Stupid Cupid
Encyclopedia
"Stupid Cupid" is a song written by Howard Greenfield
and Neil Sedaka
which became a hit for Connie Francis
in 1958.
In the spring of 1958 Francis had hit #4 with her breakout hit, a rock ballad version of the standard "Who's Sorry Now?
". The similarly-styled follow-up"I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" had barely reached the Top 40 and Francis recalls: "I knew I had to come up with a hit on the third record. It was crucial. I listened to every publisher's song in New York, but nothing was hitting me." Eventually Don Kirshner
of Aldon Music
had Greenfield and Sedaka, who were staff writers for Aldon, visit Francis at her home to pitch their songs; after listening to a number of ballads—which both Francis and her visitor Bobby Darin
felt were too sophisticated to appeal to the teen market—Francis asked if the songwriters had "something a little more lively" and Greenfield asked Sedaka to play "Stupid Cupid", an uptempo number intended for the Shepherd Sisters
. Sedaka objected that Francis, a "classy lady", would be insulted to be pitched such a puerile song; but Greenfield dismissed Sedaka's objection, saying, "What have we got to lose, she hates everything we wrote, doesn't she? Play it already!" After hearing only a few lines Francis recalls: "I started jumping up and down and I said, 'That's it! You guys got my next record!'"
Francis cut "Stupid Cupid" on 18 June 1958 at Metropolitan Studio (NYC); LeRoy Holmes
conducted the orchestra while Morty Kraft produced the session. Noteworthy in the recording is the uncredited bass guitar work; a complex and energetic riff that has survived the decades and has proven to be one of early rock and roll's best recorded bass guitar sessions. A version of "Carolina Moon
" recorded at Metropolitan Studio that 9 June with Kraft producing and Joe Lipman conducting was utilized as the B-side. "Stupid Cupid" provided a reasonably strong comeback vehicle for Francis reaching the Top 15 that August with a Billboard Hot 100
peak of #14. Francis would have to wait until 1959 to make her return to the Top 10 via "My Happiness".
In the UK
Francis had made more chart impact than in the US with both "Who's Sorry Now?" (#1) and "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" (#11); this trend continued with "Stupid Cupid" which—as a double sided hit with "Carolina Moon"—spent six weeks at #1 UK matching the success of "Who's Sorry Now". Francis would remain a potent UK chart force for the next four years with fifteen Top Twenty singles—eight of them Top Ten—but she would never again reach #1 UK despite topping the US charts three times in the early 60s.
made her first known recording with a cover of "Stupid Cupid"/ "Carolina Moon" cut for the Embassy
label which produced soundalike versions of current hits for Woolworths
to sell at lower price than the original hit. Queen
included "Stupid Cupid" in the rock 'n' roll medleys in their live shows during the 1970s.
"Stupid Cupid" has also been recorded by its writer Neil Sedaka, by Wanda Jackson
, by Jo Wyatt
(of Minipops
) whose 1982 version reached #1 in France and #45 in the Netherlands, and by Mandy Moore
for The Princess Diaries soundtrack. A Portuguese rendering: "Estúpido Cupido", was recorded in 1959 by Brazilian singer Celly Campelo. Arja Koriseva
featured a Finnish rendering of "Stupid Cupid": "Tuttu tuttu", on her 1990 self titled debut album. A German-language version, "Sexie Hexy", was recorded by Danny Mann for Polydor in 1960.
Howard Greenfield
Howard Greenfield was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building...
and 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...
which became a hit for Connie Francis
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...
in 1958.
In the spring of 1958 Francis had hit #4 with her breakout hit, a rock ballad version of the standard "Who's Sorry Now?
Who's Sorry Now?
"Who's Sorry Now?" is a popular song with music written by Ted Snyder and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. It was published in 1923."Who's Sorry Now?" was featured in the Marx Brothers film A Night in Casablanca , directed by Archie Mayo and released by United Artists.The song has been...
". The similarly-styled follow-up"I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" had barely reached the Top 40 and Francis recalls: "I knew I had to come up with a hit on the third record. It was crucial. I listened to every publisher's song in New York, but nothing was hitting me." Eventually Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...
of Aldon Music
Aldon Music
Aldon Music was a New York-based music publishing company, founded by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins in 1958. Aldon is regarded as having played a significant role in shaping the so-called "Brill Building Sound" in the late 1950s and 1960s....
had Greenfield and Sedaka, who were staff writers for Aldon, visit Francis at her home to pitch their songs; after listening to a number of ballads—which both Francis and her visitor Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
felt were too sophisticated to appeal to the teen market—Francis asked if the songwriters had "something a little more lively" and Greenfield asked Sedaka to play "Stupid Cupid", an uptempo number intended for the Shepherd Sisters
The Shepherd Sisters
The Shepherd Sisters were a vocal quartet from Middletown, Ohio. All four members were indeed sisters: Martha, Gayle, Judy and Mary Lou Shepherd....
