| Tell Him No | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Travis and Bob |
| B-Side: | We're Too Young |
| Label: | Sandy |
"Tell Him No" is a 1959 song by Travis and Bob and was the only Top 40 hit for the duo in the United States while peaking at #1 in Canada and the Netherlands. The song also reached #1 in the Netherlands with cover versions by Dean and Marc, The Mudlarks and The Fouryo's.
"Tell Him No" was written about a boy telling a girl to watch out for another boy interested in her.[1]
"Tell Him No" was planned to be the B-side for Travis and Bob's cover of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by The Everly Brothers. However, after performing for record producer Henry Bailey in Mobile, Alabama, the duo were offered a record deal. Travis and Bob recorded the track in Gulfport, Mississippi for Sandy Records.[2]
In March 1959, Dot Records bought the distribution rights for "Tell Him No" from Sandy Records for $12,000. Cameo Records and Liberty Records also competed for the rights of the single.[3]
Billboard predicted Travis and Bob's version of "Tell Him No" would become a future hit.[4]
In the United States, Travis and Bob's version of "Tell Him No" charted at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 while a cover by Dean and Marc reached #42. Other non-charting covers in the US include a Bigtop recording by The Jackson Brothers and Margie Rayburn's rendition of the song produced for Liberty but later retracted.[3]
Outside of the United States, non-charting covers of "Tell Him No" were released in Australia by The Unichords for W&G and Ted & Ray for HMV.[5] Alternatively, "Tell Him No" reached #1 in the Netherlands for Travis and Bob alongside covers by Dean and Marc, The Mudlarks and The Fouryo's,[6] which was released under the name "Zeg niet nee".[7]