"Long Lonely Nights" is a song that was originally released by

Lee Andrews & the Hearts Lee Andrews and the Hearts were an American doo-wop quintet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formed in 1953. They recorded on the Gotham, Rainbow, Mainline, Chess, United Artists, Grand and Gowen labels. Managed by Kae Williams, i ...

in 1957. Hit versions were also released by

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...

, later in 1957, and

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is an American singer and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One ...

in 1965. The song was written by Lee Andrews, though Larry Brown (as Abbott), Doug Henderson, and Mimi Uniman were given songwriter credit as well, in a practice that was common at the time.Warner, Jay (2006).
American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today
',

Hal Leonard Corporation Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Cur ...

. p. 102. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

1957 versions

Lee Andrews & the Hearts' version was released as a single in 1957.This Week's R&B Best Buys
, ''

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 ...

'', July 29, 1957. p. 60. Retrieved March 24, 2018 It was originally released on the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

based Main Line Records label, before being released on the

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

label, which was able to give it wider distribution.Leszczak, Bob (2013).
Who Did It First?: Great Rhythm and Blues Cover Songs and Their Original Artists
',

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, p. 131. Retrieved March 25, 2018. It reached No. 45 on ''

''s " Top 100 Sides" chart, and No. 11 on ''

''s chart of " Most Played R&B by Jockeys".Most Played R&B by Jockeys
, ''

'', September 16, 1957. p. 58. Accessed October 19, 2015 Clyde McPhatter's version was released as a single in 1957. It reached No. 49 on ''Billboard''s "Top 100 Sides" chart, while reaching No. 1 on ''Billboard''s chart of "Most Played R&B by Jockeys", and No. 9 on ''Billboard''s chart of "R&B Best Sellers in Stores". In 1958, McPhatter released the song on his album ''Love Ballads''. The song also reached No. 33 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 60 in 1957, in a tandem ranking of Lee Andrews & the Hearts, Clyde McPhatter,

Kitty Kallen Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, including the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene, and the early years ...

, and The Kings' versions, with Lee Andrews & the Hearts and Clyde McPhatter's versions marked as bestsellers, while reaching No. 27 on ''Cash Box''s chart of "The Records Disc Jockeys Played Most". It also reached No. 3 on ''Cash Box''s R&B Top 20, in a tandem ranking of Lee Andrews & the Hearts and Clyde McPhatter's versions.

Bobby Vinton version

Bobby Vinton released the most widely successful version of "Long Lonely Nights" in 1965 as a single and on the album ''

Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights ''Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights'' is Bobby Vinton's eleventh studio album, released in 1965. This album was released to capitalize on the success of Vinton's big hit " Mr. Lonely" and his album of the same name by containing only songs t ...

''. Vinton's version spent 7 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 17, while reaching No. 12 on ''

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 ...

''s "100 Top Pops", No. 14 on the ''

'' Top 100, No. 5 on ''

''s Middle-Road Singles chart, and No. 5 on Canada's "''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Play Sheet".

Other versions

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

released a cover of "Long Lonely Nights" in 1970, as a single and on the album ''Like It Is, Like It Was''. It spent four weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 74, while reaching No. 27 on ''Billboard''s

Soul Singles 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 po ...

chart, No. 60 on ''Record World''s "100 Top Pops", No. 13 on ''Record World''s "Top 50 R&B", and No. 70 on the ''

'' Top 100.Cash Box Top 100
, ''

'', August 8, 1970. p. 4. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

References

{{authority control 1957 songs 1957 singles 1965 singles 1970 singles Bobby Vinton songs Clyde McPhatter songs The Four Seasons (band) songs Atlantic Records singles Cadet Records singles Chess Records singles Epic Records singles