"Traces" is a 1968 song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Classics IV The Classics IV is an American band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. The band, founded by Dennis Yost, is known mainly for the hits " Spooky", " Stormy", and " Traces" (released 1967–69), which have become cover stand ...

. Released as a single in January 1969, the cut served as the title track off the album of the same name. Written by

Buddy Buie Perry Carlton "Buddy" Buie (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2015) was an American songwriter, producer and publisher. He is most commonly associated with Roy Orbison, the Classics IV and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Career Buie was born in Mariann ...

J. R. Cobb James Barney Cobb Jr. (February 5, 1944 – May 4, 2019) was an American guitarist and songwriter, most notable for co-writing "Spooky (Classics IV song), Spooky", "Stormy (song), Stormy" and "Traces (song), Traces", among others, as a member of ...

, and Emory Gordy Jr., the song peaked at No. 2 on 29 March 1969 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, as well as No. 2 on the

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 ...

music charts, making it the highest-charting single by the Classics IV. "Traces" was listed at 32 in BMI's ''Top 100 Songs of the Century''.

Chart history

Cover versions

Jane Morgan Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold re ...

, on her 1969 LP of the same name, as well as releasing it as a single that same year. *"Traces" is the opening track on Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra's album ''Traces of Love'' (1969). *

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio whose trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contemporary chart (i ...

recorded it as a part of a medley, which also featured the song "Memories" (1969). *

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

(1969), on the album ''Rains Drops Keep Falling on my Head''. *

Andre Kostelanetz Andre Kostelanetz (; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music. Biography Abram Naumovich Kostelyanetz was born ...

recorded an instrumental version on a 1969 album of the same name. *

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

on his 1969 album ''Moog Power''. *Soul singer

Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul music, soul singer, known for his 1972 Record chart, No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single ''War of the Gods (alb ...

, on his 1970 album '' Ebony Woman''. *

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

(instrumental) on his 1970 albu
A Brand New Me.
*

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

on his 1976 album ''The King James Version'' (Sheffield Lab LAB 3). *

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

covered the song in 1994. * Guilherme Arantes recorded "Traces" in 1995.

References

1969 singles Classics IV songs Imperial Records singles 1968 songs Songs written by Buddy Buie Songs written by J. R. Cobb Songs written by Emory Gordy Jr. Torch songs {{1960s-single-stub