"Sincerely" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

written by

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

and

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...

and first released by

The Moonglows The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song " Sincerely" went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. ...

in 1954. The Moonglows recorded the song during their first session for Chess Records, which took place in October, 1954 at

Universal Recording Corporation Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal i ...

in Chicago. The Moonglows' version reached number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart. Co-writing credits were shared by Moonglows band member Fuqua and disk jockey Freed. After it became known that Freed often insisted on songwriter credits for songs by bands he promoted (which partially led to his downfall in a

payola Payola, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under US law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as spons ...

investigation years later), Fuqua noted that Freed had in fact contributed to the songwriting for "Sincerely", thus his claim to a songwriting credit in this case was legitimate.

McGuire Sisters cover

The best-selling version of "Sincerely" was a pop cover recorded by the

McGuire Sisters The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters: * Ruby Christine McGuire (July 30, 1926 – December 28, 2018) * Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire (February 13, 1928 – September 7, 2012) * Ph ...

, which entered the charts in 1954 and reached number one the next year. It was eventually certified as a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

Other covers

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

recorded "Sincerely" as a non-album track and a B-side in 1964. * In 1988, a cover of the song by the country quartet Forester Sisters reached number eight on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart.

References

{{Authority control 1954 songs 1954 singles 1955 singles The McGuire Sisters songs The Forester Sisters songs Songs written by Harvey Fuqua Chess Records singles