View source for My Heart Cries for You

{{Short description|French melody, adapted to an English song}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = My Heart Cries for You
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Guy Mitchell]]
| album      =
| B-side     = [[The Roving Kind (song)|The Roving Kind]]
| released   = November 1950
| recorded   = November 1950
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Traditional pop]]
| length     = 2:41
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = [[Carl Sigman]], [[Percy Faith]]
| producer   =
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title = [[You're Just in Love]]
| next_year  = 1951
}}

"'''My Heart Cries for You'''" is a [[popular music|popular]] [[song]], adapted by [[Carl Sigman]] and [[Percy Faith]] from an 18th-century [[France|French]] melody.<ref name=IndOb>The Independent; ''Obituaries: Guy Mitchell'' 5 July 1999</ref> The song has been recorded by many singers, the most successful of which was recorded by [[Guy Mitchell]] which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1951.

==Background==
The music is based on an old French song believed to date from the time of [[Louis XVI]] and [[Marie Antoinette]], "La jardinière du Roi" ("The King's Gardener"),<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xh8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |title=London Digs Up Louis XVI Ditty |magazine=Billboard |date=February 10, 1951 |page=12}}</ref> also titled "Chanson de Marie Antoinette" (Marie Antoinette's song) as the music was said to have been written by Marie Antoinette.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=317958 |title=Chanson de Marie Antoinette |work=The LiederNet Archive }}</ref><ref name=myron /> The French song was published in the US in 1927,<ref name=myron>{{cite web |url=http://collections.banq.qc.ca/bitstream/52327/2401779/1/3712747.pdf |title=Marie Antoinette's Song }}</ref> and recorded by [[Lily Pons]] in 1938. 

In 1950, [[Percy Faith]] (using the alias Peter Mars) adapted the music of the song with [[Carl Sigman]] writing new English lyrics for the song.<ref name=tyler>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSCfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA318 |title=Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era|first= Don |last=Tyler |date= 2007|page=318|isbn=9780786429462|publisher=McFarland}}</ref>  The lyrics of this version, "My heart cries for you, sighs for you, dies for you..." are original and unrelated to the French song. The song was written in three-quarter waltz time.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5x0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 |title="Irene" Starting Swings to Waltzes |magazine=Billboard |page=16 | date=November 18, 1950}}</ref>

==Guy Mitchell recording==
The song was recorded in November 1950 by [[Guy Mitchell]] with [[Mitch Miller]] and his orchestra.<ref name=diskbusiness>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5x0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Is Disk Business Changing |page=39 |magazine=Billboard |date=November 18, 1950 }}</ref> Mitch Miller originally had intended "My Heart Cries for You" and "[[The Roving Kind (song)|The Roving Kind]]" to be recorded by [[Frank Sinatra]], however, Sinatra was not interested in the songs chosen for him when he arrived the day the recording was scheduled, and said: "I'm not doing any of that crap".  Miller, who had already booked the musicians for the recording session, then looked for a replacement to record the song. He invited a new singer that he liked, Al Cernic, to come to the studio that evening. The recording went well, and Miller then told Cernic that he should change his name as Miller could not pronounce it. Cernic, initially reluctant, then became Guy Mitchell for the record release.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBm6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT163 |title=Frank Sinatra: An Extraordinary Life|first= Spencer|last= Leigh |date= 2015 |isbn= 9780857160881 |publisher=McNidder and Grace Limited }}</ref> 

The song was released with "[[The Roving Kind (song)|The Roving Kind]]" as its B-side in November 1950 by [[Columbia Records]] (catalog number 39067). It became Mitchell's first hit song,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA153 |title=Feet Up, Pat Him on the Po-Po! Let's Hear Him laugh! |page=38 |magazine=Life |date=September 22, 1952 }}</ref> reaching number 2 for seven weeks on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' chart in 1951 with over a million copies sold. It was number 1 on ''[[Your Hit Parade]]'' for two weeks, and number 1 on ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' for six weeks.<ref name=tyler />

Mitchell released another version of the song in 1958.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38 |title=The Billboard Spotlight Winners of the Week |page=38 |magazine=Billboard |date=October 13, 1958 }}</ref>
===Charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1951)
! style="text-align:center;"|Peak<br />position
|-
|align="left"|US ''Billboard'' Best Selling Pop Singles<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22 |title=The Billboard Music Popularity Charts: Best Selling Pop Singles |page=22 |magazine=Billboard |date=January 27, 1951 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|US [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Best Selling Singles<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/50s_files/19510224.html|title=The CASH BOX Best Selling Singles week ending February 24, 1951|website=Tropicalglen}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|}

==Other recordings ==
===Early versions===
Many versions of the song were recorded and released in late 1950 and early 1951. A version was first recorded by [[Dinah Shore]] with [[Henri René]]'s Orchestra & Chorus in [[New York City]], and released around the same time as Guy Mitchell. ([[RCA Victor Records]] catalog number 20-3978 in the US dated October 29, 1950,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.78discography.com/RCA203500.htm|title=RCA Victor 20-3500 - 4000 78rpm numerical listing discography|website=78discography.com|access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> and [[EMI]] on the [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] in the UK, catalog number B&nbsp;10026.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/473978|title=Dinah Shore - Nobody's Chasing Me|access-date=4 May 2021|website=45cat.com}}</ref> It reached number 3 on ''Billboard'''s pop chart.<ref name=hitrecord /> 

Numerous [[cover version]]s by other artists quickly followed, including [[Vic Damone]] (a number 4 hit on the Billboard chart), [[Jimmy Wakely]] (number 12 on pop and number 7 on country),<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=368}}</ref> [[Bill Farrell (singer)|Bill Farrell]] (number 18), [[Al Morgan (pianist)|Al Morgan]] (number 24), [[Evelyn Knight (singer)|Evelyn Knight]] and [[Red Foley]], a duet which reached number 28 pop and number 6 country, and [[Victor Young]] and His Singing Strings (number 29 on pop).<ref name=hitrecord>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NP6OdDrutyAC&pg=PA155 |title=Hit Records, 1950-1975|first= David F. |last=Lonergan |date= 2005| page= 155|isbn= 9780810851290|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081122054745/http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/50s_files/19510127.html] </ref><ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=124}}</ref> Versions of the song were also recorded by Slim Whitman and UK singer Ronnie Carroll.

