"
My Boy" is the title of a popular song from the early 1970s. The music was composed by Jean Bourtayre and
Claude FrancoisClaude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
, and the lyrics were translated from the original version "Parce que je t'aime, mon enfant" (Because I Love You My Child) into English by
Phil CoulterPhil Coulter is an artist with an international reputation as a successful songwriter, pianist, music producer, arranger and director. His success has spanned four decades and he is one of the biggest record sellers in Ireland...
and Bill Martin.
Richard Harris version
Actor
Richard HarrisRichard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
performed the song "My Boy" at a music contest sponsored by
Radio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
in 1971. Despite not winning the contest, Harris recorded the song and released it as a
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
later that year. Appearing on Harris' album of the same name, the song reached #41 on the
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
pop chartThe 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...
and peaked at #13 on the
Billboard adult contemporary chart.
Elvis Presley version
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
recorded a
cover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "My Boy" in late 1973 that was included on his 1974 album
Good TimesGood Times is a 1974 album by Elvis Presley.The album was constructed by the first pick of a session held at Stax Studios in Memphis; it includes a collection of songs that vary in style and genre. The title was taken from the song "Talk About the Good Times". Many of the songs are covers of hits...
. Presley's version of the song reached #20 on the
Billboard pop chart, #14 on the
Billboard country chartHot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
, and spent one week atop the
Billboard adult contemporary chart in April 1975.