{{short description|1961 single by Gladys Knight & the Pips}} {{Infobox song |name=Letter Full of Tears |cover=Gladys Knight & the Pips Letter Full of Tears single.jpg |alt= | caption = |type=single |artist=[[Gladys Knight & the Pips]] |album=Letter Full of Tears |B-side=You Broke Your Promise |released={{start date|1961|11}} |recorded= |studio= |venue= |genre= * [[Soul music|Soul]] * [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] |length={{duration|m=2|s=45}} |label=[[Fury Records|Fury]] |writer=[[Don Covay]] |producer= * [[Bobby Robinson (record producer)|Bobby Robinson]] * [[Marshall Sehorn]] |prev_title=Guess Who |prev_year=1961 |next_title=Operator |next_year=1962 }}
"'''Letter Full of Tears'''" is a song written by American singer-songwriter [[Don Covay]] and released by [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]] as a single in November 1961. It became their second top-20 hit, peaking at number 19 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name=Billboard/> The song was covered the following year by English singer [[Billy Fury]] who had a minor hit with it in the UK.
==Background== After the top-ten success of "[[Every Beat of My Heart (Gladys Knight & the Pips song)|Every Beat of My Heart]]" earlier in 1961, subsequent releases of a re-recording of "Every Beat of My Heart" and a cover of the [[Jesse Belvin]] song "Guess Who" had failed to continue the group's success. They then asked songwriter Don Covay, who had written [[Chubby Checker|Chubby Checker's]] number one hit "[[Pony Time]]", to write a song for them. The resulting song, "Letter Full of Tears", was then arranged by [[Horace Ott]]. [[Merald "Bubba" Knight|Bubba Knight]] has said it "was the first time we had ever used a string section". However, producer [[Bobby Robinson (record producer)|Bobby Robinson]] "didn't really want to record strings, and [[Marshall Sehorn]] begged him to put strings on this song for us. Because during this time, when you used strings, it kind of made yourself a bit more sophisticated than the regular R&B thing".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dahl|first=Bill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsCrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT182|title=Motown: The Golden Years: More than 100 rare photographs|date=2011-02-28|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4402-2557-4|pages=182|language=en}}</ref>
==Track listing== '''7": Fury / 1054''' # "Letter Full of Tears" – 2:45 # "You Broke Your Promise" – 2:45
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1962) !Peak<br>position |- {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|19|artist=Gladys Knight and the Pips|rowheader=true|refname=Billboard}} |- {{singlechart|Billboardrandbhiphop|3|artist=Gladys Knight and the Pips|rowheader=true}} |- !scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref name=Cashbox>{{cite magazine|date=3 February 1962|title=Cash Box Top 100|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1962/CB-1962-02-03.pdf|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|pages=4, 28|access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> |17 |- !scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' R&B Top 50<ref name=Cashbox/> |6 |}
==Billy Fury version== {{Infobox song |name=Letter Full of Tears |cover=Billy Fury Letter Full of Tears.jpg |alt= | caption = |type=single |artist=[[Billy Fury]] |album= |B-side=Magic Eyes |released={{start date|1962|2|23|df=yes}} |recorded=14 November 1961<ref name=:1>{{Cite web|title=Letter Full of Tears|url=http://www.nic.fi/~nallew/pages/letter.html|access-date=2021-11-08|website=www.nic.fi}}</ref> |studio=[[Decca Studios]], London |venue= |genre=[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] |length={{duration|m=3|s=15}} |label=[[Decca Records|Decca]] |writer=[[Don Covay]] |producer= * [[Dick Rowe]] * [[Mike Smith (British record producer)|Mike Smith]] |prev_title=[[I'd Never Find Another You]] |prev_year=1961 |next_title=[[Last Night Was Made for Love]] |next_year=1962 }}
===Release=== "Letter Full of Tears" was a departure for Fury from his previous [[rock and roll]] and [[Sentimental ballad|pop ballad]] releases. It was his first [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] single, though he had been singing R&B songs on stage for a while.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Stafford|first1=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jmNRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT187|title=Halfway to Paradise: The Life of Billy Fury|last2=Stafford|first2=Caroline|date=2018|publisher=Music Sales Group|isbn=978-1-78759-074-8|pages=186–187|language=en}}</ref> It was recorded in November 1961, soon after the release of Gladys Knight & the Pips' version, and released in February 1962.<ref name=:1/> It was released with the B-side "Magic Eyes", written by Americans Dorian Burton and [[Herb Bernstein]].
"Letter Full of Tears" was not particularly successful, especially given that Fury's previous three singles had all been top-five. However, Fury later said that "I had an awful lot of trouble with this song. I didn't want to do it because it wasn't my style and I find the vocal really difficult to do and I was really pressurised into doing it. And I didn't like the arrangement".<ref name=":0" /> Whilst on the official ''[[Record Retailer]]'' chart, the single only peaked at number 32, it did fare better on other music paper charts, such as ''[[Disc (magazine)|Disc]]'' and ''[[NME|New Musical Express]],'' both on which the single peaked at number 17.
===Track listing=== '''7": Decca / F 11437''' # "I'm Lost Without You" – 2:28 # "Magic Eyes" – 2:12
===Charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1962) !Peak<br />position |- ! scope="row" |UK ''[[Disc (magazine)|Disc]]'' Top 20<ref>{{cite magazine|date=24 March 1962|title=Top Twenty|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Disc/1962/DISC-1962-03-24.pdf|magazine=[[Disc (magazine)|Disc]]|page=3|access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> |17 |- ! scope="row" |UK ''[[NME|New Musical Express]]'' Top 30<ref>{{cite magazine|date=16 March 1962|title=NME Music Charts|url=|magazine=[[NME|New Musical Express]]|page=|access-date=}}</ref> |17 |- !scope="row" |UK ''[[Record Mirror]]'' Top 20<ref>{{cite magazine|date=17 March 1962|title=Britain's Top 20|url=|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=|access-date=}}</ref> |20 |- !scope="row"|UK ''[[Record Retailer]]'' Top 50<ref name=uk>{{Cite web|title=Billy Fury {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6970/billy-fury/|access-date=2022-10-02|website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref> |32 |}
==Other versions== * In 1974, [[Millie Jackson]] covered the song on her album ''I Got to Try It One Time''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Millie Jackson – I Got To Try It One Time (1974, Vinyl)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2263980-Millie-Jackson-I-Got-To-Try-It-One-Time|website=Discogs|year=1974 |language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> * In 1981, [[Little Milton]] covered the song on his album ''Walkin' the Back Streets''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Little Milton – Walkin' The Back Streets (1981, Vinyl)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3736428-Little-Milton-Walkin-The-Back-Streets|website=Discogs|date=October 1981 |language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> * In 1982, [[Randy Crawford]] covered the song on her album ''Windsong''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Randy Crawford – Windsong (1982, Light Grey Shell, Cassette)|website=[[Discogs]]|year=1982 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/14563095-Randy-Crawford-Windsong|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> * In 1993, Arlene Smith (former lead singer of [[the Chantels]]) and [[Johnny Colla]] (guitarist for [[Huey Lewis and the News]]) covered the song on the tribute album ''Celebrating the Music of Don Covay – Back to the Streets''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Back To The Streets (1993, CD)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/7072168-Various-Celebrating-The-Music-Of-Don-Covay-Back-To-The-Streets|website=Discogs|year=1993 |language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref> * In 2012, a previously unreleased recording by [[Esquerita]] from 1966 was included on the album ''Sinner Man – The Lost Session''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Esquerita – Sinner Man - The Lost Session (2012, Vinyl)|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/3922218-Esquerita-Sinner-Man-The-Lost-Session|website=Discogs|language=en|access-date=2021-11-09}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Gladys Knight & the Pips}} {{Billy Fury}}
{{authority control}} [[Category:1961 singles]] [[Category:1962 songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Don Covay]] [[Category:Fury Records singles]] [[Category:Decca Records singles]] [[Category:Gladys Knight & the Pips songs]] [[Category:Billy Fury songs]] [[Category:Millie Jackson songs]] [[Category:Randy Crawford songs]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Smith (British record producer)]]