The Story of My Life (Marty Robbins song)
1957 single by Marty Robbins From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"The Story of My Life" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.[2] It was published in 1957. It was recorded by Marty Robbins and reached number one on Billboard's country chart in 1958, and it became a number one hit song for Michael Holliday in the UK.
| "The Story of My Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Marty Robbins | ||||
| from the album Marty's Greatest Hits | ||||
| B-side | "Once-a-Week Date" | |||
| Released | November 1957 | |||
| Recorded | July 22, 1957 [1] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:33 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | |||
| Marty Robbins singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"The Story of My Life" was the first successful collaboration between Hal David and Burt Bacharach.[3] Although they did not set out to write a country song, their song was recorded by American country music singer Marty Robbins.[2][4] Robbins was accompanied in the recording by the whistling of the Ray Conniff Singers and a small-scale guitar.[5] The song was released in November 1957 and peaked at number one on two US country charts (C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys), staying for four weeks on Best Sellers in early 1958.[6][7] It also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching number fifteen.[8] It reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart.[citation needed]
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| Chart (1957–1958) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[9] | 2 |
| US (Billboard Most Played by Jockeys)[10] | 15 |
| US (Billboard C&W Best Sellers)[6] | 1 |
In the United Kingdom, Michael Holliday recorded a cover version on 10 December 1957 at the Abbey Road Studio. Holliday was backed by the Mike Sammes Singers, with Sammes singing the deep-voiced "bom-boms". The sound engineer created an echo effect with a second tape head, producing a fuller sound for Holliday's voice.[11] Although Holliday was dissatisfied with the record,[11] it became his first No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1958.[12] The song was replaced as No. 1 by Perry Como's "Magic Moments", also written by Bacharach and David,[13] the first time any songwriters had consecutive No. 1s on the British chart.[4]
In addition to Michael Holliday's No. 1 single (Columbia 45-DB-4058), three other versions of "The Story of My Life" were released in the UK around the same time in 1958: Gary Miller recorded a version that reached No. 14 in the UK;[14] a version by Alma Cogan reached No. 25;[15] and a single by Dave King reached No. 20.[16]
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- A pop-rock version by Herman's Hermits was included on the US compilation LP The Best Of Herman's Hermits – Volume II, released in 1966.[citation needed]
- Connie Francis recorded the song in 1968 for possible inclusion in her album Connie Francis Sings Bacharach & David, but it was omitted. The track was later released in 1979 on the album titled Connie Francis – Sings Bacharach, Kaempfert, Last & Mancini.[citation needed]
- Larry Cunningham recorded a version which reached No. 16 on the Irish chart in 1983.[17]
- Irish singer Val Doonican also recorded the song, which became his signature theme. He titled his 2009 autobiography "My Story, My Life", in reference to the song title.[citation needed]
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