A Wonderful Time Up There Explained

A Wonderful Time Up There
Cover:	A_Wonderful_Time_Up_There_-_Pat_Boone.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Pat Boone
Album:	Pat Boone Sings
B-Side:	It's Too Soon to Know
Released:	January 9, 1958 (U.S.) March 1958 (U.K.)
Genre:	Pop
Label:	Dot (U.S.) London (U.K.)
Producer:	Randy Wood
Prev Title:	April Love
Prev Year:	1957
Next Title:	Sugar Moon
Next Year:	1958

The song known as both "Gospel Boogie" and "A Wonderful Time Up There" was written by Lee Roy Abernathy, and first recorded by him in 1947 under the former name. This release, for the label White Church Record, credits the performance with variant spelling to "Leroy Abernathy Homeland Harmony Quartet".

Pat Boone recording

• In 1958, the song was recorded under the title "A Wonderful Time Up There" by Pat Boone featuring Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra and Chorus. It reached #2 in the U.K. and #4 in the U.S.,^[1] and was featured on the 1959 album, Pat Boone Sings.^[2] The recording was produced by Randy Wood.^[3] and ranked #24 on Billboard magazine's Top 50 songs of 1958.^[4]
• The B-side to Boone's version, "It's Too Soon to Know", reached #4 in the U.S. and #7 in the U.K. in 1958.^[5]

Other versions

• The Blackwood Brothers Quartet released a version of the song as a single in 1958, but it did not chart.^[6]
• Sammy Masters released a version of the song on his 1958 EP.^[7]
• Tom Netherton released a version of the song on his 1975 album My Favorite Hymns.^[8]
• Wally Fowler released a version of the song as the B-side to his 1977 single "A New Star in Heaven".^[9]
• Johnny Cash released a version of the song entitled "Gospel Boogie (A Wonderful Time Up There)" on his 1979 album A Believer Sings the Truth.^[10]
• Alvin Stardust released a version of the song as a single in 1981 which reached #56 in the U.K.^[11]
• Little Roy Lewis released a version of the song on his 1981 album Super Pickin.^[12]
• Gold City released a version of the song on their 1995 album Lord Do It Again.^[13]
• Bill and Gloria Gaither and Homecoming Friends released a live version of the song on their 2010 album Atlanta Homecoming/All Day Singin’ at the Dome.^[14]
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe released a version of the song entitled "Everybody's Gonna Have Wonderful Time (Gospel Boogie)" on her 2016 album I Can't Sit down - An Introduction to the Godmother of Rock'n'Roll.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pat Boone, "A Wonderful Time Up There" Chart Positions. March 17, 2018.
2. Web site: Pat Boone, Pat Boone Sings. . March 17, 2018.
3. Web site: Pat Boone, "A Wonderful Time Up There" Single Release. March 17, 2018.
4. Web site: Billboard Top 100 Songs of 1958 - Year End Charts. March 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20140325101156/http://www.bobborst.com/popculture/top-100-songs-of-the-year/?year=1958. March 25, 2014. dead.
5. Web site: Pat Boone, "It's Too Soon to Know" Chart Positions. March 17, 2018.
6. Web site: The Blackwood Brothers Quartet, "A Wonderful Time Up There" Single Release. March 17, 2018.
7. Web site: Sammy Masters, EP Release. March 17, 2018.
8. Web site: Tom Netherton, My Favorite Hymns. . March 17, 2018.
9. Web site: Wally Fowler, "A New Star in Heaven" Single Release. March 17, 2018.
10. Web site: Johnny Cash, A Believer Sings the Truth. . 1979 . March 17, 2018.
11. Web site: Alvin Stardust, "A Wonderful Time Up There" Chart Position. March 17, 2018.
12. Web site: Little Roy Lewis, Super Pickin. . 1981 . March 17, 2018.
13. Web site: Gold City, Lord Do It Again. . March 17, 2018.
14. Web site: Bill and Gloria Gaither and Homecoming Friends, Atlanta Homecoming/All Day Singin' at the Dome. . March 17, 2018.
15. Web site: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, I Can't Sit down - An Introduction to the Godmother of Rock'n'Roll. . 1981 . March 17, 2018.