"Changing Partners" is a

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 ...

song with music by Larry Coleman and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

Joe Darion Joe Darion (30 January 1911 — 16 June 2001) was an American musical theatre lyricist, most famous for '' Man of La Mancha'', which is considered, by some critics, as a precursor to 1980s sung-through musicals such as '' Les Miserables''. Dario ...

, published in 1953. The best-known recording was made by

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

. It was also recorded the same year by

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Hit versions

*The version by

was recorded on September 21, 1953 and released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

as catalog number 70260. It started 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 ...

charts on November 21, 1953, staying on the chart for 21 weeks and reaching number three in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

. She re-recorded the song for her 1966 album ''Patti Page's Greatest Hits''. *The version by

with

Hugo Winterhalter Hugo Winterhalter (August 15, 1909 – September 17, 1973) was an American easy listening arranger and composer, best known for his many arrangements and recordings for RCA Victor. Biography Hugo Ferdinand Winterhalter was born in Wilkes-Barre, ...

's orchestra and chorus was recorded on October 15, 1953 and released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

as catalog number 20-5515 (in USA) and by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

label as catalog number B 10634. The American release reached No. 12 on the Billboard charts in

. *The version by

was recorded on October 22, 1953 and released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

as catalog number 2657. It started on the Billboard charts on December 5, 1953, staying on the chart for 9 weeks and reaching No. 13 in

. It also reached No. 4 in the UK in 1954. *The version by

was recorded on November 14, 1953 and released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

as catalog number 28969. It started on the Billboard charts on January 23, 1954, staying on the chart for 2 weeks and reaching No. 17. It reached No. 9 on the UK chart. This version was also included in Crosby's 1954 album ''

Bing Sings the Hits ''Bing Sings the Hits'' is a Decca Records album by Bing Crosby of hit songs from the early 1950s. It was issued as a 10-inch LP with catalog number DL 5520. Background Crosby’s record company had issued an almost constant stream of 10” LPs i ...

''.

Other recordings

*1954

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

reached number 4 on the country music charts in 1954. *1954

Helen Forrest Helen Forrest (born Helen Fogel, April 12, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was an American singer of traditional pop and swing music. She served as the "girl singer" for three of the most popular big bands of the Swing Era (Artie Shaw, Benny Good ...

- a single release for Bell Records. *1954

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

and His Blue Grass Boys recorded the song for Decca (No. 29021). *1954

Lita Roza Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to h ...

issued the song on a single release. *1954

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

also recorded the song for single release. *1954 The

Beverley Sisters The Beverley Sisters were an English female close harmony traditional pop vocal and light entertainment trio, consisting of three sisters from London. They were eldest sister Joy (born Joycelyn Victoria Chinery, 5 May 1924 – 31 August 201 ...

recorded a single version for the Philips label (No. PB 231). *1961 Miki & Griff included the song on the album ''Miki and Griff''. *2009

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

's album, '' Secret, Profane & Sugarcane'', includes a version of this song to close the album. *

Fong Fei-fei Fong Fei-Fei (), born Lim Chiu-Luan (; 20 August 1953 – 3 January 2012), was a Taiwanese singer, host and actress. As one of the biggest pop singers in Taiwan, she was known for her melodic love songs, unique personal stage style and broad v ...

covered the song in Mandarin as "舞伴淚影" (English: "Shadow of teardrops from a partner" or idiomatically "Tearful silhouette of a partner").

Film appearances

*The 1984 Canadian film ''Isaac Littlefeathers'' opened with a recording of the

Tennessee Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" ...

followed by a recording of "Changing Partners". *The

version was also featured in the 2012 film '' The Master'' directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

References

{{authority control 1953 songs Songs with music by Larry Coleman Songs with lyrics by Joe Darion Patti Page songs Pee Wee King songs