Calendar Girl (song)
| "Calendar Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neil Sedaka | ||||
| B-side | "The Same Old Fool" | |||
| Released | December 1960 | |||
| Genre | Brill Building[1] | |||
| Length | 02:32[2] | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Writer(s) |
Neil Sedaka Howard Greenfield | |||
| Neil Sedaka singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Calendar Girl" is a song by Neil Sedaka. The music was composed by Sedaka and the lyrics by Howard Greenfield.[3] Recorded in 1960 and released in 1961, it was a Top-5 hit single for Sedaka, peaking at #4 on the US charts and #1 on the Canadian and Japanese charts.[4][5]
Background
Howard Greenfield got the inspiration for the song title from an old movie listing in TV Guide. Record producer Joe Viglione, writing for AllMusic, describes the song as a G-rated calendar of pin-ups such as Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe,[2] using verbal rather than visual imagery. Each month gives a different reason for the singer's affection for the titular character, and September—"I light the candles at your sweet sixteen"—may be a reference to Sedaka's yet-to-be-released hit "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" or just an acknowledgement of his target audience.[2] Other months in the song reference Valentine's Day in February, the Easter Bunny in April, a junior prom in May and June.[2]
Instrumentation on the song was provided by Stan Applebaum and His Orchestra, with Gary Chester on drums.[2][6] Recording of the song required 26 takes over a three-hour period.
The song was released to a 45 rpm single backed with a country-and-western song, "The Same Old Fool". Both songs were also released on a Compact 33 Single, a short-lived format that RCA Victor promoted in the early 1960s.
Promotional video
A contemporary Scopitone promotional clip for the song was filmed in color. It consists of Neil Sedaka playing the piano and dancing alongside a number of models, on a mock stage made to resemble calendar themes.
Reception
"Calendar Girl" became Sedaka's sixth hit in two years, but was also his first top-five record.[2] The song peaked at #4 on the US Billboard chart and #1 on the Canadian and Japanese chart in 1961.[7] In New Zealand, the song reached #7.[8] The recording peaked at number 8 in the UK.[9]
Covers
Petula Clark recorded a French-language cover of this song, Tout Au Long Du Calendrier.
In 1977, Tina Arena and John Bowles recorded a version for their album "Tiny Tina and Little John".
In 1978, The Beach Boys recorded a version of "Calendar Girl" with Mike Love on lead. This version was never released by The Beach Boys but was lightly modified by Mike Love for his first solo album, Looking Back with Love.[10][11]
In 1978, Purina Cat Chow also did a commercial using a track called "Calendar Cat", which sounds like Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl".
In 1991, Mexicana pop band OV7 (then "La onda vaselina"") recorded a version in Spanish were entitled "Calendario de Amor".
In 1998, the Brazilian singer Eliana recorded the song on his sixth studio album, titled "Um Calendário do Amor".[12]
In 2013, Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) recorded a cover of "Calendar Girl" for his album "Story Of My Life."
The song was featured in the 2016 superhero comedy film Deadpool during a montage of sex scenes between Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin).
Personnel
The personnel on the original recording include Al Caiola, Buck Pizzarelli, Art Ryerson and Bill Suyker on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, Ernie Hayes on piano, Jerome Richardson on sax, and David "Panama" Francis on drums.
References
- ↑ Fontenot, Robert (November 1, 2015). "What is Brill Building Music?". About.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Viglione, Joe. "Neil Sedaka – Calendar Girl: Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ↑ Talevski, Nick (2010). Knocking on heaven's door rock obituaries. London: Omnibus. p. 225. ISBN 9780857121172.
- ↑ Shepherd [ed.], John (2003). Continuum encyclopedia of popular music of the world. London: Continuum. p. 669. ISBN 9781847144720.
- ↑ "All-Time Hit Songs Broadcast Music, Inc.". Billboard: 49. 25 January 1964.
- ↑ Chester, Katrina. "PARTIAL GARY CHESTER DISCOGRAPHY". The Official Gary Chester Website. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ↑ History of Rock: Neil Sedaka
- ↑ http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=Lever%20hit%20parades&qyear=1961&qmonth=Mar&qweek=23-Mar-1961#n_view_location
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 333. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Doe, Andrew Grayham. "VAULTS". Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.beachboys.com/solosI.html
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Eliana-Eliana/release/4679099
