B-side "You and I" Format 7", 45rpm Length 2:52 | Released August 1965 Genre Easy listening Label Columbia DB 7659 | |
"Tears" ("Tears for Souvenirs") is a song written by lyricist Frank Capano and composer Billy Uhr, and was first recorded by Rudy Vallee in 1929. It was made famous in a version recorded by Ken Dodd, released as a single in 1965. It became a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart, and the best-selling single of 1965. The song also reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart.
Contents
Song synopsis
The main theme is based on Delilah's aria from Samson & Delilah by Saint-Saëns
Music charts
Although best known as a comedian, Ken Dodd was a prolific recording artist throughout the 1960s and most of his music recordings were serious, not comic. His debut single "Love is like a Violin" reached No. 8 in 1960. Between that and "Tears" he released nine further singles, several of which charted (though none of them made the top 20).
The single spent 24 weeks in total on the chart, with five of those at number 1. It sold over a million copies in the UK, becoming the biggest-selling single of 1965, and was the third-biggest selling single of the 1960s; it was the only non-Beatles song in the top 5. In 2002 it was listed as the UK's 19th-best selling single of all time, with sales of 1,521,000.
Cover version
Bobby Vinton released a cover of the song in 1966. His version reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching No. 27 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. In Canada, Vinton's version reached No. 24 on the "RPM Play Sheet" and No. 14 on RPM's "GMP Guide".
Parody
"Tears" was parodied in a section of the song "I'm Bored" by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, on their album Gorilla (1967).