| Sealed with a Kiss | |
| Cover: | Four Voices Sealed with A Kiss.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Four Voices |
| B-Side: | You're All There Is |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 2:03 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Prev Title: | Good, Good Thing |
| Prev Year: | 1960 |
"Sealed with a Kiss" is a song written and composed by Peter Udell and Gary Geld. The original recording of "Sealed with a Kiss" was by the Four Voices which was released as a single in May 1960 without becoming a hit.[1] It first became a hit in 1962 for Brian Hyland. Jason Donovan later had an international number one hit with the song in 1989.
The lyrics are from the point of view of one of two lovers who have had to part ways over the summer. The narrator promises the lover who has had to leave that he will send his love and dreams in daily letters "sealed with a kiss". The two also bind each other to a pledge, under seal of a kiss, that they will reunite in September.
| Sealed with a Kiss | |
| Cover: | Sealed-with-a-Kiss-by-Brian-Hyland.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Brian Hyland |
| Album: | Sealed with a Kiss |
| Released: | [2] |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 2:38 |
| Label: | ABC - Paramount |
| Prev Year: | 1962 |
| Next Title: | Warmed Kisses (Left Over Love) |
| Next Year: | 1962 |
In 1962, Brian Hyland, who often performed Udell's and Geld's material, covered the song. Hyland recalls Geld saying the song was "based on, but not totally based on, a Bach finger exercise." (See five-finger exercise.)[3] Hyland's single began its run on June 9, 1962, and became a top 3 hit, reaching No. 3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.[4] The personnel on the original Brian Hyland recording included Mundell Lowe, Al Caiola on guitar, Gary Geld on piano, George Duvivier on bass, Blackie Shackner on harmonica, Gary Chester on drums, and Sticks Evans and Al Rogers on percussion.
When re-released in 1975, Hyland's recording charted in the UK at No. 7. Hyland also recorded a version in German.
| Sealed with a Kiss | |
| Artist: | Gary Lewis and the Playboys |
| Cover: | Sealed_with_a_Kiss - _Gary_Lewis_and_the_Playboys.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Album: | Gary Lewis Now! |
| B-Side: | Sara Jane |
| Released: | [5] |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 2:22 |
| Label: | Liberty |
| Producer: | Snuff Garrett |
| Prev Title: | Has She Got the Nicest Eyes |
| Prev Year: | 1967 |
| Next Title: | Main Street |
| Next Year: | 1968 |
Gary Lewis & the Playboys covered the song in 1967 on the album Gary Lewis Now!. Their cover version of the single was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 19 hit.[6]
| Sealed with a Kiss | |
| Cover: | Sealed with a Kiss sinlge.jpeg |
| Caption: | German 7" vinyl single |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Bobby Vinton |
| Album: | Sealed with a Kiss |
| B-Side: | All My Life |
| Released: | [7] |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 2:48 |
| Label: | Epic |
| Prev Title: | Ev'ry Day of My Life |
| Prev Year: | 1972 |
| Next Title: | But I Do |
| Next Year: | 1972 |
A third top 40 Hot 100 version came in 1972, when Bobby Vinton released his interpretation as a single. It reached No. 19 on the Billboard singles chart.[8] This version also placed high on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (No. 2).[9] Vinton arranged the song himself, with a modern sound including a unique bongo opening that made the song stand out from the other recordings. The success of the single led to Vinton releasing an album, also titled Sealed with a Kiss, that charted as a best seller. This single, which was a follow-up to "Every Day of My Life", marked a Vinton comeback in 1971, with the artist appearing on American Bandstand and other television shows on the strength of the single. Billboard ranked it as the No. 87 song for 1971.
Vinton's recording was used in both the trailer and the end credits of the 2007 horror film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane.
| Sealed with a Kiss | |
| Cover: | JD - Sealed cover.png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Jason Donovan |
| Album: | Ten Good Reasons |
| B-Side: | Just Call Me Up |
| Released: | May 29, 1989 |
| Recorded: | 1989 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Label: | PWL |
| Producer: | Stock Aitken Waterman |
| Prev Title: | Too Many Broken Hearts |
| Prev Year: | 1989 |
| Next Title: | Every Day (I Love You More) |
| Next Year: | 1989 |
On May 29, 1989, Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan released a cover version of "Sealed with a Kiss" as the fourth single from his debut album, Ten Good Reasons (1989).[10] Keen to diversify his sound away from the teen pop/dance material that had been his staple, Donovan told producer Pete Waterman that he wanted to record a cover with cross-generational appeal.[11] The track was selected by Waterman and PWL promotions executive Tilly Rutherford, with Donovan admitting he was unaware of prior versions. His version went straight into the UK Singles Chart at No. 1 and stayed there for two weeks, while also reaching the top in Finland and Ireland.
Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Dreamy rendition of the Bobby Vinton oldie has the potential to provide Aussie-bred, U.K.-based pop star with a long-awaited stateside hit."[12] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits said, "It actually does sound like a record made in the '60s and not at all like any of the other records in the charts, which should help it get played a lot on the radio. "A future number one!" as Bruno Brookes would chirrup cheerfully."[13]
| Chart (1989–1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI)[14] | 11 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] | 5 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] | 2 |
| Portugal (AFP)[17] | 3 |
| Uruguay (UPI)[18] | 7 |
| Chart (1989) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[19] | 100 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop)[20] | 17 | |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] | 30 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 91 | |
| UK Singles (OCC)[23] [24] | 29 | |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[25] | 40 |