"Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

written by

Morty Craft Morton Irving Craft (August 19, 1920 – January 27, 2022) was an American music arranger, songwriter, record producer, business executive, and record label owner. Biography Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Craft's early career was as a saxo ...

with lyrics written by Craft's wife, Selma. .

Original recordings

Craft owned a record label, and produced the recording by The

Shepherd Sisters The Shepherd Sisters (also known as The Sheps) were an American vocal quartet of four sisters born and raised in Middletown, Ohio, United States: Martha (born Martha Jane Shepherd, April 22, 1932 – February 24, 1998), Gayle (born Joyce Gayle S ...

on that label. While it was the only hit for The Shepherd Sisters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

reaching No. 18 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart, on November 11, 1957. in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

The Shepherd Sisters' version also charted in the UK, reaching No. 14.

Four Seasons recording

A remake of the song by The Four Seasons charted in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, reaching its peak ''Billboard'' Hot 100 position at No. 28, on July 18. "Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)" also went to No. 8 on the

Canadian singles chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by ''Jam!''/Canoe. It ...

. It was the act's last hit single on

Vee Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, ...

, as The Four Seasons had already left the label at the beginning of 1964 in a royalty dispute.

Cover versions

*"Alone" was one of a number of hits for

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during th ...

, reaching No. 8 on 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 ...

, before she became famous internationally. *The song was also subsequently recorded by

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...

. *A 1957, version by The Southlanders, reached No. 17 in the UK. *

Saint Motel In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

sampled the original version in their song "Sisters" which appears on their third album, ''The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''.

References

{{authority control 1957 singles 1964 singles Petula Clark songs The Four Seasons (band) songs Vee-Jay Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Crewe 1957 songs