"A Lover's Concerto" is a

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written by American

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s Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, based on the 18th century composition by Christian Petzold, " Minuet in G major", and recorded in 1965 by the Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than two million copies and was awarded

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certification by the

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. Their original version of the song was a major hit in the

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and

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(among other countries) during 1965. It peaked on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 2. It was kept out of the number 1 spot by both " Yesterday" by

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and "

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" by

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. "A Lover's Concerto" reached number 1 both on the US '' Cashbox'' chart (''Billboard''s main competitor), and in

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on the '' RPM'' national singles chart. It peaked at number 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

History

Linzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar " Minuet in G major" (BWV Anh. 114), which first appeared in J.S. Bach's '' Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach''. The only difference is that the "Minuet in G major" is written in time, whereas "A Lover's Concerto" is arranged in time. Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now generally accepted as having been written by Christian Petzold. The melody had been popularized by bandleader

Freddy Martin Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Early life Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...

in the 1940s, in a recording that was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto".
Critic Dave Thompson (author), 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

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sound." The song also had an unusual structure that blurred the differences between its verses and choruses. The lyrics begin: : ''How gentle is the rain'' : ''That falls softly on the meadow,'' : ''Birds high up in the trees'' : ''Serenade the clouds with their melodies''

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lover's Concerto, A 1965 singles Songs written by Sandy Linzer The Toys songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Arrangements of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach Songs written by Denny Randell 1965 songs Popular songs based on classical music