"Tears" (also known as "Tears for Souvenirs") is a song written by lyricist Frank Capano and composer Billy Uhr, which was popularised by

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York Ci ...

in 1930. It was later made famous in a version recorded by

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

, released as a 45 rpm

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 ...

in 1965, which became a bestselling No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

Song synopsis

The main theme is based on Delilah's aria "

Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix "" is a popular mezzo-soprano aria from Camille Saint-Saëns's opera '' Samson and Delilah'', known in English as "Softly awakes my heart", or more literally "My heart opens itself to your voice". It is sung by Delilah in act 2 as she attempts to ...

" ("Softly awakes my heart") from Act II of

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

's opera '' Samson and Delilah'', which dates from 1877.

Background

The song "Tears" was first published on October 20, 1930. The

Bob Haring Bob Haring (August 21, 1895 – February 18, 1975) was an American popular music bandleader of the 1920s and early 1930s. Biography Haring began recording as the music director of the then-new Cameo Records label beginning in 1922 under a plethora ...

Orchestra recorded it on December 4. A notable early recording of it was by

and His Connecticut Yankees, as a waltz, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on December 7 that year. Subsequent American recordings that month were by Sleepy Hall and his Collegians (the Brunswick Studio Orchestra), Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra, Seger Ellis, and the Blue Grass Boys with

Lee Morse Lena Corinne "Lee" Morse (née Taylor; November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was an American jazz and blues singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and actress. Morse's greatest popularity was in the 1920s and early 1930s as a torch singer, al ...

. 1931 saw recordings of the song by the Dick Robertson Orchestra with Ray Raymond, Lester McFarland and Robert A. Gardner, and the

Lionel Belasco Lionel Belasco (Maracaibo (Venezuela) 20 september 1881 – ) also know as Lionel "Lanky" Belasco was a pianist, arranger, composer, promoter and bandleader from Trinidad and Tobago. Belasco was a pianist, composer and bandleader best known f ...

Orchestra. In the UK, "Tears" was recorded in early 1931 by a number of British dance bands: Lew Sylva and his Band (a pseudonym for Harry Bidgood, with vocals by

Bob and Alf Pearson Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson (15 August 1907 – 30 December 1985) and Alfred Vernon Pearson (15 June 1910 – 7 July 2012), who were mainly known for their singi ...

), Bert and John Firman, The Ambassador Club Band (directed by Eddie Grossbart, with vocals by

Sam Browne General (United Kingdom), General Sir Samuel James Browne, (3 October 1824 – 14 March 1901) was a British Indian Army cavalry officer, known best as the creator of the Sam Browne belt. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prest ...

), Jock McDermott and his Band, Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra (with vocals by

Val Rosing Valerian Rosing (1910–1969), also known after 1938 as Gilbert Russell, was a British dance band singer best known as the vocalist with the BBC in the BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall. Rosing was the son of Russian tenor Vladimir ...

), and the Radio Dance Orchestra.

Music charts

Although best known as a comedian,

was a prolific recording artist throughout the 1960s, and most of his music recordings were serious, not comic. His debut single "Love is like a Violin" reached No. 8 in 1960. Between that and "Tears", he released nine further singles, several of which charted (though none of them made the top 20). Dodd's revival of "Tears" first reached the UK Singles Chart in September 1965. The single spent 24 weeks in total on the chart, with five of those at No. 1. It sold over 1,000,000 copies in the UK, becoming the biggest-selling single of 1965 in the UK, and was the third- biggest selling single of the 1960s; it was the only non-

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

song in the top 5. In 2017, it was listed as the UK's 39th-best selling single of all time (82nd with streaming), with sales of 1,523,690. Dodd's recording also reached No. 1 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Cover versions

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 ...

released a cover of the song in 1966. His version reached No. 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while reaching No. 27 on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart. In Canada, Vinton's version reached No. 24 on the "''

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" and No. 14 on ''RPM''s "GMP Guide".GMP Guide
, ''

'', Volume 5, Ed. 3, March 14, 1966. Accessed October 24, 2015

Parody versions

"Tears" was parodied in a section of the song "I'm Bored" by the

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as the Bonzo Dog Band or the Bonzos) was created by a group of British Art school, art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelic music, psychedelia with sur ...

on their album ''

Gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

'' (1967).

References

{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1965 singles Ken Dodd songs UK singles chart number-one singles Bobby Vinton songs 1929 songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norman Newell