The Man in the Raincoat (song)

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"The Man in the Raincoat"
Single by Priscilla Wright with Don Wright and The Septette
B-side"Please Have Mercy"
ReleasedApril 1955[1]
GenreTraditional pop
Length2:53
LabelSparton
Songwriter(s)Warwick Webster[2]
Priscilla Wright singles chronology
"The Man in the Raincoat"
(1955) 		"Midnight Train"
(1955)

"The Man in the Raincoat" is a song written by Warwick Webster, which was first released by Priscilla Wright in April 1955,[1] and became a hit in the United States. Another hit version was released by Marion Marlowe later that year.

Priscilla Wright versions[edit]

Priscilla Wright's original version was recorded at the studios of CFPL, where Don Wright was station manager.[3] The song was originally recorded for the Canadian Sparton label,[3][4] and was released in the United States on the Unique label.[1][5] Wright was 14 at the time the song was released,[1] and was the daughter of Don Wright,[1] who was the arranger on the recording. Priscilla Wright performed the song on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town on July 3, 1955.[6][3]

Priscilla Wright re-recorded the song in 1988.[7] This version reached No. 8 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.[8]

Chart performance[edit]

The song reached No. 12 on the Cash Box Top 50 Best Selling Records chart, in a tandem ranking of Priscilla Wright, Marion Marlowe, Karen Chandler, and Lita Roza's versions, with Priscilla Wright and Marion Marlowe's versions marked as bestsellers,[9] while reaching No. 10 on Cash Box's chart of records disk jockeys played most, in a tandem ranking of Priscilla Wright and Marion Marlowe's versions,[10] and No. 11 on Cash Box's chart of "The Nation's Top Ten Juke Box Tunes".[11] The song also reached No. 11 on Billboard's Honor Roll of Hits.[12]

The song was ranked No. 50 on Billboard's ranking of "1955's Top Tunes", based on the Honor Roll of Hits.[13]

Priscilla Wright version[edit]

Chart (1955) Peak
position
US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores[14][15] 18
US Billboard Most Played by Jockeys[14][15] 16
US Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes[14][16] 20

Marion Marlowe version[edit]

Chart (1955) Peak
position
US Billboard Most Played by Jockeys[17][15] 14
US Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes[17][15] 18

Claudine Longet version[edit]

In 1967, Claudine Longet released a version of the song as the B-side of "Small Talk" and on the album The Look of Love.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Cash Box Canadian Capers", Cash Box, April 30, 1955. p. 18. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Cash Box Canadian Capers", Cash Box, May 7, 1955. p. 29. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Hawthorn, Tom. "Singer lowered her voice, and raised her profile", The Globe and Mail, March 28, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "The Cash Box Canadian Capers", Cash Box, April 16, 1955. p. 31. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Unique Gets Masters by Canadian Lass", Billboard, April 30, 1955. p. 24. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Inman, David M. (2005). Television Variety Shows: Histories and Episode Guides to 57 Programs, McFarland & Company. p. 84. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  7. ^ "Benefactor's Memory Honoured at Tribute Concert", University of Victoria, March 22, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  8. ^ "RPM Adult Contemporary", RPM Weekly, Volume 48, No. 9, June 18, 1988. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "The Cash Box Top 50 Best Selling Records", Cash Box, August 13, 1955. p. 20. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  10. ^ "The Ten Records Disk Jockeys Played Most This Week", Cash Box, August 13, 1955. p. 10. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "The Nation's Top Ten Juke Box Tunes", Cash Box, August 20, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  12. ^ "Honor Roll of Hits", Billboard, August 6, 1955. p. 48. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "1955's Top Tunes", Billboard, December 31, 1955. p. 29. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1987) The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 330.
  15. ^ a b c d "The Billboard Music Popularity Charts - Popular Records", Billboard, August 6, 1955. p. 50. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  16. ^ "The Billboard Music Popularity Charts - Popular Records", Billboard, August 13, 1955. p. 34. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  17. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1987) The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 195.
  18. ^ "The Look of Love – Claudine Longet". AllMusic. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
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