"The Story of My Life" is a song written by

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

. It was published in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

. It was recorded by

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

and reached number one on ''Billboard''s country chart in 1958, and it became a number one hit song for

Michael Holliday Norman Alexander Milne (26 November 1924 – 29 October 1963), known professionally as Michael Holliday, was an English singer, who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had a number of chart hits in the UK, including two number o ...

in the UK.

Background

"The Story of My Life" was the first successful collaboration between

and

. Although they did not set out to write a country song, their song was recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

. Robbins was accompanied in the recording by the whistling of the

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

Singers and a small-scale guitar. The song was released in November 1957 and peaked at number one on two US country charts (C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys), staying for four weeks on Best Sellers in early 1958. It also crossed over to the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, reaching number fifteen. It reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart.

Charts

Michael Holliday version

In the United Kingdom,

recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

on 10 December 1957 at the Abbey Road Studio. Holliday was backed by the Mike Sammes Singers, with Sammes singing the deep-voiced "bom-boms". The sound engineer created an echo effect with a second tape head, producing a fuller sound for Holliday's voice. Although Holliday was dissatisfied with the record, it became his first No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1958. The song was replaced as No. 1 by Perry Como's " Magic Moments", also written by Bacharach and David, the first time any songwriters had consecutive No. 1s on the British chart. In addition to

's No. 1 single (Columbia 45-DB-4058), three other versions of "The Story of My Life" were released in the UK around the same time in 1958: Gary Miller recorded a version that reached No. 14 in the UK; a version by

Alma Cogan Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Ch ...

reached No. 25; and a single by Dave King reached No. 20.

Other versions

* A pop-rock version by

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1963 in Manchester and formerly fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous tra ...

was included on the US compilation LP ''The Best Of Herman's Hermits – Volume II'', released in 1966. *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

recorded the song in 1968 for possible inclusion in her album '' Connie Francis Sings Bacharach & David'', but it was omitted. The track was later released in 1979 on the album titled ''Connie Francis – Sings Bacharach, Kaempfert, Last & Mancini''. * Larry Cunningham recorded a version which reached No. 16 on the Irish chart in 1983. *Irish singer

Val Doonican Michael Valentine 'Val' Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening and novelty songs, noted for his warm and relaxed vocal style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in t ...

also recorded the song, which became his signature theme. He titled his 2009 autobiography "My Story, My Life", in reference to the song title.

References

1957 singles 1958 singles Marty Robbins songs Connie Francis songs Don Williams songs Songs with lyrics by Hal David Songs with music by Burt Bacharach UK singles chart number-one singles 1957 songs Columbia Records singles {{1950s-country-song-stub