"Step to the Rear" is a song written by

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 orig ...

and

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". W ...

. It was originally performed in the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many of the extant or closed Broadway venues use or used the spelling ''Theatr ...

How Now, Dow Jones ''How Now, Dow Jones'' is a musical comedy by Academy Award winner Elmer Bernstein, Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh and Max Shulman. The original Broadway production opened in December 1967. A critically acclaimed revised version premiered off ...

'' between 1967 and 1968. It was first recorded on an official cast album in 1968. It was notably recorded by American singer

Marilyn Maye Marilyn Maye McLaughlin (born April 10, 1928) is an American singer, musical theater actress and masterclass educator. With a career spanning eight decades, Maye has performed music in the styles of cabaret, Jazz music, jazz and Pop music, pop ...

, whose version was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. Maye's version reached the top five of the American adult contemporary chart and was seen on televised advertisements for

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and Mercury cars. It was adapted into the

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’s fight song as The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way.
The song was also covered by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

(recorded October 31, 1967) and by

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

in 1968.

Background and original recording

"Step to the Rear" was composed by Elmer Bernstein and Carolyn Leigh for the musical ''

''. In the show, the context of the song is centered on several widows who comfort a man who attempts suicide. When the widows discover the man lacks confidence in himself, they proceed by performing "Step to the Rear". In the original 1968 show, "Step to the Rear" was performed by Tony Roberts and Charlotte Jones. The pair recorded it on the show's cast album in 1968, which was released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. The show opened on Broadway on December 7, 1967, but only ran for several months.

Marilyn Maye version

Background and recording

"Step to the Rear" was notably recorded by American singer Marilyn Maye. Signed to RCA Victor as a recording artist, Maye was becoming known for recording versions of songs from Broadway musicals. Producer Joe René routinely brought her songs that would later be recorded for Broadway productions. This included her version of "

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

", which became a commercial success. She would also be given "Step to the Rear" during this period. With René serving as her producer, "Step to the Rear" was recorded in 1967 at RCA Studios 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 ...

Release, chart performance and reception

"Step to the Rear" was released as a single by RCA Victor in October 1967. It was backed on 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 ...

by the song "For Those in Love". It entered America's ''

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 ...

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart in November 1967 and spent a total of 13 weeks there. In January 1968, the song reached the number two position on the chart. It became Maye's highest-charting single and most commercially successful in her recording career. It was among three of her songs that reached the top ten on the adult contemporary chart. In November 1967, "Step to the Rear" appeared on her studio album of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

. Maye's version of "Step to the Rear" was subsequently heard by the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, which used the song for several years in advertisements for their

and Mercury cars. Maye became the spokesperson for the car company and re-recorded the song with lyrics to match the advertisements on television.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Step to the Rear" – 1:58 * "For Those in Love" – 2:40

Charts

References

{{Marilyn Maye 1967 songs 1967 singles Marilyn Maye songs RCA Victor singles Songs from musicals Songs with music by Elmer Bernstein