===Other versions===
{{Infobox song
| name        = My Heart Cries for You
| cover       =
| alt         =
| type        = single
| artist      = [[Connie Francis]]
| album       =
| B-side      = Someone Took the Sweetness out of Sweetheart
| released    = July 1967
| recorded    = June 1, 1967 (A-side)<br>May 19, 1967 (B-side)
| studio      =
| venue       =
| genre       = [[Easy listening]]
| length      = 2:56 (A-side)<br>2:16 (B-side)
| label       = [[MGM Records|MGM]] <small>K 13773</small>
| writer      = Carl Sigman, Percy Faith
| producer    = Pete Spargo
| chronology  = Connie Francis<br>US
| prev_title  = [[Time Alone Will Tell]]
| prev_title2 = [[Born Free (Matt Monro song)|Born Free]]
| prev_year   = 1967
| next_title  = [[Lonely Again]]
| next_title2 = When You Care a lot for Someone
| next_year   = 1967
}}
{{external media |float=right |width=270px |audio1= You may hear an arrangement of "My Heart Cries for You" by [[John Serry Sr.|John Serry]] performed in 1956 [https://listenbrainz.org/artist/9ff7e10c-d72b-4948-9a2e-635b0ad19be0/'''Here on listenbrainz.org''']}}

*The composition was also arranged and recorded by [[John Serry, Sr.]] and his ensemble for [[Dot Records]] as a 33 RPM vinyl recording entitled ''[[Squeeze Play (album)|Squeeze Play]]'' in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bsnpubs.com/dot/dotb.html|title=Dot Album Discography, Part 2 (1955-1960)|website=Bsnpubs.com|access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> Subsequently, it was released by Versailles Records as a 45 RPM recording under the title ''Chicago Musette - John Serry et son Accordéon'' in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Mqg0yzaJc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/v1Mqg0yzaJc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=My Heart Cries For You|access-date=4 May 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k88198701|title=CHICAGO MUSETTE|date=4 May 1959|access-date=4 May 2021|website=Gallica.bnf.fr}}</ref>
*A revival by [[Ray Charles]] reached the U.S. top forty in 1964.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/ap22175|title=Ray Charles - My Heart Cries For You|access-date=4 May 2021|website=45cat.com}}</ref>
*[[Connie Francis]] "bubbled under" the Billboard pop chart in 1967 (number 118) and peaked at number 12 on [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Billboard Adult Contemporary]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=97}}</ref> She also recorded the song in German as "Mein Herz ruft nach dir" and in French as "Mon cœur pleure pour vous", the latter marking her last French-language recording of the 1960s.<ref>Ron Roberts: ''Connie Francis Discography 1955 – 1975'', revised editions 1979 und 1983</ref>
*[[Jimmy Roselli]] recorded the song as a single in 1969, it was one of his last charting singles, reaching 123 on [[Cashbox]].
*Percy Faith himself recorded an instrumental version of this song in the early 1970s.  It is on his 1973 album, ''Corazón''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/coraz%C3%B3n-mw0000952722|title=Corazón - Percy Faith &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits &#124; AllMusic|access-date=4 May 2021|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
*On his 2005 "comeback" album, ''The Moon Was Blue,'' country singer [[Bobby Bare]] also recorded a version of the song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-moon-was-blue-mw0000170968|title=The Moon Was Blue - Bobby Bare &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits &#124; AllMusic|access-date=4 May 2021|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
*On her 2006 album ''[[If Your Memory Serves You Well]]'', [[Serena Ryder]] covers this, as well as many other classics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/if-your-memory-serves-you-well-mw0000548845|title=If Your Memory Serves You Well - Serena Ryder &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits &#124; AllMusic|access-date=4 May 2021|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> The album received Gold certification.
*[[Harry James]] released a version in 1981 on his album ''For Listening And Dancing'' ([[The Reader's Digest Association|Reader's Digest]] RD4A 213)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Harry-James-His-Orchestra-For-Listening-And-Dancing/release/4782524|title=Harry James & His Orchestra – For Listening And Dancing (1981, Vinyl)|access-date=4 May 2021|website=Discogs.com|year=1981 }}</ref>
*[[Margo Smith]] released a version in 1981 that peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart.<ref name="Country Songs">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc.|year=2008|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Guy Mitchell}}
{{Dinah Washington}}
{{Evelyn Knight}}
{{Connie Francis}}
{{Vic Damone}}
{{Red Foley}}
{{Margo Smith}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:1950 songs]]
[[Category:1967 singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Carl Sigman]]
[[Category:Vic Damone songs]]
[[Category:Guy Mitchell songs]]
[[Category:Connie Francis songs]]
[[Category:Evelyn Knight songs]]
[[Category:Red Foley songs]]
[[Category:Jimmy Wakely songs]]
[[Category:Margo Smith songs]]
[[Category:1950s ballads]]