Tell Laura I Love Her

"Tell Laura I Love Her" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that same year, the song was recorded and released by Ricky Valance in the United Kingdom, where it went all the way to the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart.[1] "Tell Laura I Love Her" has been a hit in 14 countries, and has sold over seven million copies.[2]

"Tell Laura I Love Her"
Single by Ray Peterson
B-side"Wedding Day"
Released1960
GenrePop
Length2:50
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Jeff Barry, Ben Raleigh
Producer(s)Hugo & Luigi
Ray Peterson singles chronology
"Goodnight My Love (Pleasant Dreams)"
(1959)		 "Tell Laura I Love Her"
(1960)		 "Answer Me"
(1960)
"Tell Laura I Love Her"
Single by Ricky Valance
B-side"Once Upon a Time"
Released1960
GenrePop
LabelColumbia/EMI
Songwriter(s)Jeff Barry, Ben Raleigh
Producer(s)Frank Barber

"Tell Laura I Love Her" is the tragic story of a teenage boy named Tommy who is desperately in love with a girl named Laura. Although they are only teenagers, he wants to marry her, so he enters a stock car race, hoping to win, and use the prize money to buy Laura a wedding ring. The second verse tells how the boy's car overturned and burst into flames. Tommy is fatally injured and his last words are "Tell Laura I love her... My love for her will never die." In the final verse, Laura prays inside the chapel, where a church organ is heard, and where she can still hear Tommy's voice intoning the title one more time, before it fades out.

Recording history

The lyrics of "Tell Laura I Love Her" originally concerned a rodeo, not an automobile race, as composer Jeff Barry was an aficionado of cowboy culture.[3] However, at RCA's instigation, Barry rewrote the song, in order to more closely resemble the No. 1 hit "Teen Angel". The personnel on the original recording included Al Chernet, Charles Macy, and Sebastian Mure on guitars: Lloyd Trotman on bass; Andrew Ackers on organ; Bob Burns on sax; and Bunny Shawker on drums.

Decca Records in England decided not to release Ray Peterson's 1960 recording on the grounds that it was "too tasteless and vulgar" and destroyed about twenty-five thousand copies that had already been pressed.[4] A cover version by Ricky Valance, released by EMI on the Columbia label, was No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[5][6] Valance's version was initially banned by the BBC who considered it to be in "bad taste" and expressed concern for copycat activity.[7][8]

The Peterson single was re-released in 1962, following the success of Valance's recording.[9]

Other versions

In the U.S. a recording by Johnny T. Angel (a.k.a. Bill Gilliland) on Bell Records peaked at No. 94 on June 22, 1974.[10]

In 1973, Dutch singer Albert West released his 7" version which reached No. 8 on the Dutch Top 40.[11]

In 1974, Creation released a version which peaked at number 20 in the Australian charts.[12]

The story of the song was adapted for stage and turned into Tell Laura I Love Her (The Musical) in 2007 by Richard C. Hague.[13]

A Spanish version ("Dile a Laura que la quiero") was recorded by Chilean singer Ray Palaviccino in 1962[14] and Spanish group Los HH in 1963.[15]

There were also versions in Serbian ("Lora, ja te volim", by Miodrag Jevremović), Danish ("Hils Lillian kærligt", by Heaven and "Si' til Lis hun er min tøs", by Dick Kaysø and Peter Thorup), Dutch ("Ik blijf van Laura houden", by Charles Tuinenburg and The Melody Strings), Finnish ("Laura (sua kauheesti kaipaan)" by Hector), French ("Dis à Laura", by Richard Anthony), German ("Das Ende der Liebe", by Rex Gildo), Italian ("Dite a Laura che l'amo", by Michele) and Swedish ("Jag Älskar Min Laura", by Carli Tornehave).[16]

A Chinese Version ("告訴羅娜我愛她") sung by Liu Wen Zheng in the 1980s under the album title of 西洋譯曲精粹 [17]

Answer song versions

An answer song, "Tell Tommy I Miss Him" was released by Marilyn Michaels in 1960.[18] It was originally released by RCA Victor Records as a single and is included on the 2007 compilation album The Answer to Everything - Girl Answer Songs of the '60's.[19] In 1961, country singer Skeeter Davis released the same song on her album Here's the Answer.[20] British singer Laura Lee with Orchestra directed by Johnny Keating also recorded a version, released by Triumph Records as a single in the UK in August 1960.[21]

References
  1. "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100 – 5 April 2014". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  2. "BBC Wales – Music – Ricky Valance". Bbc.co.uk. July 8, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  3. "Tell Laura I Love Her". Chicken soup for the soul : the story behind the song : the exclusive personal stories behind 101 of your favorite songs. Canfield, Jack, 1944–, Hansen, Mark Victor., Geffen, Jo-Ann. Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul Pub. 2009. ISBN 978-1-935096-40-5. OCLC 317470308.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Laing, Dave (February 1, 2005). "Obituary: Ray Peterson". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  5. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 53. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  6. "Tell Laura I Love Her by Ray Peterson - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
  7. "Offending Auntie: Ten Songs Banned By The BBC". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  8. Allen, Jeremy (October 2, 2017). "8 songs banned by the BBC for the strangest of reasons – BBC Music". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  9. "Ray Peterson – Tell Laura I Love Her". 45cat.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  10. "Johnny T. Angel". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. "Cover versions of Tell Laura I Love Her by Albert West | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 76. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. ""Tell Laura I Love Her " ( The Musical ) Had Its Premier Production on July 1 – 4 July 2009 at the Guildhall Theatre , Derby . | Flickr – Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  14. "Dile a Laura Que La Quiero by Ray Palaviccino on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  15. "Dile a Laura que la quiero de Los H.H. en Amazon Music – Amazon.es". www.amazon.es. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  16. "Cover versions of Tell Laura I Love Her written by Jeff Barry, Ben Raleigh | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  17. "Liu Wen Zheng Tell Laura I Love Her | Shazam". shazam.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  18. Marsh, Dave; Bernard, James (1994). "20 Answer Songs". New Book of Rock Lists. Simon and Schuster. p. 340. ISBN 978-0-671-78700-4.
  19. The Answer to Everything: Girl Answer Songs of the 60's – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved June 17, 2020
  20. Here's the Answer – Skeeter Davis | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved June 17, 2020
  21. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 2, 1960. p. 55. eISSN 0006-2510.
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