"Moments to Remember" is a 1955 popular song about nostalgia[1] recorded by Canadian quartet The Four Lads.[2][3] The song was originally written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman for Perry Como but was turned down by Como's management.[4]
| "Moments to Remember" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Four Lads | ||||
| B-side | "Dream On, My Love, Dream On" | |||
| Released | July 18, 1955 | |||
| Recorded | June 21, 1955 | |||
| Genre | Popular music | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Composer(s) | Robert Allen, Al Stillman | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Ellis | |||
| The Four Lads singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Four Lads recording
editThe Four Lads recorded it in June 1955 for Columbia Records as the B side to the single "Dream On, My Love."[5] Bernie Toorish of the Four Lads credited the enthusiastic endorsement of Cleveland radio DJ Bill Randle for increasing radio airtime play and popularizing the recording.[6] It eventually reached number 2 on Billboard magazine's Top 100 hit list (an early version of the Hot 100), sold 4 million copies and became the group's first gold record.
The lyrics of the Moments listed in the song, include the tearing the goal post down on New Year's Day, the quiet walks, the noisy fun, and almost winning the ballroom prize. In the final refrain, when other times and days, find them doing their own separate ways, they have their moments to remember.
Besides the voices of the male quartet, the song also contains two uncredited female parts. According to the Four Lads' Frank Busseri, the introductory verse, ("January through December/We'll have moments to remember"), as well as the repeat of the Bridge section in harmony, ("When summer turns to winter",) were sung by Lois Winters of the Ray Charles Singers and the poetic spoken words in mid-song: ("A drive-in movie/Where we'd go/And somehow never watched the show/") were recited by Pat Kirby who at that time was a singer on Steve Allen's television show Tonight!.[5]
Other noted versions
edit- Bing Crosby recorded the song on November 23, 1955, with Buddy Cole and His Orchestra.[7]
- Louis Armstrong - a single release (1955).[8]
- Ronnie Hilton with orchestra conducted by Frank Cordell recorded "Moments to Remember" in London on December 13, 1955, and released it on HMV POP-154 (78 rpm record) and HMV 7M 358 (single).
- The American vocal group Deep River Boys Featuring Harry Douglas with Pete Brown's orchestra recorded it in Oslo on August 30, 1956. It was released on the 78 rpm record HMV AL 6037.
- The song was recorded by both the Statler Brothers and the Vogues in 1969, inciting a minor cover remake battle against the Buddah Records version by the Smoke Ring.
- The Norman Luboff Choir - On the album "Moments to Remember" - 1960
- The musical Forever Plaid includes their cover of the song.
Popular culture
edit- The song was featured as part of the theme music of XM Satellite Radio's "Moments to Remember", a weekly two-hour program written, produced, and hosted by Bob Moke on the '50s channel. The program aired from July 2006 through February 2009, and focused on standard pop music of the early to mid-Fifties.[9]
References
edit- ^ Browne, Ray Broadus; Ambrosetti, Ronald J. (1993). Continuities in Popular Culture: The Present in the Past & the Past in the Present and Future. ISBN 9780879725938.
- ^ Younkman, Tim (10 April 2010). "There's an album for everything under the sun". The Bay City Times. Michigan Live LLC.
- ^ QMI Agency. "Four Lads singer Codarini dies". jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Mitchell, Marilyn (March 20, 2013). "Frank Busseri and The Four Lads Moments to remember". Palm Desert Entertainer. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ a b Allen, Ronnie. "Frank Busseri". Ronnie Allen Podcast. Jersey Girls Sing. pp. 25:16–30:45. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ Adams, Deanna R. (2002). Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection. Kent State University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0873386914.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ Hinckley, David (18 July 2008). "Jo Stafford brings to mind a forgotten generation of singers". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
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