Over the Mountain; Across the Sea

Not to be confused with Over the Mountain or Over the Mountains.

"Over the Mountain; Across the Sea" is a song written by Rex Garvin.^[1] The song was a hit for Johnnie & Joe in 1957 and Bobby Vinton in 1963.

"Over the Mountain; Across the Sea"
Single by Johnnie & Joe
B-side	"My Baby's Gone, On, On"
Released	April 1957
Genre	R&B, doo wop
Length	2:15
Label	Chess
Songwriter(s)	Rex Garvin
Johnnie & Joe singles chronology
"It Was There" (1957) "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea" (1957) "I Was So Lonely" (1957)

Johnnie & Joe version

"Over the Mountain; Across the Sea" was originally released by Johnnie & Joe in 1957. Johnnie & Joe's version reached No. 8 on Billboard's "Top 100 Sides" chart,^[2] No. 3 on Billboard's chart of "R&B Best Sellers in Stores",^[3] and No. 6 on Billboard's chart of "Most Played R&B by Jockeys".^[4]

Bobby Vinton version

Bobby Vinton released a cover of the song in 1963. Vinton's version spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 21,^[5] while reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Middle-Road Singles chart,^[6][7] and No. 2 on Canada's CHUM Hit Parade.^[8]

Charts

Chart (1963)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	21

Other versions

Skip & Flip released a version of the song as the B-side to their 1962 single "One More Drink for Julie".^[9]

"Over the Mountain; Across the Sea"
Single by Bobby Vinton
from the album The Greatest Hits of the Golden Groups
B-side	"My Baby's Gone, On, On"
Released	February 15, 1963
Recorded	1962
Genre	Easy listening
Length	2:26
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Rex Garvin
Bobby Vinton singles chronology
"Let's Kiss and Make Up" (1962) "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea" (1963) "Blue on Blue" (1963)

In popular culture

The song was briefly played at the ending of La Bamba, just before the radio announced the death of Ritchie Valens.

The Bobby Vinton cover of the song features at the beginning of the 2021 film, Godzilla vs. Kong.

In a Volkswagen commercial, a lighthouse keeper while getting his mail plays the song while driving to and from the mailbox.

References

1. "Honor Roll of Hits", Billboard, July 8, 1957. p. 36. Accessed October 21, 2015
2. "Top 100 Sides", Billboard, July 22, 1957. p. 62. Accessed October 21, 2015
3. "R&B Best Sellers in Stores", Billboard, June 24, 1957. p. 59. Accessed October 21, 2015
4. "Most Played R&B by Jockeys", Billboard, June 10, 1957. p. 60. Accessed October 21, 2015
5. Bobby Vinton - Chart History - The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
6. Bobby Vinton - Chart History - Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 21, 2015
7. "Middle-Road Singles", Billboard, April 27, 1963. p. 40. Accessed October 21, 2015
8. "CHUM Hit Parade – Week of April 08, 1963". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved 2016-01-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Chart No. 317.
9. Skip & Flip, "One More Drink for Julie" single release Retrieved February 12, 2016.