| My Heart Cries for You | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Guy Mitchell |
| B-Side: | The Roving Kind |
| Released: | November 1950 |
| Recorded: | November 1950 |
| Genre: | Traditional pop |
| Length: | 2:41 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Next Title: | You're Just in Love |
| Next Year: | 1951 |
"My Heart Cries for You" is a popular song, adapted by Carl Sigman and Percy Faith from an 18th-century French melody.[1] The song has been recorded by many singers, the most successful of which was recorded by Guy Mitchell which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1951.
The music is based on an old French song believed to date from the time of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, "La jardinière du Roi" ("The King's Gardener"),[2] also titled "Chanson de Marie Antoinette" (Marie Antoinette's song) as the music was said to have been written by Marie Antoinette.[3] The French song was published in the US in 1927,[4] and recorded by Lily Pons in 1938.
In 1950, Percy Faith (using the alias Peter Mars) adapted the music of the song with Carl Sigman writing new English lyrics for the song.[5] The lyrics of this version, "My heart cries for you, sighs for you, dies for you..." are original and unrelated to the French song. The song was written in three-quarter waltz time.[6]
The song was recorded in November 1950 by Guy Mitchell with Mitch Miller and his orchestra.[7] Mitch Miller originally had intended "My Heart Cries for You" and "The Roving Kind" to be recorded by Frank Sinatra, however, Sinatra was not interested in the songs chosen for him when he arrived the day the recording was scheduled, and said: "I'm not doing any of that crap". Miller, who had already booked the musicians for the recording session, then looked for a replacement to record the song. He invited a new singer that he liked, Al Cernic, to come to the studio that evening. The recording went well, and Miller then told Cernic that he should change his name as Miller could not pronounce it. Cernic, initially reluctant, then became Guy Mitchell for the record release.[8]
The song was released with "The Roving Kind" as its B-side in November 1950 by Columbia Records (catalog number 39067). It became Mitchell's first hit song,[9] reaching number 2 for seven weeks on the Billboard chart in 1951 with over a million copies sold. It was number 1 on Your Hit Parade for two weeks, and number 1 on Cash Box for six weeks.
Mitchell released another version of the song in 1958.[10]
| Chart (1951) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Best Selling Pop Singles[11] | 2 |
| US Cash Box Best Selling Singles[12] | 1 |
Many versions of the song were recorded and released in late 1950 and early 1951. A version was first recorded by Dinah Shore with Henri René's Orchestra & Chorus in New York City, and released around the same time as Guy Mitchell. (RCA Victor Records catalog number 20-3978 in the US dated October 29, 1950,[13] and EMI on the His Master's Voice in the UK, catalog number B 10026.)[14] It reached number 3 on Billboards pop chart.
Numerous cover versions by other artists quickly followed, including Vic Damone (a number 4 hit on the Billboard chart), Jimmy Wakely (number 12 on pop and number 7 on country),[15] Bill Farrell (number 18), Al Morgan (number 24), Evelyn Knight and Red Foley, a duet which reached number 28 pop and number 6 country, and Victor Young and His Singing Strings (number 29 on pop).[16] [17] [18] Versions of the song were also recorded by Slim Whitman and UK singer Ronnie Carroll.
| My Heart Cries for You | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Connie Francis |
| B-Side: | Someone Took the Sweetness out of Sweetheart |
| Released: | July 1967 |
| Recorded: | June 1, 1967 (A-side) May 19, 1967 (B-side) |
| Genre: | Easy listening |
| Length: | 2:56 (A-side) 2:16 (B-side) |
| Label: | MGM K 13773 |
| Producer: | Pete Spargo |
| Chronology: | Connie Francis US |
| Prev Title: | Time Alone Will Tell |
| Prev Title2: | Born Free |
| Prev Year: | 1967 |
| Next Title: | Lonely Again |
| Next Title2: | When You Care a lot for Someone |
| Next Year: | 1967 |