Come Tomorrow (Marie Knight Song)
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"Come Tomorrow" is a song written by American songwriters Bob Elgin, Dolores Phillips and Frank Augustus for
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 ...
singer Marie Knight, who issued it as a single in October 1961 through
Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...
, a release which received good reviews, though failed to chart. The best known version of the song was recorded by British pop band
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...
, who took it to the top-ten in the United Kingdom in 1965.


Marie Knight version

The original version of "Come Tomorrow" was cut by singer Marie Knight. Knight, originally from the US, had become important for the blossoming
merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, tradit ...
scene in the UK, with a visit to
the Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club beca ...
in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1958 bringing her to the attention of the skiffle groups of the time. Despite having recorded for well over ten years by 1961, she had only seen small commercial success. Her best performing single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 up until that point was a duet with
Rex Garvin Rex Garvin (July 24, 1940Interview
OtherSounds.com. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
– December 2, 2013) wa ...
, "I Can't Sit Down", which had reached number 94 in 1959. In an attempt to get her to record more hits, writers Bob Elgin, Dolores Phillips and Frank Augustus specifically wrote a "pop song" for Knight to record, being "Come Tomorrow" "Come Tomorrow" was released in October 1961 through
Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...
. The release of the single was Okeh's first for almost a year, and
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
re-activated the label specifically for the single's release. It was backed by "There's Nothing In The World", written by Elgin, Augustus along with Clarence Lewis. Upon release, it received positive reviews in the US press. The staff writer for ''Billboard'' calls it a "rich, moving vocal", further stating it to be a "spiritual-favored theme" with "strong emotional impact." In ''Cash Box'', the single was chosen as a pick of the week, calling it a "powerhouse release", claiming that Knight never sounded better than she did on "Come Tomorrow". They write that it may become a hit because of the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
beat "sporting a beautiful, string-highlighted instrumental showcase." Despite the positive reviews the single received, it did not chart in the US on neither the ''Billboard'' nor ''Cash Box'' charts. Following the hit version by Manfred Mann, Okeh re-released Knight's original version in March 1965, though it again failed to chart.


Manfred Mann version


Background and recording

By the end of 1964, British pop group
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...
had established themselves as a worldwide success. Their breakthrough single, a cover of the Exciters, "
Do Wah Diddy Diddy "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963, as "Do-Wah-Diddy", by the American vocal group the Exciters. ''Cash Box'' described the Exciters' version as "a sparkling rocker that bubbl ...
", reached number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States during the autumn of that year. The follow-up to that single was a cover of "
Sha La La "Sha La La" is a song written by Robert Mosely (whose name is spelled "Moseley" on the record) and Robert Taylor. The Shirelles released the original version of the song as a single in March 1964 in the US, reaching number 15 on the U.S. R&B c ...
" by
the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...
, which became a top-ten hit in the UK and peaked in the top-twenty across the Atlantic. This established Manfred Mann with a distinct sound, dominated by the organ performed by keyboardist
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...
. Like many other songs by Manfred Mann during this era, "Come Tomorrow" was introduced to the band by lead singer Paul Jones, who owned a copy of it. The song differentiates from their contemporary sound in that the organ is not prominent, instead having a
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
played by guitarist
Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. Early life Vickers was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of ...
mixed high on the song. According to author Greg Russo, Manfred Mann begun recording the song on November 9, 1964, adding overdubs on November 16. However, in the liner notes for their compilation box ''Down the Road Apiece'', it is noted as having been recorded on November 16 with overdubs added on November 26. The sessions also completed other songs, including "What Did I Do Wrong?" which would end up as the B-side. Russo describes the session of the song to have been relaxed, in that "laughing and talking" could be heard on it. The session was produced by John Burgess and took place at
EMI Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music compan ...
in London. Paul Jones recorded a
German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
vocal track, with lyrics written by Fred Oldörp, specifically for the German market. This release, titled "Weine Nicht" ("Pretty Baby") was released as the B-side to "Sie" ("
She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...
") a month after the original version, though it failed to chart.


Release and reception

Focusing on the success of their recent singles in the United States, the release for "Come Tomorrow" was targeted for that territory through Ascot Records on January 7, 1965. It was released in the United Kingdom the day after on January 8, through
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. The B-side was "What Did I Do Wrong?", which according to Russo was a "slow
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
with nice vibes and sax solos". It followed the standard by Manfred Mann of having an outside writer composing the
A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, while the group themselves wrote the B-side. The release of the ballad came as a surprise for many of the group's fans, with Mann stating that "it was a complete break away for us" and that the single gave them the recognition of being the "top
Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...
-draw" in the United Kingdom. It entered the UK ''
Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...
'' chart on January 20, 1965 at number 26. It peaked at number 4 on February 10, before exiting the chart after nine weeks on March 17 at number 29. In the United States, the song would not enter the ''Billboard'' chart until February 20, at a position of number 89. It peaked at number 50 a month later before dropping out of the charts. It fared similar in the other American charts at the time, reaching number 52 in ''Cash Box'', and number 42 in ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
''. Russo attributes this lack of chart success to the fact that Manfred Mann did not tour the United States due to costs. It nonetheless did better than "Sha La La" across Europe, though was not as successful as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy".


Charts


Notes and references

NotesReferences


Sources

* * * * * {{Manfred Mann Songs written by Bob Elgin 1961 songs 1961 singles Okeh Records singles Manfred Mann songs Song recordings produced by John Burgess 1965 singles