Endless Sleep

"Endless Sleep"
Single by Jody Reynolds
B-side "Tight Capris"
Released March 1958
Format 45 RPM
Label Demon FF-1507
Writer(s) Jody Reynolds, Dolores Nance

"Endless Sleep" is a "teenage tragedy" pop song written and originally recorded by rockabilly singer Jody Reynolds in 1958.

Reynolds wrote the song in 1956, after listening to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", and first performed it soon afterwards at a performance in Yuma, Arizona.[1] The song told the story of a teenager whose girlfriend had gone missing after a row:

The night was black, rain fallin' down
Looked for my baby, she's nowhere around
Traced her footsteps down to the shore
Afraid she's gone for ever more

Although record companies initially rejected the song as too depressing, Reynolds eventually had a demo accepted by Demon Records in Los Angeles, who agreed that Reynolds record it provided that he changed the song's ending so that the protagonist saved the girl from drowning.:[2]

I looked at the sea and it seemed to say
“You took your baby from me away"
My heart cried out “She's mine to keep"
I saved my baby from an endless sleep.

The song was recorded with echo-drenched vocals, and with Al Casey and Howard Roberts on guitars.[2] The record label credited the songwriting to Reynolds and the fictitious "Dolores Nance", in order to make it appear to have been written by a 'professional' songwriting team.[1] Reynolds' recording reached the number 5 position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 7, 1958, sold over one million copies, and inspired a trend of "teen tragedy" songs.[2]

In Britain, the song was covered in the UK by Marty Wilde, whose version reached number 4 on the UK singles chart, becoming his first chart hit.[3] The song was later recorded by Vince Taylor, the Judds, John Fogerty, and Billy Idol, among others. Hank Williams, Jr.'s version was a modest country music chart success.[2] Jody Reynolds' version reached number 66 on the UK singles chart when reissued in 1979.[4] A re-recorded version by Reynolds appears the 1984 Rhino compilation LP Teenage Tragedies.


References

  1. 1 2 "Jody Reynolds". Rockabillyhall.com. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rockabilly". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 847. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  4. ↑ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 545. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
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