Tears (1930 song)
"Tears" is a song written by lyricist Frank Capano and composer Billy Uhr, which was popularised by Rudy Vallée in 1930. It was later made famous in a version recorded by Ken Dodd, released as a 45 rpm single 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" from Act II of Camille Saint-Saëns's opera Samson and Delilah, which dates from 1877.Background
The song "Tears" was first published on October 20, 1930. The Bob Haring Orchestra recorded it on December 4. A notable early recording of it was by Rudy Vallée and His Connecticut Yankees, as a waltz, in New York on December 7 that year. Subsequent American recordings that month were by Sleepy Hall and his Collegians, Mickie Alpert and his Orchestra, Seger Ellis, and the Blue Grass Boys with Lee Morse. 1931 saw recordings of the song by the Dick Robertson Orchestra with Ray Raymond, Lester McFarland and Robert A. Gardner, and the Lionel Belasco Orchestra.In the UK, "Tears" was recorded in early 1931 by a number of British dance bands: Lew Sylva and his Band, Bert and John Firman, The Ambassador Club Band, Jock McDermott and his Band, Jack Payne and his BBC Dance Orchestra, and the Radio Dance Orchestra.
Music charts
Although best known as a comedian, Ken Dodd 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. 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 song in the top 5. In 2017, it was listed as the UK's 39th-best selling single of all time, with sales of 1,523,690.
Dodd's recording also reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart.