Hello Stranger
Encyclopedia
"Hello Stranger" was a 1963 hit single by Barbara Lewis
which spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in Billboard
crossing over to #3 Pop.
Lewis recorded "Hello Stranger" at Chess
Studios in Chicago
in January 1963. The track's producer Ollie McLaughlin recruited the Dells
to provide the background vocals. The arrangement by Riley Hampton - then working with Etta James
- featured a signature organ riff provided by keyboardist John Young. The track was completed after thirteen takes. Lewis would recall that on hearing the playback of the finished track, Dells member Chuck Barksdale "kept jumping up and down and saying, ‘It’s a hit, it’s a hit.’...I didn’t really know. It was all new to me.”
http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=barbara-lewis-career
McLaughlin flew to New York City to pitch "Hello Stranger" to Atlantic Records
who had picked up Lewis' previous two singles for national release. Atlantic optioned "Hello Stranger" but then had second thoughts on the viability of releasing such an unusual track. The ascendancy of "Our Day Will Come
" by Ruby & the Romantics
to the top of the Pop and R&B charts in March 1963 motivated Atlantic to release "Hello Stranger" that month; entering the Billboard Hot 100
in April 1963 the track took another month to reach the Top 40 impelled by its #1 status in St Louis MO, entering the Billboard Top Ten that June for a five week stay.
- who he discovered at a local dance headlined by Barbara Lewis - record "Hello Stranger" to be the B-side of their #7 hit "Cool Jerk
".
"Hello Stranger" was also a 1969 single release by Darius before returning to the charts in 1973 when it became a regional hit for Fire & Rain, a folk rock
duo comprising veteran Tucson musician Manny Freiser and Patti McCarron, Freiser's then-wife who sang lead; their version, which featured Michael Omartian
on keyboards, was arranged by Ben Benay who also played guitar. Benay had also been guitarist on the version of "Hello Stranger" by Darius.
Manny Freiser would recall: "Mercury
[Records] released "Hello Stranger" as a single against our wishes. It became a legitimate hit at easy listening
radio...Mercury then tried to cross it over to Top-40 radio
...We started picking up major markets, mostly in the southeast...The single precariously "bubbled under the Hot 100
" on Billboard's charts in spring '73: #106 one week, #105 the next, and so on" entering the Billboard Hot 100
that June at #100 where it remained for three weeks and then dropped off the charts. Freiser - "Although it had sold 70,000+ copies, 'Hello Stranger' had basically been a 'turntable hit' at Top 40 radio -- one that got played a lot , but didn't break. It thus became Billboard Magazines lowest-ranked Hot 100 single of 1973, ranking #573 out of 573 singles that made the Hot 100."http://www.mannyfreiser.com/bio.html/
In October 1976 studio group New York Rubber Rock Band recorded a dance version of "Hello Stranger" for the Brooklyn-based Henry Street Records; Colleen Heather was the vocalist on this version which reached #31 on the Dance charts.
The most successful incarnation of "Hello Stranger" since the Lewis original has been the Yvonne Elliman
version produced by Freddie Perren
for Elliman's 1977 Love Me album; both Elliman and Perren deliberately sought to capture the sound of the original. "Hello Stranger" was released as the follow-up single to Elliman's #14 hit "Love Me" and was similarly successful on the Pop charts reaching #15; Elliman's "Hello Stranger" also charted R&B at #57 and was most successful on the Easy Listening chart
where it was #1 for four weeks.
[]
Elliman's "Hello Stranger" was also released as a single in the UK
; despite the precedent "Love Me" having reached #6 UK "Hello Stranger" was much less successful reaching #26. In the UK "Hello Stranger" did not have the cachet of being the remake of a "golden oldie" as the Barbara Lewis original was overlooked both in its 1963 UK release on London Records and in a 1968 reissue on Atlantic with Lewis' hit "Baby I'm Yours" on the flip side. Elkie Brooks
' first single, released in 1964, had featured a version of "Hello Stranger" although that single's A-side had been Brooks' cover of another US R&B hit: Etta James
' "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (not a chart item for Brooks).
http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=7372http://www.elkiebrooks.net/singles_somethings_got_a_hold.html The Capitols' version of "Hello Stranger" was also issued in the UK as the B-side of "Cool Jerk" three times: in 1966, 1969 and 1971 (the last two reissues credited to the Three Caps) with the single falling short of the charts each time.
