From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Wheel of Fortune " is a
popular song written by
Bennie Benjamin and
George David Weiss and published in 1951. It is best remembered in the 1952 hit version by
Kay Starr .
The song was originally recorded in 1951, for
RCA Victor by
Johnny Hartman , and about the same time for
Crescendo Records by Al Costello with the Walter Scott Orchestra.
[1]
[2] Several hit versions of "Wheel of Fortune" were released in 1952. The first chart hit was by the
Eddie Wilcox Orchestra featuring
Sunny Gale , whose version reached number 2 on the
R&B chart and number 13 on the pop chart. The most successful version was by Kay Starr, whose recording reached number 1 in the US pop chart in March 1952, staying there for ten weeks. Other hit versions in 1952 came from
Dinah Washington (number 3, R&B),
Bobby Wayne (number 6, pop),
The Cardinals (number 6, R&B), and
The Bell Sisters (number 10, pop).
[3]
[4]
The song was also used as the theme to the television series
Wheel of Fortune .
Recorded versions
The Barry Sisters (recorded in
Yiddish , released by
RCA Victor as catalog number 25-5112, with the flip side "Channah From Havana")
[5]
The Bell Sisters with
Henri René & His Orchestra (Recorded in
Hollywood on December 18, 1951. It was released in United States by
RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4520, with the flip side "Poor Whip-Poor-Will",
[6] also released in
Great Britain by
EMI on the
His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10232)
The Cardinals
[7] (recorded October 6, 1951, released by
Atlantic Records as catalog number 958, with the flip side "Shouldn't I Know?")
[8]
Ronnie Dove recorded the song as an album track for his
Cry LP in 1967.
Frankie Carle (released by
RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4540, with the flip side "
Be My Life's Companion ")
[6]
The Four Flames (recorded December
1951 , released by
Specialty Records as catalog number 423, with the flip side "Later")
[9]
Ginny and the Gallions (released
1963 by
Downey Records as catalog number 112, with the flip side "
Hava Nagila "
[10]
Johnny Hartman (released by
RCA Victor as catalog number 20-4349, with the flip side "I'm Afraid")
[11]
Helen Humes and
Gerald Wiggins (recorded January 14, 1952, released by
Decca Records as catalog number 48280, with the flip side "All Night Long")
[12]
Sammy Kaye 's Orchestra (recorded January
1952 , released by
Columbia Records as catalog number 39667, with the flip side "Goodbye Sweetheart")
[13]
Maurice King 's Wolverines (recorded
1952 , released by
OKeh Records as catalog number 6868, with the flip side "Bermuda")
[14]
The Knightsbridge Strings (released
1959 by
Top Rank Records as catalog number 2014, with the flip side "Cow Cow Boogie"
[10]
Skeets McDonald (released by
Capitol Records as catalog number 1993, with the flip side "Love that Haunts Me So")
[15]
Arthur Prysock (released by
Decca Records as catalog number 27967, with the flip side "Till All the Stars Fall in the Ocean")
[16]
Susan Raye (released by
Capitol Records as catalog number 3438, with the flip side "My Heart Skips a Beat")
[17]
Kay Starr
[7] (released by
Capitol Records as catalog numbers 1677, with the flip side "Angry", and 1964, with the flip side "I Wanna Love You";
[15] first reached the
Billboard Best Seller chart on February 8, 1952 and lasted 22 weeks on the chart, peaking at number one).
[18]
Jimmy Thomason (recorded February
1952 , released by
King Records as catalog number 1051, with the flip side "Kiamish Choctaw Rose")
[19]
Dinah Washington (recorded January
1952 , released by
Mercury Records as catalog number 8267, with the flip side "
Tell Me Why ")
[20]
Bobby Wayne with
Joe Reisman 's orchestra (released by
Mercury Records as catalog number 5779, with the flip side "If I Heard the Heart of a Clown";
[21] first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on February 15, 1952, and lasted 10 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 13).
[18]
Eddie Wilcox &
Sunny Gale (released by
Derby Records as catalog number 787, with the flip side "You Showed Me the Way";
[22] first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on February 1, 1952 and lasted 6 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 14)
[18]
Billy Williams Quartet (released by
MGM Records as catalog number 11172, with the flip side "
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry? ")
[23]
See also
References
^
Bob Leszczak, Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists , Rowman & Littlefield, 2014,
ISBN
9781442230682 , p.225
^
"Wheel of Fortune" , SecondhandSongs.com . Retrieved 29 November 2017
^ Whitburn, Joel (2003).
Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.
606 .
ISBN
0-89820-155-1 .
^
Whitburn, Joel (1986).
Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Record Research. p.
606 .
ISBN
0-89820-083-0 .
^
"RCA Victor Hebrew ethnic series (25-5000) - numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
a
b
"RCA Victor 20-prefix series: 4500 - 5000, 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
a
b
Kay Starr interviewed on the
Pop Chronicles (1969)
^
"Atlantic Records 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"Specialty 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
a
b
"45 Discography for Top Rank Records - US" . Globaldogproductions.info . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"RCA Victor 20-4000 - 4500 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"DECCA (USA) 48000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"COLUMBIA RECORDS (USA), 78rpm numerical listing discography 39500 - 40000" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"OKeh (by CBS) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 6800 - 7100" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
a
b
"Capitol 1500 - 2000, 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"DECCA (USA) numerical listing discography: 27500 - 27999" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"LP Discography - Covers & Lyrics" . Lpdiscography.com . Archived from
the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
a
b
c
Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research.
^
"KING 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1000 - 1500" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"MERCURY 8000 series 78rpm numerical listing discography" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"MERCURY 78rpm numerical discography: 5500 - end of series" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^
"Untitled Document" . Archived from
the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2008-02-29 .
^
"MGM 78rpm numerical listing discography: 11000 - 11499" . 78discography.com . Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
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