"Cry" is a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. It was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

and

The Four Lads The Four Lads were a Irish male singing quartet that earned many gold singles and albums in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Their million-selling signature tunes include " Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; " No, Not Much"; " Who Ne ...

on October 16, 1951. Singer

Ronnie Dove Ronald Eugene Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop music, pop and country music singer who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960s and several country chart records in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Ronnie Dove, th ...

also had a big hit with the song in 1966.

Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads version

recorded the song at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in

, with his version being released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

subsidiary label

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 ...

as catalog number Okeh 6840. It was a No.1 hit on the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

chart that year, and one side of one of the biggest two-sided hits, as the flip side, " The Little White Cloud That Cried," reached No.2 on the Billboard chart. This recording also hit No.1 on the R&B Best Sellers lists and the flip side, " The Little White Cloud That Cried," peaked at No.6. When the single started to crack the charts it was released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

catalog number Co 39659. Stan Freberg satirized this song, under the title "Try", and reported getting more angry feedback than from any of his many other parodies.

Ronnie Dove version

had a hit with the song in 1966. Released in November, it would reach the Top 20 on both the Pop and Easy Listening Charts by the end of the year. He would go on to perform it on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' early the following year. This would be Dove's last

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit, although he would continue to chart on the Easy Listening and, later, country charts.

Chart history

Lynn Anderson version

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

had major success in the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

market with her 1972 version, released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, which hit No.1 on the Cashbox country charts, and No. 3 on the ''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart. It also charted in the Top 20 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary Charts.

Chart history

Year-end charts

Crystal Gayle version

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

had her own hit take on the song in 1986, taking it to No. 1 on the ''

chart.

Chart history

Dutch-language versions

In 1982, singer/comedian André van Duin recorded it as "Als je huilt" (a double A-side with his take on

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

's "Les Trois Cloches") which became a No.1 hit in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

by mid-August. During TV-promotion he wore specially designed specs with an in-built water-sprayer for audience-exposure.

Other versions

* Stan Freberg parodied Johnnie Ray's version of "Cry" entitled "Try" in 1952, in which he did an emotional "sobbing out of tune" performance with different lyrics. The lyrics include the title of the B-side song "The Little White Cloud That Cried", in the line "even little white clouds do it". Johnnie Ray was not initially pleased with this parody. However, he later accepted Freberg's version. It peaked at No.15 on the Billboard Hot 100. *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

- for her 1959 (cancelled) '' One for the Boys'' album. *

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

- for his 1961 album '' Lonely and Blue''. *

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

- for her 1961 album ''

Emotions Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

''. *

Gene McDaniels Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer, producer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart wit ...

- in 1961, for his album ''100 Lbs. of Clay!'' * Timi Yuro - in 1961, for her album ''Hurt!'' *

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

recorded the song as a B-side of "I'm Coming Home" in 1962 on ABC-Paramount 45–10338. *

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

- on her 1963 debut album '' I'll Cry If I Want To''. *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

- on his 1964 album '' Sweet & Sour Tears''. (No.44 Canada) *

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

- on her 1968 album, '' Take Me to Your World / I Don't Wanna Play House''. * Mina - on her 1968 live album '' Mina alla Bussola dal vivo''. * Diana Trask took a version to No.99 on the country singles charts in 1975. *

Kevin Coyne Kevin Coyne (27 January 1944 – 2 December 2004) was an English musician, singer, composer, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. He was critically acclaimed for his unorthodox style of blues-influenced guitar composition, the ...

included a cover of the song on his 1978 album, '' Dynamite Daze''. *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

- on his 1984 album City of New Orleans. *

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...

included it on his 2002 album '' Then and Now''. *

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

- on her 2002 CD '' Liza's Back''. * Eros and the Eschaton recorded a version for Bar None Records in 2014. * Lorrie Morgan - for her 2009 '' A Moment in Time'' album.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cry (Churchill Kohlman Song) 1951 songs Johnnie Ray songs Ray Charles songs Lynn Anderson songs 1952 singles 1972 singles 1986 singles Crystal Gayle songs Number-one singles in the United States Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Diana Trask songs Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman Columbia Records singles Warner Records singles Okeh Records singles Song recordings produced by Mitch Miller