A Sunday Kind of Love

"A Sunday Kind of Love" is a popular song composed by Barbara Belle,^[a] Anita Leonard,^[b] Stan Rhodes,^[c] and Louis Prima and was published in 1946.^[1]

History

The song has become a pop and jazz standard, recorded by many artists. The song was first recorded by Claude Thornhill and his Orchestra on November 11, 1946. He released the song as a single in January, 1947^[2] and it became permanently identified as the signature song for its vocalist, Fran Warren.^[3] Louis Prima and his Orchestra released his recording of the song in February 1947. The popularity of the up-tempo version by The Del-Vikings released in 1957 increased the song's popularity. Despite having wide acclaim, the song never made the Billboard Top 40.^[4]

Legacy

The song was featured in the jukebox musical Jersey Boys as well as the film version.

Notable recordings

• Claude Thornhill and his Orchestra with vocal by Fran Warren. Recorded on November 11, 1946, in New York, and released on Columbia Records 37219.
• Louis Prima and his Orchestra, February, 1947.
• Frankie Laine with an orchestra conducted by Carl T. Fischer. Recorded on January 21, 1947, and released on Mercury Records 5018.
• Jo Stafford with an orchestra conducted by Paul Weston. Recorded on February 28, 1947, and released on Capitol Records 388.
• Ella Fitzgerald and the Andy Love Quintet with an orchestra conducted by Bob Haggart. Recorded on March 19, 1947, and released on Decca Records 23866 and was included on her album For Sentimental Reasons
• The Harptones in 1953 on the Bruce label.
• The Del Vikings on their 1957 Come Along with Me/A Sunday Kind of Love/ The White Cliffs of Dover/Now is the Hour - Mercury EP 1-3359
• Hank Jones on the 1958 quartet album The Talented Touch
• Dinah Washington on her 1959 album, What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!^[5]
• Etta James on her 1960 album, At Last!
• Jan & Dean in 1962, which went to #95 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Dion DiMucci on his 1969 album, Wonder Where I'm Bound
• The Four Seasons on their 1965 album, The 4 Seasons Entertain You
• Lenny Welch in 1972, which went to #96 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Reba McEntire's version went to #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart^[6] and also went to #9 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada, from her 1988 album, Reba.
• Renee Olstead on her 2004 album, Renee Olstead.
• The Marcels in 1961 on Colpix Records.^[7]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Etta James' version	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes and references

Notes

1. Barbara Belle (née Belle Einhorn; born 1922) is a producer, publisher, theatrical manager, and songwriter. She was married to Lee Newman (né Leon Lee Newman; 1912–1987)
2. Anita Leonard (née Anita Rothblum; born 1922) married – on November 29, 1948, in the Bronx – comedian actor Louis Nye (1913–2005). She earned a bachelor of science in music from NYU. She studied piano with Modena Scovill Lane (1892–1981), Bruno Eisner (1884–1978) (ru), and Herman Wasserman (1895–1957). She studied composition with Otto Cesana (1899–1980), and Wallingford Riegger. At The New School, she studied acting with Stella Adler. Her chief collaborators included Barbara Belle, Evelyn Caroll, Chocky Fair (Charles B. Fair), and Marshall Barer. Her stage-name, "Leonard," was the given name of her brother, Leonard Rothblum (1916–2001). (ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 1980)
3. Stan Rhodes (né Stanley Wayne Rhodes; 1924–1984) copyrighted over 80 songs under the name Stan Rhodes.

References

1. Jacobs, Dick & Harriet Jacobs – Who Wrote That Song?, Writer's Digest Books, 1993
2. "Original versions of A Sunday Kind of Love written by Anita Leonard, Barbara Belle, Louis Prima, Stan Rhodes". SecondHandSongs.com. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
3. Heather Phares (2000-10-10). "The Complete Fran Warren with Claude Thornhill - Fran Warren | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
4. Gribin, Anthony; Schiff, Matthew (2014). The Top 1000 Doo-Wop Songs: Collector's Edition. Ttgpress. p. 69. ISBN 9780982737651.
5. "www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 226.
7. "The Marcels - Sunday Kind Of Love (Song)". uk-charts.com. eMedia Jungen. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
8. "British single certifications – Etta James – A Sunday Kind of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 20, 2024.