Walk Right In

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"Walk Right In"
Walk Right In - The Rooftop Singers.jpg
Single by the Rooftop Singers
from the album Walk Right In
B-side"Cool Water"
ReleasedDecember 1962 (1962-12)
Recorded1962
GenreFolk
Length2:33
LabelVanguard
Songwriter(s)Gus Cannon, Hosea Woods
Producer(s)Erik Darling, Bill Svanoe
The Rooftop Singers singles chronology
"Walk Right In"
(1962) 		"Tom Cat"
(1963)

"Walk Right In" is a country blues song written by musician Gus Cannon and originally recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929. Victor Records released on a 78 rpm record[1] and in 1959, it was included on the influential compilation album The Country Blues. A revised version of the song by the Rooftop Singers, with the writing credits allocated to group members Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe, became an international hit in 1963.

The Rooftop Singers[]

In 1962, the American folk trio the Rooftop Singers recorded a version of the song. Group member Erik Darling recruited two friends to record a folk version of "Walk Right In" after hearing the original Cannon recording. Darling wanted the record to have a distinctive sound, so he and group member Bill Svanoe both played twelve string guitars on the song, although they had some difficulty in acquiring the instruments. Darling is quoted as saying that prior to the making of this record, "you couldn't buy a 12-string guitar ... I ordered one from the Gibson Company, but in order to record [the song] with two 12-strings, we had to wait for the company to build a second one for Bill!" (a left-handed model).[2] The success of the song was a boon to Cannon, who was in his late 70s and had been forced to pawn his banjo the previous winter to pay his heating bill; he received royalties as a songwriter and saw renewed interest in his music, which led to a recording contract of his own.[3]

When released as a single, it spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1963.[3] It spent five weeks atop the Easy Listening chart, which later became known as the Adult Contemporary chart.[2] In addition, "Walk Right In" reached both the R&B chart (peaking at number four) as well as the country music chart, peaking at number 23.[2] The song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom.[4] The song was included on the album Walk Right In, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Folk Recording.[citation needed]

Chart history[]

Rooftop Singers[]

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show[]

In 1977, a version by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show reached number 46 on Billboard's Hot 100.[6] For year-end charts, it was ranked number 249 on Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual[10] and number eight in Australia, peaking at #1 for 5 weeks in the Kent Music Report Charts. It spent 22 weeks in the charts.[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Samuel Charters. The Country Blues. New York: Da Capo Press, 1975, p. 124.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). "Walk Right In", in The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits. New York: Billboard Publications.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Bronson, Fred (2003). "Walk Right In", in The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition. New York: Billboard Publications.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Official Charts Company info at Official Charts Company
  5. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. January 28, 1963. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  7. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 2, 1963
  8. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  9. ^ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1963
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 397. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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