Yvonne Elliman did take "Hello Stranger" into the Top 20 in the Netherlands
(#20) and also New Zealand (#12). In the US, Elliman's version went to number one on the Easy Listening chart and number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100
.
In 1985 Carrie Lucas
' remake of "Hello Stranger" - which featured the Whispers
- was a Top 20 R&B hit.
The Supremes
& The Four Tops recorded a version for the album Dynamite! in 1971.
Other versions of the song have been recorded by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas for their Heat Wave
album, by Queen Latifah
in 2004 for her The Dana Owens Album
, and by Diane Marino (featuring saxophonist Wycliffe Gordon
) for her 2008 '60s covers album Just Groovin.
Barbara Lewis
Barbara Lewis , is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues.-Career:Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan...
which spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in Billboard
Billboard (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...
crossing over to #3 Pop.
Original version
"Hello Stranger" was written by Barbara Lewis herself who was originally inspired to write a song with that title while working gigs in Detroit with her musician father: “I would make the circuit with my dad and people would yell out: ‘Hey stranger, hello stranger, it’s been a long time’". The song is notable because its title comprises the first two words of the lyrics but is never at any point repeated throughout the rest of the song.Lewis recorded "Hello Stranger" at Chess
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
Studios in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in January 1963. The track's producer Ollie McLaughlin recruited the Dells
The Dells
The Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
to provide the background vocals. The arrangement by Riley Hampton - then working with Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
- featured a signature organ riff provided by keyboardist John Young. The track was completed after thirteen takes. Lewis would recall that on hearing the playback of the finished track, Dells member Chuck Barksdale "kept jumping up and down and saying, ‘It’s a hit, it’s a hit.’...I didn’t really know. It was all new to me.”
http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=barbara-lewis-career
McLaughlin flew to New York City to pitch "Hello Stranger" to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
who had picked up Lewis' previous two singles for national release. Atlantic optioned "Hello Stranger" but then had second thoughts on the viability of releasing such an unusual track. The ascendancy of "Our Day Will Come
Our Day Will Come
"Our Day Will Come" is a popular song composed by Bob Hilliard and Mort Garson which was a #1 hit in 1963 for Ruby & The Romantics.-Ruby & the Romantics:...
" by Ruby & the Romantics
Ruby & the Romantics
Ruby & the Romantics was an American R&B group in the 1960s. They had several pop and R&B hit records, but are sometimes considered as a one-hit wonder for topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963 with their first recording, "Our Day Will Come", written by Mort Garson and Bob Hilliard...
to the top of the Pop and R&B charts in March 1963 motivated Atlantic to release "Hello Stranger" that month; entering 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...
in April 1963 the track took another month to reach the Top 40 impelled by its #1 status in St Louis MO, entering the Billboard Top Ten that June for a five week stay.
Other versions
In 1966 Ollie McLaughlin had the group the CapitolsThe Capitols
The Capitols were a Detroit, Michigan-based soul trio widely known in the late 1960s for their Billboard hit single "Cool Jerk".-Formation and Disbandment:...
- who he discovered at a local dance headlined by Barbara Lewis - record "Hello Stranger" to be the B-side of their #7 hit "Cool Jerk
Cool Jerk
"Cool Jerk" is a popular song written by Donald Storball and originally performed by The Capitols. Released in 1966, it reached the number two position on the American R&B chart and number seven on the pop chart...
".
