"Sally Go 'Round the Roses" is the name of a 1963

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

the Jaynetts The Jaynetts were an American girl group based in the Bronx, New York State, New York, who became a one-hit wonder in 1963 with the song "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Career ...

, a

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

-based

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

, released by J&S Records on the Tuff label.

Background

The producer of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", Abner Spector, was an A&R man for the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

. Spector was responsible for

The Corsairs The Corsairs were an American doo wop ensemble from La Grange, North Carolina. The group consisted of the three Uzzell brothers, Moses, Jay, James and their cousin, George Wooten. Initially they performed as The Gleems, and toured the East Coast, ...

' 1962 number 12 hit "

Smoky Places "Smoky Places" is a song written by Abner Spector and performed by The Corsairs. It reached #10 on the U.S. R&B chart and #12 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. The song was arranged by Sammy Lowe and produced by Abner Spector. The song ranked # ...

", which had been released on Tuff, a subsidiary of J&S Records. In the summer of 1963, Spector asked J&S owner, Zelma "Zell" Sanders, to assemble a vocal ensemble to record a

style record, to which end Sanders wrote the song "Sally..." with Spector's wife Lona Stevens, drawing inspiration from the nursery rhyme "

Ring around the Rosie "Ring a Ring o' Roses", also known as "Ring a Ring o' Rosie" or "Ring Around the Rosie", is a nursery rhyme, folk song, and playground game. Descriptions first appeared in the mid-19th century, though it is reported to date from decades ...

". The songwriting copyright for "Sally..." is now in the name of Abner Spector who died in 2010; Zell Sanders died in 1976. The arrangement for "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" was provided by

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

, who recalls Spector "asked me to listen to hesong... decided that in its present form it did not ave potential but I heard something in my head. He said, 'Go into a small demo studio and do what you hear', and he would pay for it." Butler says that he prepped the backing track for "Sally..." at Broadway Recording Studios in the

Ed Sullivan Theater The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th streets, in the Theat ...

; in spite of it being widely reported that

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–19 ...

is the drummer, Butler claims that, except for the guitar parts (by

Al Gorgoni Al Gorgoni (born 1939) is an American guitarist, composer, arranger, and producer, known for his work as a studio musician during the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Growing up in Philadelphia, his family moved to The Bronx where he took up the guit ...

and Carl Lynch), he played all the instruments on the track. Butler states the entire recording of "Sally..." was done "on an old Ampex tape machine at 7 IPS mono....Each time when I added another element" – including the final element: the vocalists – "I added a different type of

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

. Each generation e. developmentseemed to add to the distinct sound of the record." Besides the five vocalists credited in the group which Zell Sanders assembled to record "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" (Yvonne Bushnell, Ethel Davis (aka Vernell Hill), Ada Ray Kelly, Johnnie Louise Richardson and Mary Sue Wells (aka Mary Sue Wellington/Mary Green Wilson)), at least five other vocalists are known to be featured on the track: Selena Healey, Marie Hood, Marlene Jenkins (aka Marlina Mack/Marlina Mars), Louise Harris Murray, Lezli Valentine and Iggy Williams have been identified as participating in the recording sessions for "Sally...". The recording sessions took place over a week, running up of costs of $60,000, then an exorbitant amount of time and money for a single track. According to Johnnie Louise Richardson: "Anybody that came in the studio that week, pectorwould put them on

he track He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

Originally, I think he had about 20 voices on 'Sally.'" Butler's recollection is that Spector only heard the "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" track when it was completed and "hated it. He was really angry. He felt that I wasted his money." Butler played the track for

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

, who offered to buy it from Spector: the interest of the duo caused Spector to reassess "Sally...", which he had Sanders release as a single credited to 'the Jaynetts', with the instrumental track as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Butler claimed his only return for arranging "Sally..." was being credited as the

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

on the record: a 1971 ''

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 ...

'' article states that Butler's arrangement of "Sally..." did earn him $3. The recording engineer of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" was John P. "Jack" Sullivan.

Reception

"Sally Go 'Round the Roses" had its first major market breakout in San Francisco, its ringing arrangement being a precursor of the San Francisco Sound. The song was a favorite number of

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American painter and retired musician whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the earl ...

when she fronted the Great Society, her pre-

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

outfit, and it was a formative influence on

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968) and ''Ne ...

. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" peaked at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated 28 September 1963, remaining at number 2 on the Hot 100 dated 5 October, both weeks kept out of the top slot by " Blue Velvet" by

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 ...

. On the Music Vendor Top 40 dated 12 October 1963, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" was ranked at number 1. In 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 100, it reached the number 3 spot on 28 September 1963, its highest position; it remained there for another week (5 October 1963). It was also a hit in France, reaching number 7 with a 17-week chart run, and reached number 2 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

it was number 6 for 2 weeks starting September 30, 1963. Tuff released a ''Sally Go 'Round the Roses'' album which, despite the group being promoted as a quintet, displayed a cover image of a trio, only two of whom, Ethel Davis and Lezli Valentine, are identifiable. Besides the title cut, in both vocal and instrumental versions, and the follow-up single "Keep an Eye on Her", the album featured "Archie's Melody", "Bongo Bobby", "I Wanna Know", "No Love at All", "One Track Mind", "Pick Up My Marbles", "School Days" and "See Saw". Also featured as 'a special guest appearance' was "Dear Abby", credited to the Hearts, a minor hit (number 94) recorded by at least some of the same personnel who were involved with "Sally...". ''Billboard'' placed the song at number 78 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Interpretations

"Sally Go 'Round the Roses" was unlike other pop songs of the day, with a spooky, even ominous, musical ambiance heightened by the sometimes odd and opaque lyrics, which gave the song a mysterious feeling that probably accounted in part for its popularity, and which has led to speculation on the meaning of the song. "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" could be interpreted as a conventional song of heartbreak over cheating, or it could be – and has been – seen as alluding to deeper matters, including drug use, illegitimate motherhood, madness, suicide, or, most especially, lesbianism.

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. He began his career based in folk rock, but subsequently experimented with genres such as psychedelia, jazz, the avant-garde, and funk paired with his ...

builds on this latter notion on his song "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses" from his 1973 album '' Sefronia''. Although the song contains many new lyrics not in the original (and credits only Buckley as the songwriter), it begins with a version of Sanders' song but with the lyric "Sally don't you go, don't you go downtown; saddest thing in the whole wide world is to see your baby with another girl" replaced with "Oh Sally don't you go down, oh darlin' don't you go downtown; Honey the saddest thing in the whole wide world is to find your woman been with another girl".

Other versions

A 1966 performance of the song by

is featured on '' Conspicuous Only in its Absence'', the Great Society's live album released in 1968. The recording was released as a single by Columbia Records in 1968 and got some Top 40 airplay, but failed to chart. In the UK, where the Jaynetts' single had a non-charting 1963 release on

Stateside Records Stateside Records, styled as $tateside Records, is a British record label, owned by Warner Music Group and operates through its Parlophone and Warner Records imprints. Upon creation, it initially released licensed American recordings and is n ...

, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" was first

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by Lyn Cornell, which had an October 1963 release on

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

: this version also failed to chart, as did later covers by

the Remo Four The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley (born Colin William Manley, 16 April 1942, in Old Swan ...

in May 1964, and Dee King in April 1966, both on

Piccadilly Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...

. "Sally..." would gain its highest UK profile when recorded by

Pentangle Pentangle may refer to: *Pentagon, a five-sided polygon *Pentagram, a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes *Pentangle (band), a British folk rock band ** ''The Pentangle'' (album), a 1968 album by Pentangle *Miss Pentangle, a character ...

in 1969, for their hit album '' Basket of Light''; "Sally..." was employed as B-side for the 1970 US single release of the ''Basket of Light'' track, "Light Flight", which had charted in the UK but with a different B-side ("Cold Mountain"). A

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

version of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", rendered by Jacques Plante ot the hockey player of the same nameas "Rose (Parmi Les Roses)" (''Rose among roses''), was recorded in the autumn of 1963 by both Richard Anthony; Anthony's version became the hit in 1963–64 reaching number 3 in France and also – as a

double 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 ...

hit with "Tchin Tchin" – number 4 in Belgium (Wallonia).

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...

, who also recorded "Rose (Parmi Les Roses)", recorded the Italian rendering "Rosa tra le rose", which charted in Italy at number 32 in 1965.

