Let Me Go, Lover!
"Let Me Go, Lover!", a popular song, was written by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill,[1] a pseudonym used by Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, and Ben Weisman.
It is based on an earlier song called "Let Me Go, Devil," about alcoholism. It was featured on the television program Studio One on November 15, 1954, and caught the fancy of the public. Joan Weber sang the song on the TV production and was pregnant at the time. A result of the program was to illustrate how efficiently a song could be promoted by introducing it to the public via radio or a TV production. The recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40366. Mitch Miller stocked national record stores the week before the program and because of its availability the record sold over 100,000 the first week of its release. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 4, 1954.
By January 1955, Weber's record of the song had hit No. 1 on all the Billboard charts (the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, and the Juke Box chart).[2] It became a gold record. It was also quickly covered by a number of other singers. One artist to "cover" it was Lucille Ball. In the March 18, 1955, episode of I Love Lucy, entitled "Bull Fight Dance", Ball sings a snatch of the song with a lot of verve and feeling. Such was the song's popularity.
Among the cover versions was one by Patti Page. This recording was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70511. It first reached the Billboard charts on December 18, 1954. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 8; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 24; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 12.
Another cover, by Teresa Brewer and The Lancers, was recorded on November 18, 1954, and released by Coral Records as catalog number 61315. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard chart and No. 9 on the United Kingdom chart.
It was also covered by Billy Fury, which turned out to one of the last songs he recorded before his death in 1983.
Peggy Lee also released the song in 1954, reaching No. 26.
On the Cash Box Best-Selling Records chart, all the versions were combined, and the song was also a No. 1 hit on that chart.
Hank Snow's version ("Let Me Go, Woman") went to No. 1 on the country music charts in 1955.[3]
Dean Martin had the song released as a UK single in 1955, reaching No. 3.
Kathy Kirby's version of the song went to No. 10 on the UK chart in 1964.
References
- Rogers, Arnold & Langley, Jerry (2005). Many Tears Ago: The Life and Times of Jenny Lou Carson. Nova/Nashville Books. ISBN 0-9628452-4-8
