"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" is a 1936 popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by Billy Mayhew, introduced early that year on records by many dance bands including Dick Robertson on the 78rpm record Champion 40106, and later popularized by

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

on Victor 25342 and re-issued on Victor 20-1595. It was recorded in French by

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

singer Cléoma Breaux in 1936 or 1937. Four further recordings of the song were made in 1936, namely by Freddy Ellis and His Orchestra (April), Victor Young and His Orchestra (April), Elton Britt (September), Roy Smeck and His Serenaders and Vera Lynn.

Later versions

, in all there are 95 versions, including: *The tune was revived in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Somethin' Smith and the Redheads Somethin' Smith and the Redheads were an American vocal group, doing mostly pop standards in the 1950s. Their biggest hit single was " It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" in 1955, which reached number seven in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The follow ...

, reaching number 7 on the ''Billboard'' charts in that year. *It was later a Top 40

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

hit for

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013) was an American country music singer and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. Recorded figures show 70 million sales, during a career that spanne ...

, reaching #21 on the 'Top Country Singles' chart in 1971, from the album of the same name. *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

tells a story about the song and does a cover in his 1978 album, ''Live at the Sydney Opera House'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

VPL1-7167). * Gerry Monroe (a number 13 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1971) *

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American vocal pop group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style predated the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ...

Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (19871994), four subsequent films (19942002), and '' Star Trek: Picard'' ( ...

Floyd Vivino Floyd Vivino (born October 19, 1951), known professionally as Uncle Floyd, is an American television, film, and stage performer primarily known for his comedy/variety TV show ''The Uncle Floyd Show'' (1974–1998). Early life Vivino was born i ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

(US #99 in 1964) *

Bobbi Martin Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Martin (November 29, 1938 – May 2, 2000) was an American country music, country and pop music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She grew up in Oslo, Minnesota and began her singing career in Baltimore, working her way up f ...

Lenny Breau Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used finge ...

Buddy Greco Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up ...

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song " City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, The ...

* The Quebe Sisters Band *

Ann Breen Ann Breen is a vocalist, who was born in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. She is best known for her single, " Pal of my Cradle Days". The track was released on the Homespun label and entered the UK Singles Chart on 19 February 1983, and rose to a ...

* Jerry Murad and the Harmonicats *

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

George Maharis George Maharis (September 1, 1928 – May 24, 2023) was an American actor, singer, and visual artist who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66 (TV series), Route 66''. Maharis also recorded several pop music ...

* Naomi Akimoto * Asylum Street Spankers

Later uses

* Originally a waltz, during the British

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

revival in the 1950s and 1960s this melody was often played in fast

4/4 time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in musical notation, music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure (bar (music), bar). The ...

, notably recorded by the Kenny Ball Band. * In the 2010 role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas, The Ink Spots rendition of the song can be heard on the in-game radio. * A private recording exists of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

singing part of the song over an orchestral recording by

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...

. * In season 2, episode 4 of the New Zealand TV series ''

Seven Periods With Mr Gormsby ''Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby'' is a satire, satirical New Zealand television series, created and written by Danny Mulheron (who also directs and co-produces), Dave Armstrong (playwright), Dave Armstrong, and Tom Scott (cartoonist), Tom Scott. I ...

'', "Dancing with the Staff", the titular character performs a version of the song at the school dance.

References

1936 songs 1955 singles 1971 singles Slim Whitman songs Patti Page songs {{pop-standard-stub