Allentown Jail
1963 single by The Lettermen
"Allentown Jail" | ||||
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Single by The Lettermen | ||||
B-side | "Two Brothers" | |||
Released | 1963 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Irving Gordon | |||
The Lettermen singles chronology | ||||
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"Allentown Jail" is a folk-style song, written by Irving Gordon.[1]
Background
The song tells the story of a man who tries to steal a diamond ring for his girlfriend, gets caught, and ends up in the Allentown jail.
Recordings
- In 1951, Jo Stafford recorded this song. It was released as a single on Columbia Records.
- In 1960, Kathy Linden recorded it as her first single on Monument Records.[2]
- The Kingston Trio recorded a version in 1962, as the song became popular in the folk scene. The trio had plans of releasing it as a single, but the single never came to fruition. Their version has since been released on various CD compilations of their works.
- In 1963, a more harmonic arrangement was performed by The Lettermen and released as a single. This version incurred some success, but only to a minor degree.
- Other artists who recorded this song include The Seekers, The Springfields, Billy Strange, and British singers Lita Roza and Karen Young. There is also a French adaptation of the song, "Les prisons du roy", by Edith Piaf, which was later covered by Marianne Faithfull.
References
External links
- "Alkentown Jail" lyrics at Genius.com
- v
- t
- e
The Lettermen
- Bobby Poynton
- Donovan Tea
- Rob Gulack
- Once Upon a Time (1962)
- Warm (1967)
- I Have Dreamed (1969)
- Spin Away (1972)
- "The 7th Dawn"
- "Allentown Jail"
- "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
- "Chanson D'Amour"
- "Come Back Silly Girl"
- "Eastward"
- "How Is Julie?"
- "Hurt So Bad"
- "I Have Dreamed"
- "Love"
- "Our Winter Love"
- "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"
- "Secretly"
- "Shangri-La"
- "She Cried"
- "Silly Boy (She Doesn't Love You)"
- "Sweet September"
- "Theme from A Summer Place"
- "Turn Around, Look at Me"
- "The Way You Look Tonight"
- "When I Fall in Love"
- "Where or When"