"Easier Said Than Done" is a
popular song sung by
The Essex that was a number-one song in the United States during 1963. It topped the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on July 6, 1963, and remained there for two weeks.[1] The song was written by William Linton and Larry Huff.[2]
The Essex were active-duty members of the
United States Marine Corps at the time, as was Linton, who wrote the song at the request of Essex member Walter Vickers. Linton said the song's rhythm was inspired by the sound of the
Teletype machines in the communications office at
Camp Lejeune.[2] The group was not thrilled with the composition, but recorded it for use as the B-side of their debut single, "Are You Going My Way". The recording was unusually short, and editing was used to repeat part of the recording; even so, the song was only a little over two minutes. The single was released in May 1963, but "Easier Said Than Done" quickly emerged as the more popular side.[3] It became a major hit with broad appeal, reaching #1 on both the pop and
rhythm and blues charts.[4] The song became the title track of the group's first album, which reached #113 on the
Billboard album chart, becoming their only charting album.[5]
^Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), 208.
^
abFred Bronson (2003).
The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. pp. 141–.
ISBN978-0-8230-7677-2. I was working in the communication department. We had a bunch of teletype machines, and when they were all running together, they had a beat. The sound of the teletype machines inspired the beat of Easier Said Than Done.
^Jay Warner, American Singing Groups: A History From 1940 To Today (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006), 376.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 803.
^Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Albums 1955-2001 (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2001), 272.
