A Little Bitty Tear
Encyclopedia
"A Little Bitty Tear" is a song written by the American country music
singer-songwriter
Hank Cochran
. It has been recorded by many musical acts, including Cochran himself and Burl Ives
.
magazine, Cochran stated that he wrote many songs in his car while commuting home from work, including "A Little Bitty Tear". "Nothing prompted the idea for" the song, it "just came into my mind."
late in the year, and it became one of Ives' highest-charting hits early the next year. It made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in February 1962, peaking at number nine. The song nearly topped the Billboard country music chart
, spending two weeks in the runner-up slot, and it spent one week atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart at the end of February 1962. In England, the song spent two weeks at number nine on the UK Singles Chart
in early 1962. Ives also earned Grammy
nominations for the song in the categories Best Country & Western Recording
and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Hank Cochran
Hank Cochran
Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold and others...
. It has been recorded by many musical acts, including Cochran himself and Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
.
History
In a 1965 interview with BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine, Cochran stated that he wrote many songs in his car while commuting home from work, including "A Little Bitty Tear". "Nothing prompted the idea for" the song, it "just came into my mind."
Reception
Ives recorded the song for his album, The Versatile Burl Ives!, in 1961. This version was released as a singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
late in the year, and it became one of Ives' highest-charting hits early the next year. It made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in February 1962, peaking at number nine. The song nearly topped the Billboard country music chart
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
, spending two weeks in the runner-up slot, and it spent one week atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart at the end of February 1962. In England, the song spent two weeks at number nine on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in early 1962. Ives also earned Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations for the song in the categories Best Country & Western Recording
Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording was awarded from 1959 to 1968. From 1959 to 1961 the award was presented as the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Performance...
and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male
The Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male was awarded from 1959 to 1968. The award had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Vocal Performance, Male...
.
Cover versions
- RockabillyRockabillyRockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
singer Wanda JacksonWanda JacksonWanda Lavonne Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist...
issued her version of "A Little Bitty Tear" at virtually the same time as Ives' record was released, and this reached #84 on the Hot 100. Other artists who recorded versions of the song in 1962 include Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
(on his album Our Man in NashvilleOur Man in NashvilleOur Man in Nashville is a recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins. RCA did a series of "Our Man in ..." and Chet was indeed their man in Nashville. He was producing and developing the "Nashville sound".Our Man in Nashville is out of print....
) and British country duo Miki & GriffMiki & GriffMiki & Griff were a British country music duo, who had several hit singles on the UK Singles Chart in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-History:...
, who charted at #16 in the UK with their recording. - Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
recorded the song for his 1965 album Bing Crosby Sings The Great Country Hits. - Songwriter Cochran recorded his own version of the song in 1980, which made #57 on the Billboard country music chart.
- The ShadowsThe ShadowsThe Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
did a vocal cover version of the song on their 1965 album The Sound of The ShadowsThe Sound of The ShadowsThe Sound of The Shadows is the fourth rock album by British instrumental group The Shadows, released in 1964 through EMI Records...
.
Burl Ives version
| Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Country Singles | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 5 |