Girl Don't Come (song)
Encyclopedia
"Girl Don't Come" is a song, a Chris Andrews
composition, that was a #3 UK hit for Sandie Shaw
in 1964-5.
in a session whose personnel included guitarists Big Jim Sullivan
and Vic Flick
.
"Girl Don't Come", originally envisioned as a ballad, was ultimately recorded at the tempo of Shaw's first hit "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
". Sandie Shaw disliked this arrangement of the song and had to be persuaded to record it, preferring that it be relegated to the B-side
of another track, the Chris Andrews ballad "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You". Shaw's manager Evelyn Taylor favoured "Girl Don't Come" but acquiesced to Shaw's wishes. However when Shaw performed both songs on a television show "Girl Don't Come" drew the best reaction and radio airplay: it was as "Girl Don't Come" that the single entered the UK Top 50 (dated 12 December 1964) to peak at #3 in the week of 23 January 1965.
Although not one of Shaw's three UK #1's, "Girl Don't Come" is widely regarded as Shaw's signature hit and - unlike "Puppet on a String
" - the singer has grown to appreciate the track to which she initially had an aversion. "Girl Don't Come" has also been recorded by Debby Boone
, Cher
, Ronnie Dyson
and Eddie Rambeau
.
. Shaw was unable to do US promotion - including a Shindig!
appearance scheduled for March - due to the U.S. Federation of TV and Radio Artists refusing her a US work permit. "Girl Don't Come" did afford Shaw a #2 hit in South Africa while in Australia the track reached #48.
Shaw made a belated Italian rendition of "Girl Don't Come" entitled "E ti avrò" in 1966 and abetted by a performance by Shaw on Studio Uno, the top variety show in Italy, "E ti avrò" became a #11 hit in 1966-67 (the single's B-side: "Viva l’amore con te" was a rendering of Shaw's UK #1 hit "Long Live Love"). Also in 1966 Shaw included a rendering of "Girl Don't Come" entitled "No vendrá" on an EP
released in Spain which also included Spanish renderings of Shaw's hits "Tomorrow", "Long Live Love" and "Message Understood".
Lill Lindfors
recorded a Swedish
version entitled "Ingen kom".
Chris Andrews (singer)
Chris Andrews is a singer and successful songwriter whose musical career started in the 1960s.-Career:...
composition, that was a #3 UK hit for Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
in 1964-5.
Background
The track was recorded at Pye Recording Studios in Marble ArchMarble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
in a session whose personnel included guitarists Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
and Vic Flick
Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
.
"Girl Don't Come", originally envisioned as a ballad, was ultimately recorded at the tempo of Shaw's first hit "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
" Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written in the 1960s by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David.-First charting versions:...
". Sandie Shaw disliked this arrangement of the song and had to be persuaded to record it, preferring that it be relegated to the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of another track, the Chris Andrews ballad "I'd Be Far Better Off Without You". Shaw's manager Evelyn Taylor favoured "Girl Don't Come" but acquiesced to Shaw's wishes. However when Shaw performed both songs on a television show "Girl Don't Come" drew the best reaction and radio airplay: it was as "Girl Don't Come" that the single entered the UK Top 50 (dated 12 December 1964) to peak at #3 in the week of 23 January 1965.
Although not one of Shaw's three UK #1's, "Girl Don't Come" is widely regarded as Shaw's signature hit and - unlike "Puppet on a String
Puppet on a String
"Puppet on a String" is the name of the Eurovision Song Contest-winning song in 1967 by British singer Sandie Shaw. It was her thirteenth UK single release....
" - the singer has grown to appreciate the track to which she initially had an aversion. "Girl Don't Come" has also been recorded by Debby Boone
Debby Boone
Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a then record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Ronnie Dyson
Ronnie Dyson
Ronnie Dyson was an American singer and actor.-Career:Born in Washington, D.C., Dyson grew up in Brooklyn, New York where he sang in church choirs. At just 18 years of age, he won lead part in the Broadway production of Hair debuting in New York in 1968...
and Eddie Rambeau
Eddie Rambeau
Eddie Rambeau is an American singer, songwriter, and actor.-Career:While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his manager...
.
International impact
Like "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "Girl Don't Come" became a regional hit in the US - where it was released in February 1965 - without reaching the [Top 40] although it reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Shaw was unable to do US promotion - including a Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
appearance scheduled for March - due to the U.S. Federation of TV and Radio Artists refusing her a US work permit. "Girl Don't Come" did afford Shaw a #2 hit in South Africa while in Australia the track reached #48.
Shaw made a belated Italian rendition of "Girl Don't Come" entitled "E ti avrò" in 1966 and abetted by a performance by Shaw on Studio Uno, the top variety show in Italy, "E ti avrò" became a #11 hit in 1966-67 (the single's B-side: "Viva l’amore con te" was a rendering of Shaw's UK #1 hit "Long Live Love"). Also in 1966 Shaw included a rendering of "Girl Don't Come" entitled "No vendrá" on an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
released in Spain which also included Spanish renderings of Shaw's hits "Tomorrow", "Long Live Love" and "Message Understood".
Lill Lindfors
Lill Lindfors
Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors is a Finland-Swedish/Swedish singer. Born in Helsinki, Finland she has been performing in Scandinavia with minor and major success since the 1960s. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist...
recorded a Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
version entitled "Ingen kom".