"No, Not Much" is a
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 ...
published in
1955. The music was written by
Robert Allen Deitcher, the lyrics by
Al Stillman. The most popular version was recorded by
The Four Lads. It was one of a large number of Stillman-Allen compositions that were recorded by the quartet.
Background
The song is an ironic protestation of love, in which the lover rhetorically denies his devotion, but then continually undercuts and enfeebles the denial, until the exact opposite is conveyed.
The Four Lads recording
*The recording by
The Four Lads was released by
Columbia Records as catalog number 40629. It first reached the
Billboard magazine charts on January 28, 1956. On the Disk Jockey chart it peaked at No. 2; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 4; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 4; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 3. It became a
gold record.
Cover versions
*
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
recorded the song in 1956 for use on his
radio show and it was subsequently included in the box set ''The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56)'' issued by
Mosaic Records (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.
*In 1969, the song was recorded by
The Vogues. In the Vogues' version the lyric line: "Like a ten-cent soda doesn't cost a dime", was replaced by: "Like the song I'm singing doesn't mean a rhyme," because the former line was considered outdated.
*Also in 1969,
The Smoke Ring recorded their version.
*Both of these versions, recorded in 1969, charted on the US Easy Listening and
Hot 100 chart. In both renditions, the first two lines of the second verse are omitted and replaced by an instrumental.
*British singer
Robert Palmer also recorded it for his 1992 studio album '
Ridin' High'.
In popular culture
*This song also appeared in an episode of the TV show ''
Scrubs''. It was sung by Ted Buckland's hospital employee a capella band "The Worthless Peons" in the
4th-season episode "
My Ocardial Infarction".
*It is also one of the songs of its era included in the Broadway musical ''
Forever Plaid''.
References
The Four Lads songs
Songs with music by Robert Allen (composer)
Songs with lyrics by Al Stillman
1956 singles
1969 singles
1955 songs
{{1950s-single-stub