"It'll Be Me" is a song written by

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

, first released in April 1957 by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

, as B-side to his single " Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" (Sun 267).

Jerry Lee Lewis

The song was written by Clement with the intention that it be the follow-up

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

to Jerry Lee Lewis' first local hit, " Crazy Arms". According to Clement, "We were working on a song I'd written called "It'll Be Me", and I was in the control room and getting tired of it, so I went out there and said, 'Why don't we get off of this? We'll come back to it later, Jerry. Let's cut something else...'." Band member J. W. Brown suggested that Lewis play another song that had been going down well in live performances, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On". When the single was released, "It'll Be Me" was used as the B-side. Another (slower and shorter) version of the song, from a later recording session, was released in May 1958 on his first album ''Jerry Lee Lewis''.

Cliff Richard and the Shadows

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richar ...

released their version as the A-side of a single in August 1962. It reached number 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and was a top ten hit in numerous other countries. In 1983 Richard rerecorded the song for his 25th Anniversary album ''Rock 'n' Roll Silver'' (exclusive to the limited edition box-set ''

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

)''.

Chart performance

Other versions

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

recorded two studio versions of the song, one for his album ''Country'', the other with

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric ...

(''Tom Jones & Jools Holland'' album, 2004). Other versions are by Deep Purple,

Gerry & The Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside ...

The Move The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine 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 their car ...

(''

Something Else from The Move ''Something Else from The Move'' is a live EP by The Move. It was recorded at London's Marquee Club in 1968, and released later that year. It was re-released as a mini album CD with four bonus tracks in 1999. The tracks feature vocals which ...

'', 1968),

Johnny Cymbal Johnny Cymbal (born John Hendry Blair; February 3, 1945 – March 16, 1993) was a Scottish-born American songwriter, singer and record producer who had numerous hit records, including his signature song, "Mr. Bass Man". Overview During a 33-yea ...

, Les Carle,

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to ''Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

, Paul Rishell and Janis Martin.

References

External links

Secondhandsongs.comNashvillesongwritersfoundation.com
Songs written by Jack Clement Jerry Lee Lewis songs 1957 songs 1957 singles Cliff Richard songs Tom Jones (singer) songs The Move songs Sun Records singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Sam Phillips {{1950s-single-stub