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All I Could Do Was Cry

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"All I Could Do Was Cry"
Single by Etta James
from the album At Last!
B-side"Boy of My Dreams"
Released1960
Recorded1960
GenreDoo-wop, R&B, Blues
Length2:35
LabelChess
Songwriter(s)Billy Davis, Berry Gordy, Gwen Gordy
Etta James singles chronology
"Spoonful"
(1960)
"All I Could Do Was Cry"
(1960)
"My Dearest Darling"
(1960)

"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]

Background

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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 performance

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Etta James version
Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Billboard 100 33
US Billboard Hot R&B Sides 2

Cover versions

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Etta James - All I Could Do Was Cry". 45cat.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 290.
  3. ^ a b "This Day in Black History: May 2, 1961". BET. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  4. ^ "Ike & Tina Turner – The Ike & Tina Turner Show - Vol. 2". Discogs.com. 1966.
  5. ^ "The Kent Years - Ike & Tina Turner | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.