Lipstick on Your Collar (song)
Encyclopedia
"Lipstick on Your Collar" is a song written by Edna Lewis (lyrics) and George Goehring (music) which was a 1959 hit single for Connie Francis
.
Francis recorded the song 15 April 1959 in a session at Metropolitan Studio (NYC) produced and conducted by Ray Ellis
.http://countrydiscography.blogspot.com/2009/05/connie-francis-part-i.html Veteran guitarist George Barnes
contributed a solo to the track.
To provide a contrasting B-side for the upbeat track, a ballad from the same session: "Frankie", was utilized. This Howard Greenfield
/ Neil Sedaka
composition was inspired by Frankie Avalon
.
"Lipstick on Your Collar" became the first uptempo Connie Francis single to reach the US Top Ten, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
in July 1959. That summer the track also reached #3 UK and became Francis' first Top Ten hit in Australia at #4.
"Frankie" also became a Top Ten hit in the US with a #9 peak making the "Lipstick on Your Collar"/ "Frankie" single the most successful double-sided hit of Francis' career.
In a 1959 interview, Francis attributed her being the sole songstress then scoring rock and roll hits by saying: "Rock 'n' roll is a masculine kind of music" with its mindset of "'Come on out baby we're going to rock'..[best] suited for a man to sing...The mistake that many girl singers have made is trying to compete with the men [whereas] I've tried for the cute angle in lyrics, things like 'Lipstick on Your Collar' and 'Stupid Cupid'."
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was recorded in German by Conny as "Lippenstift am Jacket" which reached #131 in Germany in April 1960. That same year an Italian version entitled "Rossetto sul colletto" was recorded by Mina
for her Il cielo in una stanza album.
It was the success of the German version of "Lipstick on Your Collar" that alerted Francis to her potential success singing her singles in other languages: she made her first foreign language recording, that being "Everybody's Somebody's Fool
" in German, in April 1960.
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was one of several hits remade by Helen Shapiro
on her 10 March 1962 album release Tops With Me.
In 1963, Hong Kong
female singer CHANG Loo (張露) (1932-2009), covered this song, under title name of Lipsticks On Your Collar/妒人的口紅, in alternate English
and Mandarin Chinese language, on her LP album An Evening With Chang Loo with EMI Columbia Records
.
In September 1977 Australian punk rock
pioneers the Saints
had a single release with their remake of "Lipstick on Your Collar".
The 1981 Elisabeth Andreassen
album Angel of the Morning features a cover of "Lipstick on Your Collar", as does the 1991 album Walking Back to Happiness by Maywood.
Dana
had a 1987 single release with a remake of "Lipstick on Your Collar" which did not chart.
A Welsh version entitled "Lipstic ar dy Goler" was recorded by Angharad Davies in 1989, and included on her album "Y Ferch o'r Filltir Sgwâr".
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was a favorite song to sing for the young Donna Summer
.
The song was also used in the off-Broadway musical, "The Marvelous Wonderettes", a revue of 50's and 60's songs.
In 1982 Wisk laundry detergent utilized an adaption of "Lipstick on Your Collar" as a jingle in a radio ad campaign celebrating the product's twenty-fifth anniversary; the lyrics for the Wisk jingle version were composed by George Goehring who'd written the original song's music (but not its lyrics).
Connie Francis' "Lipstick on Your Collar" served as the theme song for the 1993 British television series Lipstick on Your Collar
which was set during the Suez Crisis
of 1956, three years previous to Francis' hit single.
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
.
Francis recorded the song 15 April 1959 in a session at Metropolitan Studio (NYC) produced and conducted by Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis was an American record producer, arranger and conductor. The orchestration for Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin is probably his best known work in the jazz vein.-Biography:...
.http://countrydiscography.blogspot.com/2009/05/connie-francis-part-i.html Veteran guitarist George Barnes
George Barnes
George Barnes may refer to:*George Nicoll Barnes , Scottish politician, Leader of the UK Labour Party*Sir George Barnes , television and radio producer and executive...
contributed a solo to the track.
