"It's Late" is a song written by

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is ...

, who recorded it on August 28, 1958. However, it was not released and its first appearance was on a compilation album by

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

in 1980. It is better known for its release as a single by

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

in February 1959, subsequently reaching number 3 in the UK, number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 30 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

that year. The song is featured on the 1959 album '' Ricky Sings Again''. "It's Late" is ranked number 74 on ''

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 ...

'' magazine's Top 100 songs of

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Shakin' Stevens version

In 1983

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although ...

recorded the song and released it as a single on the

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

label as the first single from his album ''

The Bop Won't Stop ''The Bop Won't Stop'' is an album by Welsh rock and roll singer Shakin' Stevens, released in November 1983 by Epic Records. Compared to his previous albums, this album was not as successful, only peaking at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart desp ...

''. Some of the singles were issued as a novelty-shaped picture disk. It peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Charts

References

1959 songs 1959 singles Songs written by Dorsey Burnette Ricky Nelson songs Shakin' Stevens songs Imperial Records singles {{1950s-single-stub