Walk On By (Leroy Van Dyke song)
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| "Walk On By" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Leroy Van Dyke | ||||
| from the album Walk On By | ||||
| B-side | "My World Is Caving In" | |||
| Released | August 1961 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:19 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Shelby Singleton | |||
| Leroy Van Dyke singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Walk on By" on YouTube | ||||
"Walk on By" is a song written by Kendall Hayes and performed by American country music artist Leroy Van Dyke. It was released in June 1961 as the first single and title track from the album Walk On By. The song was Van Dyke's most successful single, spending 37 weeks on the country chart and a record-breaking 19 at the number-one position.[1] "Walk on By" crossed over to the pop chart peaking at number five,[2] and was named by Billboard magazine, in its 100th anniversary issue (1994), as the biggest country music record in history.[3]
The 19-week run of "Walk On By" is a record that stood for 51 years until "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line reached its 19th week at No. 1 on July 20, 2013; the following week, "Cruise" surpassed the standard when it recorded its 20th week at No. 1. Until Florida Georgia Line surpassed it in total weeks at No. 1, "Walk On By" held the record for most weeks at No. 1 since the introduction of the all-encompassing Hot Country Songs (then called Hot C&W Sides) chart in October 1958; the all-time record for most weeks at No. 1 (50 weeks) is the 2017 release "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line.
Synopsis
[edit]A two-timing man has begun a new relationship, but never fully cut off the previous one. While the old girlfriend is aware of his new flame, the new one does not know about it and he intends to keep it that way by not acknowledging his old girlfriend in public. He advises the old girlfriend to treat him as a stranger — “just walk on by, wait on the corner” — and that he will continue meeting with her in dim cafes just outside of town.
Musicians
[edit]- Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland — guitar
- Hargus "Pig" Robbins — piano
- Buddy Killen — bass
- Jerry Kennedy, Harold Bradley and Kelso Herston — guitars
- Willie Ackerman — drums
- Margie Singleton — background vocals
Production
[edit]Cover versions
[edit]- Donna Fargo covered the song in 1980. Fargo's version peaked at 43 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. A 1988 cover by Asleep at the Wheel made number 55 on the same chart.
- In 1983, Kikki Danielsson recorded the song on her Singles Bar album.[4]
- Martina McBride covered this song on her 2005 album Timeless.
- Conway Twitty, Dean Martin, Patti Page, Karl Denver, Hank Williams Jr., Kay Starr, Connie Francis, Robert Gordon, and Asleep at the Wheel have also recorded it.[5]
- A Finnish language cover version of this song has the title "Käy Ohitsein", and has been performed and recorded by several artists, including Laila Kinnunen. Another Finnish version, with slightly different lyrics, had the title "Kun Ohi Käyt", and was performed by Irmeli Mäkelä.
- The Swedish language cover version of this song has the title "Du kom för sent", and was recorded by Håkan Stahre.
- The Estonian language cover version of this song has the title "Sa möödu vaid", with lyrics by Heldur Karmo[6] and was recorded by Anu Anton, later by Uno Loop and Heidy Tamme. Song also recorded by Ivo Linna with Rock Hotel. Also some other Estonian artists performed covers with the same title and words.
- In Steven Spielberg's 2022 semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans, the song is performed during the prom scene by the character of Claudia Denning, played by Isabelle Kusman.[7]
Chart performance
[edit]Leroy Van Dyke
[edit]| Chart (1961–62) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Sweden (Tio i Topp)[8] | 1 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[10] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart | 5 |
Donna Fargo
[edit]| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] | 43 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 53 |
Asleep at the Wheel
[edit]| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[12] | 55 |
References
[edit]- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 364.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 655.
- ^ a b c "Leroy Van Dyke". Leroy Van Dyke Enterprises. 1994-11-01. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
- ^ Information at Svensk mediedatabas
- ^ Cooper, Daniel (1998). Kingsbury, Paul (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music. Oxford University Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-0195116717.
- ^ "Heldur Karmo". Heldur Karmo. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ^ "'The Fabelmans' Toronto Review: Steven Spielberg's Cinematic Memoir Becomes Glorious Tribute to Art and Family". 11 September 2022.
- ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish). Premium. p. 420. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
- ^ "Leroy Van Dyke Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Leroy Van Dyke Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Donna Fargo Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Asleep at the Wheel Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
