"Cry" is a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label.[1] The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951. Singer Ronnie Dove also had a big hit with the song in 1966.
The Johnnie Ray recording was released on Columbia Records subsidiary label Okeh Records[2] as catalog number Okeh 6840. It was a No.1 hit on the Billboard magazine chart that year, and one side of one of the biggest two-sided hits, as the flip side, "The Little White Cloud That Cried," reached No.2 on the Billboard chart. This recording also hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers lists and the flip side, "The Little White Cloud that Cried," peaked at number six.[3] When the single started to crack the charts the single was released on Columbia Records catalog number Co 39659.
Stan Freberg satirized this song, under the title "Try", and reported getting more angry feedback than from any of his many other parodies.[2]
Ronnie Dove had a Top 20 pop hit with his cover version, bringing it to number 18 in 1966 on Diamond Records. He would perform this song on The Ed Sullivan Show the following year. This was Ronnie's last Top 40 hit.
Chart history[edit]
Chart (1966)
Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[4]
18
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[5]
16
Lynn Anderson version[edit]
"Cry"
Single by Lynn Anderson
from the album Cry
B-side
"Simple Words"
Released
January 1972 (U.S.)
Recorded
1971
Genre
Country
Length
3:10
Label
Columbia
Songwriter(s)
Churchill Kohlman
Lynn Anderson singles chronology
"How Can I Unlove You" (1971)
"Cry" (1972)
"Listen to a Country Song" (1972)
Lynn Anderson had major success in the country music market with her 1972 version, released on Columbia Records, which hit No.1 on the Cashbox country charts, and No. 3 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.[6] It also charted in the Top 20 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary Charts.
Chart history[edit]
Chart (1972)
Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7]
3
US Billboard Hot 100[8]
71
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[9]
16
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
1
Canadian RPM Top Singles
77
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks
9
Crystal Gayle version[edit]
"Cry"
Single by Crystal Gayle
from the album Straight to the Heart
B-side
"Crazy in the Heart"
Released
July 1986 (U.S.)
Recorded
1986
Genre
Country
Length
4:18
Label
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Churchill Kohlman
Producer(s)
Jim Ed Norman
Crystal Gayle singles chronology
"Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)" (1985)
"Cry" (1986)
"Straight to the Heart" (1986)
Crystal Gayle had her own hit version of the song in 1986, taking it to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart.[10]
Chart history[edit]
Chart (1986)
Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11]
1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks
1
Dutch-language versions[edit]
In 1982, singer/comedian André van Duin recorded it as "Als je huilt" (a double A-side with his take on Edith Piaf's "Les Trois Cloches") which became a #1-hit in the Dutch Top 40 by mid-August.[12] During TV-promotion he wore specially designed specs with an in-built water-sprayer for audience-exposure.[13]
Other versions[edit]
Stan Freberg did a 1952 parody of Johnnie Ray's version of "Cry" entitled "Try", in which he did an emotional "sobbing out of tune" performance with different lyrics. The lyrics include the title of the B-side song "The Little White Cloud That Cried", in the line "even little white clouds do it". Johnnie Ray was not initially pleased with this parody. However, he later accepted Freberg's version.
Brenda Lee recorded the song for her 1961 Emotions album.
Gene McDaniels recorded the song for his album 100 Lbs. of Clay! in 1961.
Timi Yuro recorded the song in 1961 for her album Hurt!
Paul Anka recorded the song as a B-side of "I'm Coming Home" in 1962 on ABC-Paramount 45-10338.
Lesley Gore recorded the song on her 1963 debut album I'll Cry If I Want To.
Ray Charles recorded the song on his 1964 album Sweet & Sour Tears.
Tammy Wynette recorded the song on her 1968 album, Take Me to Your World / I Don't Wanna Play House.
Mina sang the song on her 1968 live album Mina alla Bussola dal vivo.
Diana Trask took a version to #99 on the country singles charts in 1975.
Kevin Coyne included a cover of the song on his 1978 album, Dynamite Daze.
David Cassidy did a cover of the song for his 2002 album Then and Now.
Liza Minnelli recorded a version on her 2002 CD Liza's Back.
Eros and the Eschaton recorded a version for Bar None Records in 2014.[14]
Lorrie Morgan recorded the song for her 2009 A Moment in Time album.
References[edit]
^Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
^ a bGilliland, John (1969). "Show 2 - Play A Simple Melody: American pop music in the early fifties. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 484.
^"Johnny Ray Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Johnny Ray Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 27.
^"Lynn Anderson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^"Lynn Anderson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Lynn Anderson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 132.
^"Crystal Gayle Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^"De Nederlandse Top 40, week 33, 1982". Radio538.nl. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
^"YouTube: André van Duin - Als je huilt". YouTube. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
^"Eros and the Eschaton - Cry by BarNoneRecords". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
vteCrystal Gayle singles
Albums
Singles
1970s
"I've Cried (The Blue Right Out of My Eyes)"
"Wrong Road Again"
"Somebody Loves You"
"I'll Get Over You"
"You Never Miss a Real Good Thing (Till He Says Goodbye)"
"I'll Do It All Over Again"
"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"
"Ready for the Times to Get Better"
"Talking in Your Sleep"
"Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For"
"When I Dream"
"Your Kisses Will"
"Half the Way"
"Your Old Cold Shoulder"
1980s
"It's Like We Never Said Goodbye"
"The Blue Side"
"If You Ever Change Your Mind"
"Take It Easy"
"Too Many Lovers"
"The Woman in Me"
"You Never Gave Up on Me"
"Livin' in These Troubled Times"
"'Til I Gain Control Again"
You and I" (with Eddie Rabbitt)
"Everything I Own"
"Our Love Is on the Faultline"
"Baby, What About You"
"The Sound of Goodbye"
"I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love"
"Turning Away"
"Me Against the Night"
"Nobody Wants to Be Alone"
"A Long and Lasting Love"
"Makin' Up for Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers' Song)" (with Gary Morris)
"Cry"
"Straight to the Heart"
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
"Another World" (with Gary Morris)
"Nobody Should Have to Love This Way"
"Only Love Can Save Me Now"
"O Holy Night"
"Nobody's Angel"
1990s
"Never Ending Song of Love"
"Two Sleepy People" (with Willie Nelson)
2000s
"Hallelujah I Love Him So"
vteLynn Anderson singles
Albums
Singles
1960s
"Ride, Ride, Ride"
"If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)"
"Too Much of You"
"Promises, Promises"
"Mother, May I" (with Liz Anderson)
"No Another Time"
"Big Girls Don't Cry"
"Flattery Will Get You Everywhere"
"Our House Is Not a Home (For It's Never Been Loved In)"
