"A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)" is a

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

song with words and music both written by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

. It was recorded at the

Bradley Studios Quonset Hut Studio is the nickname given to Bradley Studios, an independent recording studio complex established in 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee by brothers Harold and Owen Bradley. The first commercial recording studio facility in what would la ...

in Nashville, Tennessee on January 25, 1957, and released on the

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

label on March 4. The arranger and recording session conductor was

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

, an in-house conductor/arranger at Columbia. Robbins had demanded to have Conniff oversee the recording after his earlier hit, "

Singing the Blues "Singing the Blues" is a popular song composed by Melvin Endsley and published in 1956. The highest-charting version was by Guy Mitchell and the first recording of the song was by Marty Robbins. It is not related to the 1920 jazz song " Si ...

", had been quickly eclipsed on the charts by

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. His best-kno ...

's cover version, which was scored and conducted by Conniff in October 1956. The song reached No. 1 on the US country chart, becoming Marty Robbins' third No. 1 record. It reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart, and No. 1 in the Australian music charts. In Canada it was ranked No. 7 for 2 weeks on the first 2

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

s. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 17 song for 1957. Billboard year-end top 50 singles of 1957

Background

Robbins recalled writing "A White Sport Coat" in approximately twenty minutes, while being transported in a standard automobile. He is said to have had the inspiration for the song while driving from a motel to a venue in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, where he was due to perform that evening. During the course of the journey, he passed a local high school, where its students were dressed ready for their

prom A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year. Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...

. In the song, the narrator was hoping to go to the prom with a certain girl, wearing a white sport coat and a pink carnation. However, the girl decided to go to the prom with another guy, putting the narrator in a blue mood.

Cover versions

* A version by Johnny Desmond received some play also, peaking at No. 62 on the U.S. pop charts. * In UK the song was a notable hit for the English

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer

Terry Dene Terry Dene (born Terence Williams, 20 December 1938) is a British rock music singer popular in the late 1950s and early 60s. He had three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958. Career Dene was born in Lancaster Street, Elephant & Cas ...

, which reached No. 18 in the UK Charts. A recording by the King Brothers peaked at No. 6. Both of these versions were hits in early summer 1957.

In popular culture

* The song is mentioned in

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

's song " American Pie" (1971), with just the lyric about the "Pink Carnation". *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

's 1973 album '' A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' spoofs the title of the song. * The song is featured in the opening credits of the 1997 film ''

Going All the Way ''Going All the Way'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Mark Pellington, in his feature film directorial debut. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel and stars Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Amy Locane, Rac ...

''. * The song can be heard during the bowling-alley scene in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's 2019 film ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (also known as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 book '' I Heard You Paint Houses'' by Charl ...

''. *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

famously dressed in a white sport coat in homage to the song on July 6, 1957, the day of the Woolton Village Fete when he was introduced to

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

References

External links

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

1957 singles Marty Robbins songs Number-one singles in Australia Songs written by Marty Robbins Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Mitch Miller 1957 songs {{1950s-single-stub