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To Sir with Love (song)

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"To Sir With Love"
US vinyl release (Epic Records)
Single by Lulu
from the album To Sir, with Love
B-side
ReleasedSeptember 1967
GenrePop[1]
Length2:47
LabelEpic
Composer(s)Mark London
Lyricist(s)Don Black
Producer(s)Mickie Most
Lulu singles chronology
"Shout"
(1964) 		"To Sir With Love"
(1967) 		"Shout"
(1967)

"To Sir with Love" is the theme from James Clavell's 1967 film To Sir, with Love. The song was performed by British singer and actress Lulu (who also starred in the film), and written by Don Black and Mark London (husband of Lulu's longtime manager Marion Massey). Mickie Most produced the record, with Mike Leander arranging and conducting. The song peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the best-selling single of 1967 in the United States.

Background

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At the time, it made Lulu only the second British female artist to top the US charts during the listing's Rock era after Petula Clark's "Downtown" in 1965—and third in the overall history of the US charts after "Downtown" and Vera Lynn's "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" in 1952—and so far the first of two Scottish female solo artists to achieve the feat. Sheena Easton became the second when she topped the US charts with "Morning Train (9 to 5)" in May 1981.

For 44 years, Lulu and Easton were the only Scottish solo artists to have topped the Billboard Hot 100—a record that ended when Calvin Harris topped the chart alongside Rihanna on their collaboration "We Found Love" in November 2011.

Oscar nomination

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The film's director, James Clavell and Lulu's manager Marion Massey were angered and disappointed when the title song was not included in the nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968. Clavell and Massey raised a formal objection to the exclusion, but to no avail.[2]

Chart performance

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"To Sir With Love" was initially recorded by Lulu (with The Mindbenders, who also acted in the film). It was released as a single in the United States in 1967 and in October reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for five weeks. The single ranked No. 1 in Billboard's year-end chart. It became a gold record.[3]

Canada's RPM magazine put the song at No. 2 for the year 1967 although it did not appear on the weekly charts. Instead the A-side The Boat The I Row reached No. 1. Both sides were charted on the CHUM Charts reaching No. 1.[4][5][6] "To Sir with Love" did not chart in the UK, as it appeared only as a B-side to "Let's Pretend" (released in the UK on 23 June 1967), which reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "To Sir with Love"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

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References

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  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (22 October 2018). "The Number Ones: Lulu's "To Sir With Love"". Stereogum. Retrieved 14 June 2023. And its theme song, from the 19-year-old Scottish singer Lulu, was a dominant pop smash...
  2. ^ Lulu: I Don't Want To Fight. Sphere Books (2 Dec. 2010) Paperback Edition. ISBN 978-0751546255
  3. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 2, 1967" (PDF).
  6. ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - August 21, 1967".
  7. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 366.
  9. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1967". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1967/Top 100 Songs of 1967". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1967". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  13. ^ "American single certifications – Lulu – To Sir with Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Suzette With The The Lyn Taitt Orch.* / The Sensations – To Sir With Love / Born To Love You". Discogs. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "New Zealand Singles Chart". Audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
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