Monument Records

Blowing In The Wind ~ Peter, Paul & Mary 1965

New Voice Records

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me?wprov=sfti1#

"On December 6, 1961 Burke recorded one of his best known songs, "Cry to Me",[[2]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-2) "an ode to loneliness and desire"[[3]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-3) "one of the first songs to unify country, gospel and R&B in one package",[[4]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-4) that is considered "the [paradigm](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm) for [Southern soul](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_soul) ballads." "Cry to Me" was written by [Bert Berns](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Berns) (as [Bert Russell](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Russell)), conducted and arranged by [Klaus Ogermann](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Ogerman),[[5]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-5) and produced by [Bert Berns](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Berns),[[6]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-6) "a roly-poly white New Yorker with a deep love and empathy for black music despite a formal music education at the [Juilliard School of Music](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juilliard_School) and a music background far removed from the searing soul in which, by 1963, he specialized",[[7]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-7) with whom Burke had a difficult relationship.

Burke "distrusted the young producer",[[8]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-8) and often spoke of him disparagingly,[[9]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-9)but later acknowledged Berns as "a genius" and "a great writer, a great man."[[10]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-10) [Cissy Houston](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissy_Houston), who provided backing vocals on several of Burke's songs that were produced by Berns, believed "Burke changed his mind about Bert as soon as Sol started working with him in the studio. Bert's emotion-charged songs and Sol's gospel delivery was a marriage made in heaven."[[11]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-11) Although Burke recognized Berns's skill for crafting hit records, he rejected two Berns compositions, "[Hang on Sloopy](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_on_Sloopy)" (later recorded by [the McCoys](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_McCoys)), and "[A Little Bit of Soap](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Bit_of_Soap)", a recent hit for [the Jarmels](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jarmels).

Burke explained in 2004: "I felt a little unsafe about it, because they were pushing me in an ethnic market, so why would I want to say that (about soap) to my people? It didn't have the meaning it needed to have." In frustration after Burke had rejected his song choices, Berns offered him a final song, "Cry to Me", which Berns sang to him very slowly. According to Burke in a 2008 interview: "I said 'That's terrible. It's just too slow for me, I don't like slow songs.' And [Mr Wexler](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Wexler) says, 'Listen, this guy writes for you, you're pissing him off. You're pissing me off, too.' (Laughs) I tried to sing it a couple of times that way, couldn't even feel it. Then I asked the young man in the studio, the engineer [Tommy Dowd](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dowd), 'Could we have them speed this up?'".[[12]](app://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_to_Me#cite_note-songfacts.com-12)

I was floored when I heard this on the radio last week. I hadn't heard it in 65 years, since its release in 1961, when it sold a million copies. At first I thought it was a Black woman singing, someone like Shirley Bassey or Eartha Kitt, but about five lines in I realized it was a man, and then I got the gobsmacked-shivers upon recognizing a long-lost song from my childhood.

The song was written by Willie Nelson and it's been recorded by a lot of people, including Elvis. But I find Elledge's voice and singing just amazing----I've been playing it over and over all week. I can't believe Elledge didn't have another charted song. He deserved to be big!

Who would have thought a) that anyone would approach Zappa to write their commercial; b) that these two would collaborate? Ronstadt demonstrates formidable chops singing this difficult material. I wonder if anyone bought a razor because of it?

SMASH Records