"Lotta Lovin'" is a song by American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

singer

Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps ''Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps'' is an album by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. It was originally released in 1957, four months after its predecessor, '' Bluejean Bop!''. It was released on the Capitol label. It was re-released on CD in 20 ...

Background

The song was recorded at

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...

in Los Angeles and released as a 45 single with "Wear My Ring", co-written by

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

as the B side. Gene Vincent performed the songs on his first appearance on the TV show ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', hosted by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

. The lead guitarist on the track was Johnny Meeks, who had replaced

Cliff Gallup Clifton E. Gallup (June 17, 1930 – October 9, 1988) was an American guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps throughout the 1950s. Biography In February 1956, local radio DJ Sheriff Tex Davi ...

. The song was produced by Ken Nelson. Bernice Bedwell wrote the song, who played the song over the telephone to Vincent. He also recorded "In My Dreams" and "Lonesome Boy" by Bedwell.

Reception

It reached #7 on the U.S. R&B chart and #13 on the U.S. pop chart in 1957. In Canada, the song reached #2 on the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

Other versions

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

, as a single in 1965, but it did not chart. *

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

, on his 1978 album '' Chain Lightning''. *

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

and Big Town Playboys, on their 1993 album '' Crazy Legs''. *

Ray Campi Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer, musician and songwriter, nicknamed "The Rockabilly Rebel". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white double bass, which he often jump ...

in 1996 *

Danny Gatton Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz". Career Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...

in a recording released in 1998

References

1957 songs 1957 singles 1965 singles Gene Vincent songs Mickey Gilley songs Don McLean songs Jeff Beck songs Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer) Capitol Records singles {{1950s-single-stub