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

is shown singing a fragment of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" in the 1967 film '' Don't Look Back.'' In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Doug Parkinson Douglas John Parkinson (30 October 1946 – 15 March 2021) was an Australian pop and rock singer. He led the bands Strings and Things/A Sound (1965), the Questions (1966–1968), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1968–1970, 1971), Fanny Adams (1970� ...

and the Questions had a hit with "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", reaching number 33 in 1967. A version of "Sally Go Round The Roses" was also the first single release by the American singer

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

, then known as Donna Gaines. Gaines recorded the track in a session in London, produced by former

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

' guitarist

Vince Melouney Vincent Melouney (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success. Before becoming a member of the Bee Gees in Ma ...

, also recording the Melouney original "So Said the Man", which served as the single's

. "Sally..." by Donna Gaines was issued as a one-off 1971 release on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in the UK (with catalog# MK 5060) and Europe with no evident result. Bob Stanley describes Gaines' version as "minimalist

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

". "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" has also been recorded by Sunshine Ward on RCA Records in 1967, as well as Question Mark & the Mysterians,

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spen ...

(on the album Basket of light),

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

(on ''

Portrait of an American Girl ''Portrait of an American Girl'' is an album by Judy Collins, released in 2005. Track listing #"Singing Lessons" (Collins) - 4:05 #"That Song About the Midway" (Joni Mitchell) - 4:09 #"Can't Cry Hard Enough" ( Marvin Etzioni, David Williams) - 3: ...

'' 2005),

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

, Fanny, Holly Golightly,

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

(

of "(Never More) Lonely For You" – December 1965),

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada and a number one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot ...

Asha Puthli Asha Puthli (born February 4, 1945) is an Indian-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress, born and raised in Mumbai. She has recorded solo albums for EMI, CBS/Sony, and RCA. Her recordings cover blues, pop, rock, soul, funk, disco, a ...

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He rose to national prominence in the mid-1960s as a pop star and teen idol, backed by The Playboys. His 1965 double A-side " Que Sera Sera"/" Shakin' All Over" w ...

, Sarah June (2010),

Mitch Ryder William Sherille Levise Jr. (born February 26, 1945), known professionally as Mitch Ryder, is an American rock singer who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder was born on February 26, 1945, in Hamtramck, ...

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

, Voice Farm and – as an instrumental – by

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known for his shipbuilding and construction projects, then later for his involvement in fostering modern American health care. Prior to World War II, ...

. The soundtrack for the 1999 film ''A Walk on the Moon'' featured a remake of "Sally..." by Damnations TX. Anny Celsi remade "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" for her 2009 album ''Tangle Free World'': Celsi's version features

Evie Sands Evie Sands (born July 18, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Sands' music career spans more than 50 years. In the mid-1960s, while still a teenager, she began her career and eventually found chart success in 1969. Sands retired ...

as a backup vocalist. The Del-Byzanteens also covered this song on the album ''Lies To Live By'' in 1982.

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into t ...

's self-penned song "The Word" on her 2007 album ''Play It as It Lays'' references the lyrics of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" and acknowledges the source.

included a song entitled "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses" on his 1973 '' Sefronia'' album, which begins with extensive quotes from the Jaynettes' song, although it adds many new lyrics and is credited only to Buckley as sole songwriter. The Third Mind covered "Sally, Go 'Round the Roses" on their second album released in 2023 " The Third Mind 2," featuring

Jesse Sykes Jesse Sykes (born Jessica Ann Sykes, née Solomon; July 17, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her band Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, which was formed in 1999 with Phil Wandscher. Early life and education Sykes was ...

(acoustic guitar, vocals);

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s ...

(electric guitar);

Victor Krummenacher Victor Krummenacher (born April 7, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and guitarist. He is a founding member of alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven. Career In addition to co-founding Camper Van Beethoven, Krummenacher is also a co-fou ...

(bass guitar);

David Immerglück David A. Immerglück (born May 3, 1961)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a guitarist in the alternative rock bands Counting Crows, ...

(guitar/harmonium/mellotron); and

Michael Jerome Michael Jerome Moore, known as Michael Jerome is an American rock musician and drummer. He is a former member of Pop Poppins (1989-1997), the Toadies (1990–91), Course of Empire (1994–1998), and James Hall's band Pleasure Club, which was ...

(drums/percussion). The band played the song on their early 2024 tour, with

Mark Karan Mark Karan (born January 13, 1955) is an American guitarist and singer. He is best known for his long-term work with former members of the Grateful Dead, in RatDog (1998–2013), the Other Ones (1998–2000), Mickey Hart's band Planet Drum (1999 ...

replacing David Immerglück on guitar.

References

External links