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"All I Could Do Was Cry" | ||||
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Single by Etta James | ||||
from the album At Last! | ||||
B-side | "Boy of My Dreams" | |||
Released | 1960 | |||
Recorded | 1960 | |||
Genre | Doo-wop, R&B, Blues | |||
Length | 2:35 | |||
Label | Chess | |||
Songwriter(s) | Billy Davis, Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy | |||
Etta James singles chronology | ||||
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"All I Could Do Was Cry" is a doo-wop/ rhythm and blues single recorded in 1960, and released in March that year by the singer Etta James. [1] It was written for James by Chess songwriter Billy Davis, Berry Gordy and his sister Gwen Gordy. [1] The song eventually peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 33 on the pop chart. [2] James would later re-record the song in the early 1990s. [3]
The song was said[ by whom?] to be inspired by James' former boyfriend Harvey Fuqua dating Davis' former girlfriend, who was Gwen. Gordy and Fuqua later married the same year the song was recorded, which likely added to the tension in James' bluesy vocals.[ citation needed]
Chart (1960) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 100 | 33 |
US Billboard Hot R&B Sides | 2 |