Crying (Roy Orbison song)

"Crying"
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album Crying
B-side	"Candy Man"
Released	July 1961
Genre	Country, Rock
Length	2:46
Label	Monument 447
Writer(s)	Roy Orbison, Joe Melson
Producer(s)	Fred Foster
Roy Orbison singles chronology
"Running Scared" (1961) "Crying" (1961) "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" (1962)

"Crying" is a ballad written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson that was a hit for Orbison.

Composition

Dave Marsh calls the song a "rock-bolero" with "blaring strings, hammered tympani, a ghostly chorus, the gentle strum of a guitar, [and] a hint of marimba".^[1] Billboard observes an "expressive reading" on the "country-flavored ballad."^[2] The personnel on the original recording included Orbison session regulars Bob Moore on bass, Floyd Cramer on piano, Buddy Harman on drums, and Boudleaux Bryant, Harold Bradley and Scotty Moore on guitar.

Release and reception

The song was released as a 45-rpm single by Monument Records in July 1961 and reached No. 1 on the United States Cashbox chart for a week on October 7, 1961, and peaking at No. 2 on the rival Billboard Hot 100. Despite not reaching the summit in the latter publication, Billboard ranked the record as the No. 4 song of 1961.^[3]

In 1987, Orbison rerecorded the song as a duet with k.d. lang as part of the soundtrack for the motion picture Hiding Out. Their collaboration won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The duet version was a minor US chart hit for the pair, peaking at No. 42 on the hot country singles chart,^[4] though it was a more substantial hit in the UK in 1992, reaching No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 2002, "Crying" was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. In 2010, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it 69th on their list of the "500 greatest songs of all time".^[5]

Don McLean version

"Crying"
Single by Don McLean
from the album Chain Lightning
B-side	"Genesis (In the Beginning)"
Released	July 1980 (UK, NZ, Australia) January 1981 (North America)
Genre	Easy Listening
Length	3:35
Label	Millennium
Writer(s)	Roy Orbison, Joe Melson
Don McLean singles chronology
"Wonderful Baby" (1975) "Crying" (1981) "It's Just the Sun" (1981)

Don McLean recorded by far the most successful cover of the song, taking it to No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1981.^[6] His version of "Crying" also reached No. 2 adult contemporary and No. 6 Country. It was yet more successful in the UK, where it reached No. 1, spending three weeks atop the UK Singles Chart.^[7] McLean issued an album in 1981, however, "Crying" was taken from his 1978 album, Chain Lightning. It became his second greatest hit.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Chart (1980–81) Peak position Australia 27 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 1 Canada Top Singles 7 Canada Country 1 Dutch Top 40[9] 1 New Zealand [10] 11 UK 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [11] 5 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 2 U.S. Billboard Country 6 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [12] 6

Year-end charts Chart (1980) Rank Australia [13] 119 UK [14] 15 Chart (1981) Rank Canada 49 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [15] 40 U.S. Cash Box [16] 52

Other cover versions

• In 1962, Waylon Jennings released his version ("Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)") on BAT Records as one of his first singles.
• Del Shannon included the song in his 1964 album Handy Man.
• A version by Jay and the Americans reached No. 25 in the US in 1966.
• Dottie West recorded it on her 1968 album What I'm Cut Out to Be.
• Lynn Anderson recorded it for her 1968 album Big Girls Don't Cry.
• B. J. Thomas included the song on his 1975 album Reunion
• Experimental art rock guitarist Adrian Belew recorded a simple solo acoustic version of the song on his 1993 album The Acoustic Adrian Belew.
• The Brazilian duo Chitãozinho & Xororó performed a Portuguese version of the song entitled "Lágrimas" in their 1998 album Na Aba do Meu Chapéu.
• Gene Pitney included the song in his 1999 album Gene Pitney Sings Great Ballads.
• Rebekah Del Rio performed an a cappella Spanish language version of the song entitled "Llorando" in the 2001 David Lynch film Mulholland Drive.^[17]
• Belgian singer Dana Winner recorded a version for her 2002 album Unforgettable Too
• South African singer Nicholis Louw recorded a version in 2004.^[18]
• In 2007, Billy Gilman released it as a single.
• Russian Red covered the song in 2009 ^[19]
• Mark Vincent covered the song for his 2010 album Compass (Mark Vincent album)
• Clay Aiken recorded the song with Linda Eder on his 2010 album Tried and True.
• La India covered the song in a salsa style on her 2010 album, Unica.
• Il Divo included the song on the album Wicked Game in 2011.
• Austra recorded a version for their deluxe edition 2011 album Feel It Break.
• Billy Joe Royal released a version of the song.
• Three other cover versions made country music charts over time. Charting with the song were:
  • Arlene Harden (No. 28 in 1970),^[20]
  • Ronnie Milsap (No. 79 in 1976)^[21]
  • Stephanie Winslow (No. 14 in 1980).^[22]
• Glen Campbell also covered this song on an album.

