Pop Music
The song “Silhouettes” by Herman’s Hermits was part of the Sixties music British invasion. The son was written by Bob Crewe and Frank Slay and first recorded by the doo wop group The Rays in 1957. Singer, songwriter, producer, and manager Bob Crewe got the idea when he saw a couple embracing through a window shade as he passed on a train. Crewe and Frank Slay, Jr., turned it into a song and they recorded it on Slay’s XYZ label. Cameo-Parkway picked it up for national distribution. In “Silhouettes,” the singer sees on through the window shade the shadows of a couple kissing and thinks his girlfriend’s cheating on him. He knocks on the door and discovers he has the wrong house on the wrong block. He rushes to the correct house and he vows that he and his girl will be silhouettes on the shade forever. For The Rays, “Silhouettes” reached #3 on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart and the R&B Chart. It sold more than one million copies and received an RIAA gold record.
In 1965, a cover of “Silhouettes” was an international success for Herman’s Hermits. It rose to #1 in Canada, #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #3 in the U.K. and Australia, “#2 in New Zealand, and #17 in Sweden. They had heard the song on American Armed Forces Radio, which was part of the American Forces Network (AFN) The AFN provides entertainment and command information for American servicemen and women, Department of Defense and other U.S. government civilians and their families overseas, as well as the U.S. Navy ships at sea. The song has also been covered by The Diamonds, The Four Seasons, Cliff Richard, Frankie Lymon, The Crests, The Nylons, The Ronettes, and Bob Dylan and the Band, just to mention a few.
Herman’s Hermits for “Silhouettes” were Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green, Derek Leckenby, and Barry Whitwam. Guitarist Vic Flick played on “Silhouettes” as well.
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[…] you would like to read about and listen the cover of “Silhouettes” by Herman’s Hermits, please click here. It is on The Daily Doo Wop‘s sister site […]