The Letter (Box Tops song)

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"The Letter"
The Letter (The Box Tops single) coverart.jpg
UK single picture sleeve
Single by the Box Tops
B-side"Happy Times"
ReleasedAugust 1967 (1967-08)
StudioAmerican Sound, Memphis, Tennessee
GenrePop rock, blue-eyed soul
Length1:58
LabelMala
Songwriter(s)Wayne Carson
Producer(s)Dan Penn
The Box Tops singles chronology
"The Letter"
(1967) 		"Neon Rainbow"
(1967)
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"The Letter" is a song written by Wayne Carson that was first recorded by the American rock band the Box Tops in 1967. The song was the group's first and biggest record chart hit, reaching number one in the United States and Canada. It was also an international success and reached the top ten in several other countries.

The Box Tops lead vocalist Alex Chilton sang "The Letter" in a gruff blue-eyed soul style. The song launched Chilton's career and inspired numerous cover versions. English rock and soul singer Joe Cocker's 1970 rendition became his first top ten single in the U.S.; several other artists have recorded versions of the song which also reached the record charts.

Rolling Stone magazine included the Box Tops original at number 372 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time";[1] the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[2] In 2011, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[3]

Composition and recording[]

Wayne Carson wrote "The Letter", built on an opening line suggested by his father: "Give me a ticket for an aeroplane".[4] Carson included the song on a demo tape he gave to Chips Moman, owner of American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. When studio associate Dan Penn was looking for an opportunity to produce more songs, Moman suggested a local group, the DeVilles, who had a new lead singer, sixteen year-old Alex Chilton.[4] The other four members of the group that played on the session were Danny Smythe on drums, Richard Malone on electric guitar, John Evans on electric piano, and Russ Caccamisi on bass.[5] Penn gave the group Carson's demo tape for some songs to work up.[4] With little or no rehearsal, the group arrived at American Sound to record "The Letter".[5] Chilton recalled:

We set up and started running the tune down ... [Dan] adjusted a few things on the organ sound, told the drummer not to do anything at all except the basic rhythm that was called for. No rolls, no nothin'. The bass player was playing pretty hot stuff, so he didn't mess with what the bass player was doing.[5]

Penn added: "The guitar player had the lick right—we copied Wayne's demo. Then I asked the keyboard player to play an 'I'm a Believer' type of thing".[5] Chilton sang the vocal live while the group was performing;[5] Penn noted: "I coached him [Chilton] a little ... told him to say 'aer-o-plane,' told him to get a little gruff, and I didn't have to say anything else to him, he was hookin 'em, a natural singer."[6] He later explained, "[Chilton] picked it up exactly as I had in mind, maybe even better. I hadn't even paid any attention to how good he sang because I was busy trying to put the band together ... I had a bunch of greenhorns who'd never cut a record, including me".[7]

About thirty takes were required for the basic track. Then Penn had Mike Leech prepare a string and horn arrangement for the song to give it a fuller sound.[4] Leech recalled: "My very first string arrangement was 'The Letter', and the only reason I did that was because I knew how to write music notation ... Nobody else in the group did or I'm sure someone else would have gotten the call."[4] Penn also overdubbed the sound of an airplane taking off to the track from a special effects record that had been checked out from the local library.[5] He explained:

That was a big part of the record ... When I finished it up, I played it for Chips [Moman], and he said, "That's a pretty good little rock & roll record, but you've got to take that airplane off it." I said, "If the record's going out, it's going out with the airplane on it". He said, "Okay, it's your record."[5]

The DeVilles were renamed the Box Tops and "The Letter", at only 1 minute, 58 seconds, was released by Mala Records, a subsidiary of Bell Records.

