Turn Around, Look at Me explained

Turn Around, Look at Me
Cover:Turn_Around,_Look_at_Me_-_Glen_Campbell.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Glen Campbell
B-Side:Brenda
Released:October 1961
Genre:Folk
Length:2:35
Label:Crest Records
Next Title:Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry
Next Year:1962
Turn Around, Look at Me
Type:single
Artist:Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees
B-Side:(Theme From) The Travels Of Jamie McPheeters
Released:October 1964
Recorded:September 1964
Festival Studio, Sydney, Australia
Genre:Folk, pop, country
Length:2:16
Label:Leedon
Prev Title:Claustrophobia
Prev Year:1964
Next Title:Everyday I Have to Cry
Next Year:1965
Turn Around, Look at Me
Cover:Turn_Around,_Look_at_Me.jpg
Type:single
Artist:The Vogues
Album:Turn Around, Look at Me
B-Side:Then
Released:June 1968
Recorded:1968
Genre:traditional pop
Length:2:43
Label:Reprise
Producer:Dick Glasser
Prev Title:That's the Tune
Prev Year:1966
Next Title:My Special Angel
Next Year:1968

"Turn Around, Look at Me" is a song written by Jerry Capehart and Glen Campbell, though Campbell is not officially credited.[1]

In 1961, Glen Campbell released his version as a single. This was his first song to achieve national success by means of two hit parades in the United States, hitting position No.62 on the Billboard Hot 100 hit parades[2] and peaking at position No.15 on the Adult Contemporary hit parades. In Canada, this tune had reached No.9 in the CHUM Hit Parades.[3] This version included session drummer Earl Palmer on drums.[4]

The Lettermen version

In 1962, The Lettermen released their version as a single. It made it to No.5 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, but the b-side of the single, "How Is Julie?," became the bigger hit.

Bee Gees version

In 1964, while Bee Gees were still in Australia, they released their take on the song which did not chart.[5] It is also their fifth single, and was credited to "Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees".[6] It was also included on the group's 1967 mop-up compilation Turn Around, Look at Us and the 1998 anthology of their Australian recordings Brilliant from Birth.[7]

Personnel

The Vogues' version

In 1968, The Vogues released their remake as a single. This version was by far the most successful, reaching No.7 on the Hot 100[8] and No.3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[9] In 2019 it was used in a Volkswagen commercial.[10]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1968)Peak
position
Australia KMR43
Canada RPM Top Singles[11] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 7
US Billboard Adult Contemporary3
US Cash Box Top 100[13] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1968)Rank
Canada [14] 32
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 24
US Cash Box [16] 34

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The complete songwriting list of 'Wichita Lineman' Glen Campbell. Roberts. Jeremy. 2019-10-01. Medium. en. 2019-11-06.
  2. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/glen-campbell-p1543/charts-awards/billboard-singles Glen Campbell charting singles
  3. Web site: CHUM Top 20 Singles - January 22, 1962.
  4. Scherman, Tony, Backbeat: The Earl Palmer Story, foreword by Wynton Marsalis, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1999 p. 175
  5. http://www.allmusic.com/album/spicks--specks-26-songs-from-the-early-days-r1715898 The Bee Gees, Spicks & Specks: 26 Songs from the Early Days
  6. Web site: Gibb Songs: 1964 . Joseph Brennan.
  7. Web site: Bee Gees - Brilliant from Birth . Discogs.com. . 1998 .
  8. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-vogues-p5769/charts-awards/billboard-singles The Vogues charting singles
  9. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 251.
  10. Web site: Volkswagen Tiguan TV Commercial, 'Overview Effect' Song by the Vogues [T1].
  11. Web site: RPM Top 100 Singles - August 19, 1968.
  12. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
  13. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 8/31/68. Tropicalglen.com. 19 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20140812094319/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19680831.html. 12 August 2014. dead.
  14. Web site: RPM Top Singles of 1968 - January 6, 1969.
  15. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1968/Top 100 Songs of 1968. Musicoutfitters.com. 19 April 2018.
  16. Web site: Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1968. Tropicalglen.com. 19 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009061908/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html. 9 October 2016. dead.