Chain Gang (1955 Song)
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"Chain Gang" is a 1955 song written by Sol Quasha and Herb Yakus. In 1956, a recording by American singer Bobby Scott reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, whilst a version by English singer Jimmy Young peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. A
work song A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either one sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or one linked to a task that may be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. An example is " I ...
, its chart success followed that of the similarly themed "
Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Rosewood, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone ...
", a transatlantic number one for
Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...
.


Chart versions


Bobby Scott

Bobby Scott's version of "Chain Gang" was issued on
ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...
in December 1955. The song was Scott's first
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
single; the teenage musician had already backed
Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...
and
Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...
as a jazz pianist. Gordon Whitey Mitchell, who played alongside Scott in the Gene Krupa Quartet, remembered him practicing his singing on tour "affecting a 'black' sound", and described "Chain Gang" as featuring "that same fake voice". The song employs a
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
-tinged arrangement. It was included in a ''
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 ...
'' article rounding up 1956's
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 ...
hit singles. Scott's recording was a hit, peaking at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was the first hit for
ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...
, founded in August 1955. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. "Chain Gang" was ultimately Scott's only hit single. Reviewing Scott's recording, ''
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 ...
'' described the song as "an earthy, folksy lament that seems to be a descendant of '
Sixteen Tons "Sixteen Tons" is a song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in the mines of Rosewood, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in Hollywood, California, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone ...
'" and praised Scott's "wonderful, warm, husky charm". The song is included in Bruce Pollock's book ''Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era'', with the writer describing it as an "early taste of jazz/rock".


Jimmy Young

Jimmy Young's version of "Chain Gang", recorded with Bob Sharples and His Music, was released as a single in the United Kingdom in March 1956. The single marked a change in style for Young, who was best known for his
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
recordings. The recording employs a slapback echo effect on Young's vocal. His last line is treated with a longer, sustained tape delay. An anonymous review in the ''Gramophone Record Review'' described the record as "quite one of the corniest attempts I've heard for some time. Poor Jimmy is completely submerged beneath all the hammering of the hard labour brigade." Max Jones of the '' Daily Herald'' described the record as "not strong-voiced enough to sell it full blast, but still likely to make a hit". Writing in ''Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Modern Pop'', British musician and journalist Bob Stanley described Young's "Chain Gang" as "just plain weird", citing the "caterwauling brass, whipcrack snare, moaning convicts" of the backing and spotlighting the song's climax in which "it trips out into proto- dub, Young's voice echoing into a void of tape delay and lonesome stand-up bass, oblique, dissolving". Stanley notes that the vocal production on "Chain Gang" bears similarities to that on "
Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...
" but predates the
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
record's UK release. Young's version is among the 1950s and 1960s recordings listed in
Mim Scala Emilio "Mim" Scala (born 1940) is the co-founder of the London-based television, film and theatrical agency Scala Brown Associates. Early life and career Mim Scala was born in London in 1940. He attended St Augustine's School and Hammersmith an ...
's memoir ''Diary of a Teddy Boy: A Memoir of the Long Sixties''.


References

{{Reflist 1955 singles 1956 singles Songs about prison Songs about labor ABC Records singles Decca Records singles