Winchester Cathedral (song)

"Winchester Cathedral" is a song by the New Vaudeville Band, a British novelty group established by the song's composer, Geoff Stephens, and was released in late 1966 by Fontana Records.

For the Crosby, Stills & Nash song "Cathedral", see CSN (album).
"Winchester Cathedral"
Single by the New Vaudeville Band
from the album Winchester Catherdral
B-side"Wait for Me Baby"
Released26 August 1966[1]
RecordedJuly 1966
StudioAdvision, London
Genre
Length2:20
LabelFontana
Songwriter(s)Geoff Stephens
Producer(s)Geoff Stephens
The New Vaudeville Band singles chronology
"Winchester Cathedral"
(1966)		 "Peek-a-Boo"
(1967)

It reached number 1 in Canada on the RPM 100 chart, co-charting with the Dana Rollin version,[4] and shortly thereafter in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Stephens was a big fan of tunes from the British music hall era (or what Americans would call "vaudeville"), so he wrote "Winchester Cathedral" in that vein, complete with a Rudy Vallée soundalike[5] (John Carter) singing through his hands to imitate a megaphone sound.[6] Although the song was recorded entirely by session musicians, when it became an international hit, an actual band had to be assembled, with Fontana trying unsuccessfully to recruit the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.[7] The recording is one of the few charting songs to feature a bassoon.[8] The band toured extensively under the tutelage of Peter Grant, who later went on to manage The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin.[6]

The song won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording,[9] despite not being a rock and roll song. An initial long-playing album including the song was issued in late 1966 by Fontana Records, also titled Winchester Cathedral. Stephens received the 1966 Ivor Novello Award for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically".[10]

In 2016, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the song's release, a new version by Geoff Stephens was released on CD by Signum Classics, sung by members of the Winchester Cathedral Choir.[11] The premier performance of this version was to take place during a Gala Concert in Winchester Cathedral on March 12, 2016 to help raise funds for the Cathedral's Appeal.

Chart performance

The tune went to number 4 in the UK Record Retailer chart (now recognised as the official UK Singles Chart for that period).[12] It went all the way to the top in the U.S., displacing "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by the Supremes on December 3, 1966. After one week at No. 1, "Winchester Cathedral" was knocked off the summit by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations", only to rebound to the top spot the next week. After a two-week run, it was knocked off the top for good by The Monkees' "I'm a Believer"."Winchester Cathedral" also topped the Billboard Easy Listening chart for four weeks.[13]

Global sales of the single were over three million, with the RIAA certification of gold disc status.[14]

Cover versions
  • Dana Rollin's version, released in October 1966, peaked at number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • Also released in October 1966 was a version by the New Happiness, which bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 at number 112.
  • John Smith and the New Sound released a cover in November 1966 which peaked at number 17 on the German charts.[42]
  • Frank Sinatra also recorded it for his 1966 album That's Life. His version was released as a single in Italy and South America in early 1967 and peaked at number 12 on the Italian Musica e dischi chart.[43]
  • Rudy Vallée, whose voice and style the original recording imitated, did his own cover of the song in 1967 when he was in his late 60s, on his album Hi Ho Everybody. He also performed the song on Season 3 Episode 12 of the television show Here's Lucy, broadcast on 30 November 1970.[44]
  • An instrumental cover by The Shadows was on their 1967 album ‘Jigsaw’.

References
  1. "Newies from Spencer, Sandie and Wilson Pickett" (PDF). Record Mirror. 20 August 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. Fleiner, Carey (2017). The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. chap. 7. ISBN 978-1-4422-3542-7.
  3. Breihan, Tom (September 27, 2018). "The Number Ones: The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 14, 2023. But the New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" is as pure a shot of old-school music hall as you'll ever find in this column...
  4. "RPM Top 100 Singles - November 28, 1966" (PDF).
  5. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 38 – The Rubberization of Soul: The great pop music renaissance. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  6. "Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  7. Unterberger, Richie (2000). Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781617744815.
  8. "Best Songs with Bassoon". Democratic Underground. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  9. "Winchester Cathedral by New Vaudeville Band Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 1966-12-03. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  10. Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  11. "'Winchester Cathedral' re-released - Winchester Cathedral". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 392. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  13. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 178.
  14. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 209. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  15. "Go-Set Australian charts - 9 November 1966". Gosetcharts. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  16. Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  17. "New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. "New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. "New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  20. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 21 January 1967. p. 66. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  21. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5769." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  22. "New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Winchester Cathedral". Irish Singles Chart.
  24. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "New Vaudeville Band".
  25. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 11 February 1967. p. 58. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – New Vaudeville Band" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  27. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  28. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  29. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (N)". Rock.co.za. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  30. Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-866-2.
  31. "Top 50" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 15 October 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  32. "Pop 50". Melody Maker. 22 October 1966. p. 2.
  33. "NME Top 30". New Musical Express. 14 October 1966.
  34. "NEW VAUDEVILLE BAND | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  35. Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. p. 706. ISBN 9780898201802.
  36. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending November 26, 1966". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  37. "AMR Top Singles of 1966". www.top100singles.net.
  38. "Jaaroverzichten 1966". Ultratop. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  39. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1966". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  40. Whitburn, Joel (1991). Joel Whitburn's Pop Singles Annual 1955–1990. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 185. ISBN 0898200911.
  41. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  42. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  43. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Frank Sinatra".
  44. "LUCY AND RUDY VALLEE". papermoonloveslucy. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
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