| Only Sixteen | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Sam Cooke |
| B-Side: | Let's Go Steady Again |
| Released: | May 1959 |
| Recorded: | January 4, 1959 |
| Studio: | Rex Productions, Los Angeles, California |
| Genre: | Rhythm and blues, soul, pop |
| Length: | 2:00 |
| Label: | Keen 2022 |
| Producer: | Bumps Blackwell |
| Prev Title: | Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha |
| Prev Year: | 1959 |
| Next Title: | Summertime |
| Next Year: | 1959 |
"Only Sixteen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in May 1959. It was a top 15 hit on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart and also charted within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.[1] In the UK it was covered, and taken to No. 1, by Craig Douglas.[2]
"Only Sixteen" was inspired by the sixteenth birthday of Lou Rawls's stepsister, Eunice. It was originally intended for actor Steve Rowland, who often hung around the Keen studio. Rowland asked Cooke to write a song for him, and Cooke borrowed the bridge from an earlier song of his, "Little Things You Do". Rowland's manager disliked the result, and Cooke re-recorded it for himself.[3] [4] The composition was originally credited to Barbara Campbell, a pseudonym used for Cooke, Lou Adler and Herb Alpert. Cooke married the real Barbara Campbell in October 1959.[5] [6] "Only Sixteen" was, in fact, solely written by Cooke.
Credits adapted from the liner notes to the 2003 compilation .[3]
| Weekly charts (1959) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| UK[7] | 23 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 28 | |
| US Hot R&B Sides (Billboard) | 13 |
| Only Sixteen | |
| Cover: | Diana Ross & The Supremes - Only Sixteen.png |
| Caption: | Swedish single picture sleeve |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Supremes |
| Album: | We Remember Sam Cooke |
| B-Side: | Some Things You Never Get Used To |
| Released: | 1968 |
| Recorded: | 1965 |
| Genre: | Rhythm and blues, soul, pop |
| Length: | 2:24 |
| Label: | Tamla Motown |
| Producer: | Harvey Fuqua · Hal Davis · Marc Gordon |
| Prev Title: | Forever Came Today |
| Prev Year: | 1968 |
| Next Title: | Love Child |
| Next Year: | 1968 |
The Supremes recorded a version, first released on their tribute album We Remember Sam Cooke (1965).[9] In 1968, it was released as an A-side single in Scandinavia, as Diana Ross & the Supremes,[10] where it reached No. 3 in Sweden. The B-side, "Some Things You Never Get Used To" was released elsewhere as an A-side, becoming a top 40 hit in the US,[11] Canada,[12] and the UK.[13]
| Only Sixteen | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Dr. Hook |
| Album: | Bankrupt |
| B-Side: | Let Me Be Your Lover |
| Released: | December 1975 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 2:46 |
| Label: | Capitol |
| Producer: | Ron Haffkine |
| Prev Title: | The Millionaire |
| Prev Year: | 1975 |
| Next Title: | A Little Bit More |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
Dr. Hook released a version of "Only Sixteen" in the winter of 1975 and it was the most successful chart release of the song. It reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on Cash Box. Dr. Hook's version spent 22 weeks on the charts and became a Gold record.
| Chart (1975–1976) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] | 3 | |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles[17] | 3 | |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[18] | 9 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 6 | |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary[20] | 14 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 5 |
| Chart (1976) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] | 39 | |
| Canada[22] | 54 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[23] | 35 |
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 247.
