A Lover's Concerto

"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, 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 R.I.A.A.[1]

This article is about the popular song. For the Korean film, see Lovers' Concerto (film).
"A Lover's Concerto"
Single by The Toys
from the album The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!"
B-side"This Night"
ReleasedAugust 1965 (US)
October 1965 (UK)
GenrePop
Length2:36
LabelDynoVoice Records
Songwriter(s)Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell, Christian Petzold
Producer(s)Linzer and Randell
The Toys singles chronology
"A Lover's Concerto"
(1965)		 "Attack!"
(1966)

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] It was kept out of the number 1 spot by both "Yesterday" by The Beatles and "Get Off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones.[3] "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.[4]

History

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 had an unusual structure that blurred the differences between its verses and choruses.[2]

The lyrics begin with:

How gentle is the rain
That falls softly on the meadow,
Birds high up in the trees
Serenade the flowers with their melodies

Linzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar "Minuet in G major" (BWV Anh. 114) from 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 believed to have been written by Christian Petzold.[5][6][7] The melody had been popularized by bandleader Freddy Martin in the 1940s; Martin's recording was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto".[8]

Chart history

Cover versions

In subsequent years, "A Lover's Concerto" has been recorded by numerous other notable artists, including Cilla Black, Kelly Chen, the Delfonics, Doris, the Fleetwoods, Audrey Hall, Doyle Lawson (instrumental country cover in mandolin, 1977), the Lennon Sisters, Mrs. Miller, the Peanuts, the Pearls, Perrey and Kingsley (electronic music instrumental cover in 1967), the Supremes, Carla Thomas, Tight Fit, Leslie Uggams, and Sarah Vaughan (1966). Karina rendered the song in Spanish as "Concierto para enamorados" in 1966: that same year Alma Cogan made a German translation "So Fängt Es Immer An". Also, Kai Lind recorded the Finnish rendering named "Aamukonsertto". It was also covered in Japanese by the group SA under the title "Delight". The American singer Neil Sedaka recorded an Italian version, "Lettera bruciata". And Ferrante & Teicher did their own cover, titled "Familiar Concerto".

Later uses

"A Lover's Concerto" was used in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, in which the title character, attributing the Petzold minuet to Bach as was typical for the time in which that portion of the film was set, compares the two works in order to help his students gain an appreciation of Western classical music.[17] The song is also featured, as a duet between a cello and a computer, in the 1984 film, Electric Dreams.[18] Additionally, it was featured during the opening scene of the 1994 film Andre.

References
  1. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 198. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  2. Dave Thompson. "A Lover's Concerto - The Toys | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
  3. "Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. 1965-10-30. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 563. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. Wolff, Christoph (2001). "Bach. III. 7. Johann Sebastian Bach. Works". In Root, Deane L. (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford University Press. ‎
  6. Williams, Peter F.. 2007. J.S. Bach: A Life in Music, p. 158. Cambridge University Press.
  7. Schulenberg, David. 2006. The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, p. 522 and elsewhere.
  8. Archived December 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1965-10-25. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  10. Flavour of New Zealand, 30 December 1965
  11. "The Toys: Singles". Officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  13. http://rateyourmusic.com/list/goldwax317/1969__the_top_100_soul_randb_singles/
  14. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 23, 1965
  15. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  16. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1965". Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  17. "Mr. Holland's Opus - Part 3". Retrieved August 22, 2018 – via YouTube.
  18. "Electric Dreams Duet". Retrieved August 22, 2018 – via YouTube.
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