To provide a contrasting B-side for the upbeat track, a ballad from the same session: "Frankie", was utilized. This Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
/ Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
composition was inspired by Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
.
"Lipstick on Your Collar" became the first uptempo Connie Francis single to reach the US Top Ten, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard 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...
in July 1959. That summer the track also reached #3 UK and became Francis' first Top Ten hit in Australia at #4.
"Frankie" also became a Top Ten hit in the US with a #9 peak making the "Lipstick on Your Collar"/ "Frankie" single the most successful double-sided hit of Francis' career.
In a 1959 interview, Francis attributed her being the sole songstress then scoring rock and roll hits by saying: "Rock 'n' roll is a masculine kind of music" with its mindset of "'Come on out baby we're going to rock'..[best] suited for a man to sing...The mistake that many girl singers have made is trying to compete with the men [whereas] I've tried for the cute angle in lyrics, things like 'Lipstick on Your Collar' and 'Stupid Cupid'."
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was recorded in German by Conny as "Lippenstift am Jacket" which reached #131 in Germany in April 1960. That same year an Italian version entitled "Rossetto sul colletto" was recorded by Mina
Mina (singer)
Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
for her Il cielo in una stanza album.
It was the success of the German version of "Lipstick on Your Collar" that alerted Francis to her potential success singing her singles in other languages: she made her first foreign language recording, that being "Everybody's Somebody's Fool
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
"Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield which was a #1 hit for Connie Francis in mid 1960....
" in German, in April 1960.
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was one of several hits remade by Helen Shapiro
Helen Shapiro
Helen Kate Shapiro is an English singer and actress. She is best known for her 1960s UK chart toppers, "You Don't Know" and "Walkin' Back to Happiness".-Early life:...
on her 10 March 1962 album release Tops With Me.
In 1963, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
female singer CHANG Loo (張露) (1932-2009), covered this song, under title name of Lipsticks On Your Collar/妒人的口紅, in alternate English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Mandarin Chinese language, on her LP album An Evening With Chang Loo with EMI Columbia Records
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
.
In September 1977 Australian punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
pioneers the Saints
The Saints (band)
The Saints are an Australian rock band, which formed in Brisbane in 1974 as punk rockers. Founders were Chris Bailey , Ivor Hay , and Ed Kuepper . Alongside mainstay Bailey, the group has had numerous line-ups...
had a single release with their remake of "Lipstick on Your Collar".
The 1981 Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
album Angel of the Morning features a cover of "Lipstick on Your Collar", as does the 1991 album Walking Back to Happiness by Maywood.
Dana
Dana Rosemary Scallon
Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament ....
had a 1987 single release with a remake of "Lipstick on Your Collar" which did not chart.
A Welsh version entitled "Lipstic ar dy Goler" was recorded by Angharad Davies in 1989, and included on her album "Y Ferch o'r Filltir Sgwâr".
"Lipstick on Your Collar" was a favorite song to sing for the young Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
.
The song was also used in the off-Broadway musical, "The Marvelous Wonderettes", a revue of 50's and 60's songs.
In 1982 Wisk laundry detergent utilized an adaption of "Lipstick on Your Collar" as a jingle in a radio ad campaign celebrating the product's twenty-fifth anniversary; the lyrics for the Wisk jingle version were composed by George Goehring who'd written the original song's music (but not its lyrics).
Connie Francis' "Lipstick on Your Collar" served as the theme song for the 1993 British television series Lipstick on Your Collar
Lipstick on Your Collar
Lipstick on Your Collar is a 1993 British television serial written by Dennis Potter, originally broadcast on Channel 4 expanded from Potter's earlier play Lay Down Your Arms...
which was set during the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
of 1956, three years previous to Francis' hit single.
- 1The single was a double-sided hit with the Rex Gildo duet "Yes, My Darling".