"Hello Stranger" was also a 1969 single release by Darius before returning to the charts in 1973 when it became a regional hit for Fire & Rain, a folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
duo comprising veteran Tucson musician Manny Freiser and Patti McCarron, Freiser's then-wife who sang lead; their version, which featured Michael Omartian
Michael Omartian
Michael Omartian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and music producer. He has been a participant in over 350,000,000 albums and CD’s sold worldwide, as a producer, arranger, artist or musician, during a career that has spanned over 38 years...
on keyboards, was arranged by Ben Benay who also played guitar. Benay had also been guitarist on the version of "Hello Stranger" by Darius.
Manny Freiser would recall: "Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
[Records] released "Hello Stranger" as a single against our wishes. It became a legitimate hit at easy listening
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
radio...Mercury then tried to cross it over to Top-40 radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
...We started picking up major markets, mostly in the southeast...The single precariously "bubbled under the Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
" on Billboard's charts in spring '73: #106 one week, #105 the next, and so on" entering 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...
that June at #100 where it remained for three weeks and then dropped off the charts. Freiser - "Although it had sold 70,000+ copies, 'Hello Stranger' had basically been a 'turntable hit' at Top 40 radio -- one that got played a lot , but didn't break. It thus became Billboard Magazines lowest-ranked Hot 100 single of 1973, ranking #573 out of 573 singles that made the Hot 100."http://www.mannyfreiser.com/bio.html/
In October 1976 studio group New York Rubber Rock Band recorded a dance version of "Hello Stranger" for the Brooklyn-based Henry Street Records; Colleen Heather was the vocalist on this version which reached #31 on the Dance charts.
The most successful incarnation of "Hello Stranger" since the Lewis original has been the Yvonne Elliman
Yvonne Elliman
Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar...
version produced by Freddie Perren
Freddie Perren
Frederick "Freddie" Perren was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor best known for as a co-songwriter and co-producer of such mega-hits as "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches &...
for Elliman's 1977 Love Me album; both Elliman and Perren deliberately sought to capture the sound of the original. "Hello Stranger" was released as the follow-up single to Elliman's #14 hit "Love Me" and was similarly successful on the Pop charts reaching #15; Elliman's "Hello Stranger" also charted R&B at #57 and was most successful on the Easy Listening chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
where it was #1 for four weeks.
[]
Elliman's "Hello Stranger" was also released as a single in the UK
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 ...
; despite the precedent "Love Me" having reached #6 UK "Hello Stranger" was much less successful reaching #26. In the UK "Hello Stranger" did not have the cachet of being the remake of a "golden oldie" as the Barbara Lewis original was overlooked both in its 1963 UK release on London Records and in a 1968 reissue on Atlantic with Lewis' hit "Baby I'm Yours" on the flip side. Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
' first single, released in 1964, had featured a version of "Hello Stranger" although that single's A-side had been Brooks' cover of another US R&B hit: Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
' "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (not a chart item for Brooks).
http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=7372http://www.elkiebrooks.net/singles_somethings_got_a_hold.html The Capitols' version of "Hello Stranger" was also issued in the UK as the B-side of "Cool Jerk" three times: in 1966, 1969 and 1971 (the last two reissues credited to the Three Caps) with the single falling short of the charts each time.
Yvonne Elliman did take "Hello Stranger" into the Top 20 in the Netherlands
Mega Top 50
The Mega Top 50 is a Dutch music chart, originally started on May 23, 1969 as the Hilversum 3 Top 30. Throughout the years, the chart has had several names and lengths:*1969 - 1974: Hilversum 3 Top 30...
(#20) and also New Zealand (#12). In the US, Elliman's version went to number one on the Easy Listening chart and number fifteen 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...
.
In 1985 Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas
Carrie Lucas, is an American female R&B musician, born in Carmel, California. In 1976 she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas made six albums over seven years with Soul Train and Solar Records.-Career:...
