Sweets for My Sweet
Encyclopedia
"Sweets for My Sweet" is a song written by the songwriting team of Doc Pomus
and Mort Shuman
, originally recorded by The Drifters
. The group's first single featuring Charlie Thomas on lead vocal, "Sweets for My Sweet" reached #16 (#10 R&B) in October 1961. This was one of the few post-1958 Drifters singles that did not feature a string section
. It also featured four female backup vocalists, all of whom would later have hit records, Cissy Houston
, Doris Troy
, Dionne Warwick
, and Dee Dee Warwick
.
In 1963
, "Sweets for My Sweet" became the debut single for Merseybeat
band The Searchers
, reaching number one on the UK Single Chart for two weeks that August. The Searchers' version was also issued in the US in the spring of 1964 but failed to chart.
"Sweets for My Sweet" was also remade in 1966 by Don and the Goodtimes - a sunshine pop
band led by Don Galucci formerly of the Kingsmen
- and in 1967 by Chicago
area garage band
the Riddles. In 1968 Cashman Pistilli & West
remade "Sweets for My Sweet" under the name Central Park West.
"Sweets for My Sweet" was a 1969 single for the Sweet Inspirations serving as the title cut for their 1969 album cut at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
with Tom Dowd
producing.
However the only US remake of "Sweets for My Sweet" to reach the Hot 100
or any Billboard chart to date is that by Tony Orlando
which reached #54 (#20 A/C
) in 1979.
In the UK, Tina Charles remade "Sweets for My Sweet" in 1977 in tandem with "Love Bug". The track was included on her album Rendezvous and issued as a single reaching #26; however the single edit only featured one chorus from "Sweets for My Sweet" at its close.
In 1994, C.J. Lewis
reached #3 UK with his remake of "Sweets for My Sweet" which was also a major hit in Austria (#9), the Netherlands (#4), New Zealand (#3), Sweden (#16) and Switzerland (#16); the track also charted in Australia (#45) and France (#69).
"Sweets for My Sweet" was also recorded by the Carnival, Italo disco
singer Chriss and Manolo Muñoz
(as "Dulces Para Mi Nena"), and Neil Diamond
(on his 1993 "oldies" album Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building
.
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
and Mort Shuman
Mort Shuman
Mort Shuman was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas"...
, originally recorded by The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
. The group's first single featuring Charlie Thomas on lead vocal, "Sweets for My Sweet" reached #16 (#10 R&B) in October 1961. This was one of the few post-1958 Drifters singles that did not feature a string section
String orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
. It also featured four female backup vocalists, all of whom would later have hit records, Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
, Doris Troy
Doris Troy
Doris Troy was an American R&B singer, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul".She was born as Doris Higginson in The Bronx, the daughter of a Barbadian Pentecostal minister. Her parents disapproved of "subversive" forms of music like rhythm & blues, so she cut her teeth singing in her father's choir...
, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, and Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick, she was the sister of Dionne Warwick, niece of Cissy Houston and cousin of Whitney Houston....
.
In 1963
1963 in music
-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....
, "Sweets for My Sweet" became the debut single for Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
band The Searchers
The Searchers (band)
The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
, reaching number one on the UK Single Chart for two weeks that August. The Searchers' version was also issued in the US in the spring of 1964 but failed to chart.
"Sweets for My Sweet" was also remade in 1966 by Don and the Goodtimes - a sunshine pop
Sunshine pop
Sunshine pop is a subgenre of pop music originating in the United States, mainly the state of California, in the mid-1960s. Sunshine pop, by nature, is cheerful and upbeat music which is characterised by warm sounds, prominent vocal harmonies, as well as sophisticated productions...
band led by Don Galucci formerly of the Kingsmen
The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
- and in 1967 by Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area garage band
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
the Riddles. In 1968 Cashman Pistilli & West
Terry Cashman
Terry Cashman is a record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 hit, "Talkin' Baseball." While the song is well recognized today, it was all but ignored by typical Top 40 radio during its chart life, making only the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.Cashman was the lead singer...
remade "Sweets for My Sweet" under the name Central Park West.
"Sweets for My Sweet" was a 1969 single for the Sweet Inspirations serving as the title cut for their 1969 album cut at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio...
with Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
producing.
However the only US remake of "Sweets for My Sweet" to reach the 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...
or any Billboard chart to date is that by Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
which reached #54 (#20 A/C
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
) in 1979.
In the UK, Tina Charles remade "Sweets for My Sweet" in 1977 in tandem with "Love Bug". The track was included on her album Rendezvous and issued as a single reaching #26; however the single edit only featured one chorus from "Sweets for My Sweet" at its close.
In 1994, C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis
C.J. Lewis is a British reggae singer. His biggest hit single was the 1994 cover version of "Sweets for My Sweet". The track was produced by Phillip Pottinger , as was his debut album, Dollars...
reached #3 UK with his remake of "Sweets for My Sweet" which was also a major hit in Austria (#9), the Netherlands (#4), New Zealand (#3), Sweden (#16) and Switzerland (#16); the track also charted in Australia (#45) and France (#69).
"Sweets for My Sweet" was also recorded by the Carnival, Italo disco
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
singer Chriss and Manolo Muñoz
Manolo Muñoz
Manolo Muñoz was a Mexican singer and actor, who was famous for an interpretation of the song "Speedy Gonzales" in the 1960s...
(as "Dulces Para Mi Nena"), and Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
(on his 1993 "oldies" album Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building
Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building
Up On The Roof: Songs From The Brill Building is a cover album, released in 1993 by Neil Diamond on Columbia Records. It contains a duet with Dolly Parton, along with re-makes of tracks associated with the Brill Building, where Diamond had worked in the 1960s.It was certified Gold by the Recording...
.