Poetry in Motion (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Poetry in Motion"
Peotry In Motion.jpg
Single by Johnny Tillotson
B-side"Princess Princess"
Released1960
LabelCadence (US)
London (UK)[1]
Songwriter(s), [1]
Producer(s)Archie Bleyer[1]
Johnny Tillotson singles chronology
"Earth Angel"
(1960) 		"Poetry in Motion"
(1960) 		"Jimmy's Girl"
(1961)

"Poetry in Motion" is a UK number-one hit single in 1961, recorded amongst others by Johnny Tillotson.[1] Tillotson had the most successful recording of the song.

Background[]

The song was written by Paul Kaufman (1930–1999) and Mike Anthony (born 1930),[1] who said that the inspiration for it came from looking up from their work and seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk outside each afternoon.[2] Bill Porter supervised the recording session in Nashville, Tennessee, which featured saxophonist Boots Randolph, pianist Floyd Cramer and bassist Floyd "Lightning" Chance.

In the US Billboard Hot 100, "Poetry in Motion" peaked at No. 2 in November 1960, kept out of the No. 1 spot by "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles.[3] In the UK Singles Chart it hit No. 1 in January 1961,[1] and also made the charts on reissue in 1979.[4]

Chart positions[]

Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Billboard Top 100 Singles 2
US Billboard R&B Singles 27
Belgian Ultratop 50 (predecessor) 9
German Media Control Charts 38
Dutch Singles Charts (predecessor) 14
Norwegian VG-Lista Charts 4
U.K. Singles Charts 1

Cover versions[]

  • "Poetry in Motion" was also recorded by Bobby Vee on his 1961 album Bobby Vee
  • Another version was recorded by Chilean singer Pat Henry.
  • There was another cover version made titled "Pejskové se koušou" ("Dogs Bite Each Other") by the Czech singer Marie Pojkarová.[5]
  • The song was covered by Swedish pop group Ola & the Janglers in 1966 and went to no 1 in the Swedish voted chart "Tio i Topp" but only reached no 7 in the sales chart "Kvällstoppen".
  • The song was covered by Mud in 1982.
  • wrote German lyrics. Entitled "Deine roten Lippen" it was recorded by and released on single in 1960.
  • The song was covered by honeyhoney in season 1, episode 5 of the anthology comedy series The Guest Book
  • In 1977, a Finnish band called Kontra covered the song in Finnish titled as "Mainoksennus" in their debut album "Ei kontrollia" (Love Records LRLP 258).[6]
  • An alternative version, with King Curtis on saxophone, was recorded some weeks earlier and published by Bear Family Records in 2011.

See also[]

  • List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 55. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ "Cadence Records Story". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  3. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart".
  4. ^ Artist Biography by William Ruhlmann. "Johnny Tillotson | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  5. ^ "Marie Pojkarová". Mariepojkarova.cz. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  6. ^ "Moog Konttinen - discografia / Kontra".


Stub icon

This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""