Wheel of Fortune (1951 song)
"Wheel of Fortune" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss and published in 1951. It is best remembered in the 1952 hit version by Kay Starr.
| "Wheel of Fortune" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | 1951 |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| "Wheel of Fortune" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kay Starr | ||||
| from the album The Hits of Kay Starr | ||||
| B-side | "I Wanna Love You" | |||
| Released | February 11, 1952 | |||
| Recorded | 1952 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 3:04 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss | |||
| Kay Starr singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was originally recorded in 1951, for RCA Victor by Johnny Hartman, and about the same time for Crescendo Records by Al Costello with the Walter Scott Orchestra.[1][2] Several hit versions of "Wheel of Fortune" were released in 1952. The first chart hit was by the Eddie Wilcox Orchestra featuring Sunny Gale, whose version reached number 2 on the R&B chart and number 13 on the pop chart. The most successful version was by Kay Starr, whose recording reached number 1 in the US pop chart in March 1952, staying there for ten weeks. Other hit versions in 1952 came from Dinah Washington (number 3, R&B), Bobby Wayne (number 6, pop), The Cardinals (number 6, R&B), and The Bell Sisters (number 10, pop).[3][4]
The song was also used as the theme to the television series Wheel of Fortune.
Recorded versions
- The Barry Sisters (recorded in Yiddish, released by RCA Victor as catalog number 25-5112, with the flip side "Channah From Havana")[5]
- The Bell Sisters with Henri René & His Orchestra (Recorded in Hollywood on December 18, 1951. It was released in United States by RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4520, with the flip side "Poor Whip-Poor-Will",[6] also released in Great Britain by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10232)
- The Cardinals[7] (recorded October 6, 1951, released by Atlantic Records as catalog number 958, with the flip side "Shouldn't I Know?")[8]
- Ronnie Dove recorded the song as an album track for his Cry LP in 1967.
- Frankie Carle (released by RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4540, with the flip side "Be My Life's Companion")[6]
- The Four Flames (recorded December 1951, released by Specialty Records as catalog number 423, with the flip side "Later")[9]
- Ginny and the Gallions (released 1963 by Downey Records as catalog number 112, with the flip side "Hava Nagila"[10]
- Johnny Hartman (released by RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4349, with the flip side "I'm Afraid")[11]
- Helen Humes and Gerald Wiggins (recorded January 14, 1952, released by Decca Records as catalog number 48280, with the flip side "All Night Long")[12]
- Sammy Kaye's Orchestra (recorded January 1952, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39667, with the flip side "Goodbye Sweetheart")[13]
- Maurice King's Wolverines (recorded 1952, released by OKeh Records as catalog number 6868, with the flip side "Bermuda")[14]
- The Knightsbridge Strings (released 1959 by Top Rank Records as catalog number 2014, with the flip side "Cow Cow Boogie"[10]
- Skeets McDonald (released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1993, with the flip side "Love that Haunts Me So")[15]
- Arthur Prysock (released by Decca Records as catalog number 27967, with the flip side "Till All the Stars Fall in the Ocean")[16]
- Susan Raye (released by Capitol Records as catalog number 3438, with the flip side "My Heart Skips a Beat")[17]
- Kay Starr[7] (released by Capitol Records as catalog numbers 1677, with the flip side "Angry", and 1964, with the flip side "I Wanna Love You";[15] first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on February 8, 1952 and lasted 22 weeks on the chart, peaking at number one).[18]
- Jimmy Thomason (recorded February 1952, released by King Records as catalog number 1051, with the flip side "Kiamish Choctaw Rose")[19]
- Dinah Washington (recorded January 1952, released by Mercury Records as catalog number 8267, with the flip side "Tell Me Why")[20]
- Bobby Wayne with Joe Reisman's orchestra (released by Mercury Records as catalog number 5779, with the flip side "If I Heard the Heart of a Clown";[21] first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on February 15, 1952, and lasted 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 13).[18]
- Eddie Wilcox & Sunny Gale (released by Derby Records as catalog number 787, with the flip side "You Showed Me the Way";[22] first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on February 1, 1952 and lasted 6 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 14)[18]
- Billy Williams Quartet (released by MGM Records as catalog number 11172, with the flip side "What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry?")[23]
References
- Bob Leszczak, Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, ISBN 9781442230682, p.225
- "Wheel of Fortune", SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 29 November 2017
- Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 606. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research. p. 606. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- "RCA Victor Hebrew ethnic series (25-5000) - numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "RCA Victor 20-prefix series: 4500 - 5000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Kay Starr interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- "Atlantic Records 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Specialty 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "45 Discography for Top Rank Records - US". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "RCA Victor 20-4000 - 4500 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "DECCA (USA) 48000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "COLUMBIA RECORDS (USA), 78rpm numerical listing discography 39500 - 40000". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "OKeh (by CBS) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 6800 - 7100". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Capitol 1500 - 2000, 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "DECCA (USA) numerical listing discography: 27500 - 27999". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "LP Discography - Covers & Lyrics". Lpdiscography.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
- "KING 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1000 - 1500". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "MERCURY 8000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "MERCURY 78rpm numerical discography: 5500 - end of series". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- "MGM 78rpm numerical listing discography: 11000 - 11499". 78discography.com. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.