Chart performance[]

"The Letter" reached number one on the Hot 100 singles chart published by Billboard magazine on September 23, 1967.[8] It remained at the top position for four weeks and Billboard ranked the record as the number two song for 1967.[9] The single sold more than one million copies[10] and the RIAA certified it as gold.[11]

Joe Cocker renditions[]

"The Letter"
Joecockerletter45.jpg
German single picture sleeve
Single by Joe Cocker
B-side"Space Captain"
ReleasedApril 1970 (1970-04)
RecordedMarch 17, 1970
StudioA&M soundstage, Hollywood, California
GenreRock
Length4:10
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Wayne Carson
Producer(s)Denny Cordell, Leon Russell
Joe Cocker singles chronology
"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"
(1970) 		"The Letter"
(1970) 		"Cry Me a River"
(1970)
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English singer Joe Cocker recorded "The Letter" during the rehearsals for his upcoming Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour on March 17, 1970.[23] Leon Russell and the Shelter People provided the back up; Russell and Denny Cordell produced the recording.[23] A&M Records released it as a single, with "Space Captain" as the B-side. It appeared in Billboard's Hot 100 in April 1970 and eventually reached number seven.[24] "The Letter" became Cocker's first top ten single in the US. In the UK, the single reached number 39.[25]

Cocker performed the song (and "Space Captain") during his 1970 performance at the Fillmore East auditorium in New York City.[23] Recordings of both songs are included on the live Mad Dogs & Englishmen album, which was released in August 1970 and was a best seller.[26] The concert was also filmed in its entirety and released in theaters. In 2003, it was released on DVD.[26]

Chart performance[]

1970 singles charts
Chart Peak
Australia Go-Set[27] 27
Canada RPM Top Singles[28] 7
UK Singles Chart[25] 39
US Billboard Hot 100[29] 7
US Cash Box Top 100[30] 5
1970 year-end charts
Chart Rank
Canada [31] 91
US Billboard Hot 100 80
US Cash Box 37

Other charting renditions[]

British group the Mindbenders recorded a version of "The Letter" not long after the Box Tops. It was released as a single in the UK in September 1967, the same month the Box Tops' version, so two versions of "The Letter" were in direct competition with each other on the UK charts. In the end, the Mindbenders' version stalled at No. 42 while the Box Tops' version reached No. 5.

In 1969, a rendition by Michigan-based vocal group the Arbors reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Joe Scott provided the arrangement. In 1979, a rendition by country singer Sammi Smith reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[32] A year later in the UK, Amii Stewart's version reached No. 39 on the UK Singles Chart.[33]

References[]

  1. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. No. 963. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Grammy Hall of Fame Awards – Past Recipients". Grammy.org. 2011. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Jones, Roben (2010). Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 78–81. ISBN 9781604734010.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g George-Warren, Holly (2014). A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton. Penguin. eBook. ISBN 978-0-670-02563-3.
  6. ^ McKeen, William (2000). Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay: An Anthology (1st ed.). New York City: W. W. Norton. pp. 495–496. ISBN 0-393-04700-8.
  7. ^ McNutt, Randy (2002). Guitar Towns: A Journey to the Crossroads of Rock 'n' Roll (1st US ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 0-253-34058-6.
  8. ^ "Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 79 no. 38. September 23, 1967. p. 24. ISSN 0006-2510.
  9. ^ "Top Records of 1967". Billboard. Vol. 79 no. 52. December 30, 1967. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 64. ISBN 0-89820-122-5.
  11. ^ "Gold & Platinum Search – The Box Tops". RIAA. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  12. ^ "Go-Set National Top 40". Poparchives.com.au. December 13, 1967. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  13. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Letter". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Box Tops – The Letter" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  16. ^ "Box Tops – Singles". Official Charts. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  17. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (1983). The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950–1981. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press. p. 58.
  18. ^ "Go-Set National Top 40 for 1967". Poparchives.com.au. December 1967. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  19. ^ "Canada chart". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1967". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  21. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1967". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mad Dogs & Englishmen (DVD notes). Joe Cocker. Santa Monica, California: A&M Records. 2005. p. 7. B0005532-09.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990, ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b "Joe Cocker – Singles". Official Charts. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b Eder, Bruce. "Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen [2003 Video/DVD]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  27. ^ "Go-Set National Top 60". Poparchives.com.au. August 15, 1970. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  28. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada, July 4, 1970". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
  29. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  30. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/20/70". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
  32. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  33. ^ "ARTIST – Singles OR Albums". Official Charts. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.

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