' remake of "Hello Stranger" - which featured the Whispers
The Whispers
The Whispers are a long-established R&B-dance vocal group from Los Angeles, California, with a consistent track record of hit records dating back to the late 1960s.-Career:...
- was a Top 20 R&B hit.
The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
& The Four Tops recorded a version for the album Dynamite! in 1971.
Other versions of the song have been recorded by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas for their Heat Wave
Heat Wave (album)
Heat Wave is the second album released by American Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Released in 1963 on Motown's Gordy imprint, intended to capitialize on the success of the title track, which rose to number four on the pop singles chart and number-one on the R&B singles chart...
album, by Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
in 2004 for her The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album
The Dana Owens Album is the fifth studio album by American recording artist Queen Latifah, released in the United States on September 28, 2004 by Interscope Records. Unlike Latifah's previous hip hop/R&B-oriented efforts, this album showcases a jazz vocal performance...
, and by Diane Marino (featuring saxophonist Wycliffe Gordon
Wycliffe Gordon
Wycliffe Gordon is a jazz trombonist. He also plays didgeridoo, trumpet, tuba, piano and sings.In 1995, he re-orchestrated the theme song for NPR's All Things Considered...
) for her 2008 '60s covers album Just Groovin.
| Single Versions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Year | Recording info | Chart position |
| Barbara Lewis Barbara Lewis Barbara Lewis , is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues.-Career:Lewis was born in Salem, near Ann Arbor, Michigan... |
1963 1963 1968 |
producer: Ollie McLaughlin (album Hello Stranger) Atlantic 2184 HLK 9724 Atlantic 584 153 |
US Pop #3/ R&B #1 (2 wks) UK did not chart UK did not chart |
| Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice... |
1964 | Decca F 11928/ producer: Ian Samwell Ian Samwell Ian "Sammy" Samwell was an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut hit "Move It" and his association with the rock band America with whom he had his biggest commercial success with their hit single "A Horse With No Name"... |
UK B-side of "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (did not chart) |
| The Capitols The Capitols The Capitols were a Detroit, Michigan-based soul trio widely known in the late 1960s for their Billboard hit single "Cool Jerk".-Formation and Disbandment:... |
1966 1966 1969 1971 |
producer: Ollie McLaughlin (album Dance the Cool Jerk) Karen 1524 Atlantic 584 004 Atlantic 584 251 credited to The Three Caps Atlantic 2091105 credited to The Three Caps |
US B-side to "Cool Jerk" (#7) UK B-side to "Cool Jerk" (did not chart) UK B-side to "Cool Jerk" (did not chart) UK B-side to "Cool Jerk" (did not chart) |
| Darius | 1969 | Chartmaker 419/ producers: Pat Glasser & Butch Parker | US did not chart |
| Fire & Rain | 1973 | producer: Joe Saraceno Joe Saraceno Joe Saraceno is an American record producer. He was the producer of The Ventures and The Marketts, as well as other notable musical artists.... (album Fire & Rain) Mercury 73373 |
US Pop #100 Easy Listening #24 |
| New York Rubber Rock Band feat. Colleen Heather |
1976 | producers: Bob Motta & Vince Traina HS 10002 |
US Dance #31 |
| Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar... |
1977 | producer: Freddie Perren Freddie Perren Frederick "Freddie" Perren was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor best known for as a co-songwriter and co-producer of such mega-hits as "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches &... (album Love Me) RSO 871 |
US Pop #15/ R&B #57/ Easy Listening #1 (4 wks) UK (RSO 2090 235) #26/ Canada #13/ Netherlands #20/ New Zealand #12 |
| Carrie Lucas Carrie Lucas Carrie Lucas, is an American female R&B musician, born in Carmel, California. In 1976 she was signed to Soul Train Records. Lucas made six albums over seven years with Soul Train and Solar Records.-Career:... |
1985 | producers: Bill Simmons & Jeffery Cooper (album Horsin' Around) Constellation MCA 23589 |
US R&B #20 |
See also
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1963 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1977 (U.S.)