"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, based on the 18th century composition by Christian Petzold, "Minuet in G major", and recorded in 1965 by the Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than two million copies and was awarded gold record certification by the RIAA.[1]
| "A Lover's Concerto" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Toys | ||||
| from the album The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!" | ||||
| B-side | "This Night" | |||
| Released | August 1965 (US) October 1965 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | DynoVoice | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell, Christian Petzold | |||
| Producer(s) | Linzer and Randell | |||
| The Toys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Their original version of the song was a major hit in the United States and United Kingdom (among other countries) during 1965. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 2.[2] "A Lover's Concerto" reached number 1 both on the US Cashbox chart (Billboard's main competitor), and in Canada on the RPM national singles chart. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart.[3]
History
editLinzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar "Minuet in G major" (BWV Anh. 114), which first appeared in J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.[2] The only difference is that the "Minuet in G major" is written in 3
4 time, whereas "A Lover's Concerto" is arranged in 4
4 time. Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now generally accepted as having been written by Christian Petzold.[4][5][6]
The melody had been popularized by bandleader Freddy Martin in the 1940s, in a recording that was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto".[7]
Critic Dave Thompson wrote of the Toys' version: "Few records are this perfect. Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived ... 'A Lover's Concerto' marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound."[2] The song also has an unusual structure that blurs the differences between its verses and choruses.[2] Add to this, it was also popularized by Sarah Vaughan under Mercury label in the late ‘60s. The lyrics begin:
- How gentle is the rain
- That falls softly on the meadow,
- Birds high up in the trees
- Serenade the clouds with their melodies
Chart history
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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References
edit- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 198. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b c d Dave Thompson. "A Lover's Concerto - The Toys | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 563. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Wolff, Christoph (2001). "Bach. III. 7. Johann Sebastian Bach. Works". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ Williams, Peter F.. 2007. J.S. Bach: A Life in Music, p. 158. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Schulenberg, David. 2006. The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, p. 522 and elsewhere.
- ^ [1] Archived December 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1965-10-25. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
- ^ "flavour of new zealand - search lever". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved Dec 4, 2020.
- ^ "The Toys: Singles". Officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ a b "1969: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles". RateYourMusic. Retrieved Dec 4, 2020.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 10/23/65". tropicalglen.com. Retrieved Dec 4, 2020.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1965". Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