. Sedaka objected that Francis, a "classy lady", would be insulted to be pitched such a puerile song; but Greenfield dismissed Sedaka's objection, saying, "What have we got to lose, she hates everything we wrote, doesn't she? Play it already!" After hearing only a few lines Francis recalls: "I started jumping up and down and I said, 'That's it! You guys got my next record!'"
Francis cut "Stupid Cupid" on 18 June 1958 at Metropolitan Studio (NYC); LeRoy Holmes
LeRoy Holmes
LeRoy Holmes was an American songwriter, composer, arranger and conductor....
conducted the orchestra while Morty Kraft produced the session. Noteworthy in the recording is the uncredited bass guitar work; a complex and energetic riff that has survived the decades and has proven to be one of early rock and roll's best recorded bass guitar sessions. A version of "Carolina Moon
Carolina Moon
"Carolina Moon" is a popular song written by Joe Burke and Benny Davis. The song was a 1928 hit for crooner Gene Austin, when it charted for 14 weeks, staying at number one for 7 weeks....
" recorded at Metropolitan Studio that 9 June with Kraft producing and Joe Lipman conducting was utilized as the B-side. "Stupid Cupid" provided a reasonably strong comeback vehicle for Francis reaching the Top 15 that August with a 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...
peak of #14. Francis would have to wait until 1959 to make her return to the Top 10 via "My Happiness".
In the UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
Francis had made more chart impact than in the US with both "Who's Sorry Now?" (#1) and "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" (#11); this trend continued with "Stupid Cupid" which—as a double sided hit with "Carolina Moon"—spent six weeks at #1 UK matching the success of "Who's Sorry Now". Francis would remain a potent UK chart force for the next four years with fifteen Top Twenty singles—eight of them Top Ten—but she would never again reach #1 UK despite topping the US charts three times in the early 60s.
Other versions
Maureen EvansMaureen Evans
Maureen Evans is a Welsh pop singer who achieved fame briefly in the 1960s.-Career:Evans career began as a singer with Waldini's Gypsy Band in the mid 1950s, mainly doing summer seasons at UK holiday resorts such as Llandudno.She released her first singles in 1958 on the Embassy Records label....
made her first known recording with a cover of "Stupid Cupid"/ "Carolina Moon" cut for the Embassy
Embassy Records
Embassy Records was originally a UK budget record label that produced cover versions of current hit songs that were sold exclusively in Woolworths shops at a cheaper price than the original recordings. As such, Embassy can be seen as the UK equivalent of U.S. labels such as Hit and Bell Records...
label which produced soundalike versions of current hits for Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
to sell at lower price than the original hit. Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
included "Stupid Cupid" in the rock 'n' roll medleys in their live shows during the 1970s.
"Stupid Cupid" has also been recorded by its writer Neil Sedaka, by Wanda Jackson
Wanda Jackson
Wanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
, by Jo Wyatt
Jo Wyatt
Jo Wyatt is an English voice actress known for her voice as Little Miss Helpful, Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Scary and Little Miss Sunshine in The Mr. Men Show. She also voiced Daisy Kribotnik in Love Soup, a woman in bar in Extras, Natella in Bromwell High and a character in Guess with Jess...
(of Minipops
Minipops
Minipops was a television series broadcast in 1983 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Focused primarily for younger viewers, it consisted of music performances on a brightly coloured set, featuring preteen children singing then-contemporary pop music hits as well as older classics...
) whose 1982 version reached #1 in France and #45 in the Netherlands, and by Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
for The Princess Diaries soundtrack. A Portuguese rendering: "Estúpido Cupido", was recorded in 1959 by Brazilian singer Celly Campelo. Arja Koriseva
Arja Koriseva
Arja Sinikka Koriseva is an award-winning Finnish singer. She first came to fame as a tango singer; now her repertoire includes evergreens, Finnish pop, musical theatre, and sacred music....
featured a Finnish rendering of "Stupid Cupid": "Tuttu tuttu", on her 1990 self titled debut album. A German-language version, "Sexie Hexy", was recorded by Danny Mann for Polydor in 1960.