Live cover performances

• Carrie Underwood performed this song in the "Top 3" episode of the popular singing show American Idol. Underwood later won the competition.
• Emily Vinette performed this song in the "Top 10" episode of Canadian Idol's third season. Vinette was voted off the next night. Ashley Coulter performed the song in the "Top 6" episode of season four. She was also voted off the next night.
• In the final round of season two of the talent show America's Got Talent, ventriloquist Terry Fator used his puppet turtle "Winston" to perform this song, while impersonating Roy Orbison. Fator received the highest number of votes and won the competition along with the one million dollar prize.
• In 2009 "Crying" was performed by Jamie 'Afro' Archer on the UK version of The X Factor.
• American Idol season 12 finalist Kree Harrison performed "Crying" during Music of the American Idols week.
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band covered the song live in May 1988, in Madison Square Garden.
• Captain Soncho performed this song in New Delhi, India at Hard Rock Cafe.
• In 2016, The Voice US finalist Billy Gilman performed this song at the Live Playoffs round.

Appearances in film, television and other media

• U.S. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney mentioned this song among his top 10 songs of all time in March 2012.^[23]
• In 2011, "Crying" was featured in the American comedy-drama film 50/50.^[24]
• "Crying" was featured in an episode of Only Fools and Horses. The episode "Stage Fright" featured Raquel and a guest character Tony Angelino (played by Philip Pope) singing this song at a function. Angelino had a rhotacism, causing him to pronounce his Rs incorrectly.
• "Crying" is featured near the start of the first of the Australian telemovie trilogy Small Claims starring Rebecca Gibney and Claudia Karvan.
• "Crying" was featured in the movie Gummo. After huffing glue, Tummler remarks that his cross-dressing brother used to sing "Crying". Tummler then proceeds to weakly sing parts of the song. The original version of the song is used during the last scenes of the movie.
• The song is featured in the 1999 film Paperback Hero, sung by Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan.
• "Llorando" was featured in a famous scene in Mulholland Drive and during the closing scenes of Prison Break in season 3.
• On February 2, 2008, k.d. lang, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live program, said that Roy had told her that this song was written after he had seen an ex-girlfriend at a burger stand.
• In early 2008, "Crying" was featured in an anti-drunk-driving commercial. It is sung karaoke-style.
• In Sports Night, season 2, episode 14 ("And the Crowd Goes Wild"), Casey McCall wears sunglasses during the course of a day following an eye exam. His colleagues ridicule him for this, one of them saying, "Hit the high note in 'Crying' and I'll be impressed," in reference to Orbison and his trademark sunglasses.
• In The Sopranos, season 5, episode 2 ("Rat Pack"), the song is playing at a diner while Tony is meeting with contractor Jack Massarone.
• In Heroes, season 3, episode 23 ("1961"), "Crying" is playing in the background.
• In The Walking Dead, season 7, episode 3 ("The Cell"), Daryl Dixon gives in to tears of guilt and sorrow while the song is played.

References

1. Marsh, Dave (1999). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Da Capo Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN 030680901X.
2. "Spotlight Singles of the Week". Billboard: 27. July 31, 1961. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
3. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1961
4. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 305. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
5. "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time". Rolling Stone. April 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
6. "Billboard Hot 100 Chart History : "Crying" - Don McLean". Song-database.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 382. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
8. "Ultratop.be – Don Mclean – Crying" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 Sep 16.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
10. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1980-10-19. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-05-27.
13. David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992" Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
14. "UK Singles of the Year" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications. December 27, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
15. "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
17. Taubin, Amy (September–October 2001). "In Dreams", Film Comment, 37 (5), p. 51–55.
18. "Covers by Nicholis Louw". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
19. "Check out Russian Red Performing "Crying!"". Roy Orbison. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
20. Whitburn, p. 179
21. Whitburn, p. 279
22. Whitburn, p. 472
23. "Mitt Romney names the greatest tunes off all time". Politico. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
24. "IMDB soundtrack list for the movie 50/50". IMDb.com. 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-29.

External links

• "Crying" at Allmusic
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics