock Was Young'', pp. 178–181

References

{{authority control 1964 songs Little Anthony and the Imperials songs Doo-wop songs Torch songs Songs written by Teddy Randazzo Songs written by Bobby Weinstein