Tweedlee Dee
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2021) |
| "Tweedle Dee" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyLaVern Baker | ||||
| from the albumLaVern Baker | ||||
| B-side | "Tomorrow Night" | |||
| Released | November 1954 | |||
| Recorded | 1954 | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Winfield Scott | |||
| LaVern Bakersingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Tweedlee Dee"(also"Tweedly Dee"or"Tweedle Dee") is arhythm and bluesnovelty songwith aLatin-influencedriffwritten byWinfield Scott[1]forLaVern Bakerand recorded by her atAtlantic Records' studio inNew York Cityin 1954. It was her first hit,[2]reaching number 4 onBillboardmagazine'sR&Bchart and number 14 on itspopchart.[3]It was Scott's first commercially successful song.[4]
| "Tweedle Dee" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SinglebyGeorgia Gibbs | ||||
| from the albumSong Favorites of Georgia Gibbs | ||||
| B-side | "You're Wrong, All Wrong" | |||
| Released | December 1954 | |||
| Recorded | 1954 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Winfield Scott | |||
| Georgia Gibbssingles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
[edit]The arrangement and vocal style of the song attempted to adapt a black vocal style to one that would satisfy the tastes of the white record-buying market, featuring a light tone and a frisky rhythm beat. The backing vocals are provided by Atlantic's in-house backing group at the time,The Cues(credited here as The Gliders), consisting here of first tenor Abel DeCosta, second tenorOllie Jones(formerly ofThe Ravens), bass Edward Barnes, and baritone (and songwriter)Winfield Scott.[5]Also on the session were tenor sax playerSam "The Man" Taylorand drummerConnie Kay.[6]
Georgia Gibbs recording
[edit]Baker closely approached apopstyle in her recording, but acoverof the song was quickly recorded byGeorgia GibbsforMercury Records,a major label, which had better distribution than Atlantic, an independent label. The cover version, which had the same lyrics and closely imitated the style and arrangement of the original. became agold recordfor Gibbs, ruining any chance of Baker's recording becoming a pop hit.[7]It was common at that time for major record companies to release cover versions ofR&Bhits aimed at the wider white audience, a practice not forbidden byUnited States copyright law.According to Atlantic's engineer,Tom Dowd,Mercury hired the same arranger, the same musicians and tried to hire the same engineer.[2]Baker attempted to get her congressman to introduce legislation to prevent the copying of arrangements but was unsuccessful.[8]
Other cover versions
[edit]Numerous performances of the song have been recorded, including versions by:
- An early version of the song was recorded by Chet Atkins in 1955.
- Elvis Presley(a 1955 live performance first released commercially in the 1980s). Presley also recorded a number of Scott's compositions in the 1960s.
- Teresa Brewerin 1955 onCoral Records
- Vicki Young with Van Alexander's Orchestra forCapitol Recordsin 1955
- Dorothy Collinsin 1955 for Audivox
- Connie FrancisonRock-n-Roll Million Sellersin 1959 for MGM
- Ike & Tina Turner
- Alma Cogan
- Bill Haley & His Comets(recorded in 1979 for Haley's final album,Everyone Can Rock and Roll).
- The Crestsrecorded a cover version for their 1960 albumThe Crests Sing All Biggies.
- Little Jimmy Osmond
Charts (Little Jimmy Osmond version)
[edit]| Chart (1972/73) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] | 25 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[10] | 4 |
| United States (Billboard Hot 100)[11] | 59 |
Popular culture
[edit]The song is heard in the filmsLa Bamba,Uncle Buck,andThe Departed.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^"Interview with Winfield Scott".www.elvis.com.au.Retrieved2006-11-20.
- ^abSteve Propes;Jim Dawson (1992).What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record.Boston & London: Faber & Faber. pp. 164–169.ISBN0-571-12939-0.
- ^Whitburn, Joel(2004).Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004.Record Research. p. 43.
- ^"Winfield Scott".Retrieved2006-11-13.
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^Baker, LaVern, Soul On Fire: The Best of Lavern Baker, CD, Atlantic Recording Corporation, © 1991 liner notes
- ^Shaw, Arnold (1978).Honkers and Shouters.New York: Macmillan. pp.174–176.ISBN0-02-061740-2.
- ^Wald, Elijah (2009).How the Beatles Destroyed Rock'n'Roll.pp. 176–177.
- ^Kent, David(1993).Australian Chart Book 1970–1992(illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 226.ISBN0-646-11917-6.
- ^"officialcharts.com".officialcharts.com.RetrievedSeptember 6,2021.
- ^Whitburn, Joel(2013).Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012.Record Research. p. 635.
