A Lover's Concerto

This article is about the song. For the Korean film, see Lovers' Concerto (film).

"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, based on the 18th century composition by Christian Petzold, "Minuet in G major", and recorded in 1965 by the Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than two million copies and was awarded gold record certification by the RIAA.^[1]

"A Lover's Concerto"
Single by The Toys
from the album The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" and "Attack!"
B-side	"This Night"
Released	August 1965 (US) October 1965 (UK)
Genre	Pop
Length	2:36
Label	DynoVoice
Songwriter(s)	Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell, Christian Petzold
Producer(s)	Linzer and Randell
The Toys singles chronology
"A Lover's Concerto" (1965) "Attack!" (1966)

Their original version of the song was a major hit in the United States and United Kingdom (among other countries) during 1965. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 2.^[2] "A Lover's Concerto" reached number 1 both on the US Cashbox chart (Billboard's main competitor), and in Canada on the RPM national singles chart. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart.^[3]

History

Linzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar "Minuet in G major" (BWV Anh. 114), which first appeared in J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.^[2] The only difference is that the "Minuet in G major" is written in ³
₄ time, whereas "A Lover's Concerto" is arranged in ⁴
₄ time. Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now generally accepted as having been written by Christian Petzold.^[4][5][6]

The melody had been popularized by bandleader Freddy Martin in the 1940s, in a recording that was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto".^{[7][better source needed]}

Critic Dave Thompson wrote of the Toys' version: "Few records are this perfect. Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived ... 'A Lover's Concerto' marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound."^[2] The song also has an unusual structure that blurs the differences between its verses and choruses.^[2] The lyrics begin:

How gentle is the rain

That falls softly on the meadow,

Birds high up in the trees

Serenade the clouds with their melodies

Sarah Vaughan recorded the song for a like-named EP released in Australia in 1965,^[8] and the song was also included on her 1966 album Pop Artistry of Sarah Vaughan released in the United States by Mercury Records.^[9] Neil Sedaka recorded a version in Italian (with unrelated lyrics), entitled "Lettera Bruciata" ("Burnt Letter"), released as a single in 1966.^[10][11]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1965–66) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles[12] 1 New Zealand (Listener)[13] 2 UK[14] 5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[15] 2 U.S. Billboard R&B[16] 4 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[17] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1965) Rank U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[18] 26 U.S. Cash Box [19] 96