"Breathless" is a song composed by
Otis Blackwell
Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), " Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry ...
. It was the fourth record by
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
, whose version was released in February 1958 on
Sun Records
Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...
. It spent 15 weeks on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at #7 in April 1958. The song also reached #4 on the
country chart, #3 on the
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
, and #8 in the UK. The B-side, "
Down the Line", also charted in 1958, reaching #51 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart. It was re-released in 1979 as part of the Sun Records Golden Treasure Series as Sun #25 and on the Quality label in Canada in 1958. The song was also featured in the 1983 film ''
Breathless'' starring
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...
and
Valerie Kaprisky along with the Jerry Lee Lewis song "
High School Confidential".
Background
The song was recorded in January 1958 at the Sun Records studio at 706 Union in Memphis, Tennessee. The personnel on the session were Jerry Lee Lewis on vocals and piano,
Billy Lee Riley
Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll"Variously spelled as "...Rock & Roll" ...
on guitar, J.W. Brown on bass, and
Jimmy Van Eaton
James Mack Van Eaton (December 23, 1937 – February 9, 2024), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, was an American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as the drummer in sessions with Jerry Lee ...
on drums.
Other recordings
The song has been
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of ...
several times, including versions by
Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
,
Mickey Gilley
Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician.
Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...
,
Wanda Jackson
Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American retired singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of Rock music, rock, Country music, country and Gospel music, gospel. She was among th ...
,
X,
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
,
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also m ...
,
Mike Berry, Hal Munro, The Paramounts, Chas & Dave, and Otis Blackwell.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breathless (Jerry Lee Lewis song)
Jerry Lee Lewis songs
1958 songs
Sun Records singles
1958 singles
Songs written by Otis Blackwell
Tom Jones (singer) songs