~ 
Credits:
Today, December 12, is the birthday of Joan Weber who was born in 1935. Weber is one of many singers who had a one-hit wonder but that hit was an out-of-the-park sensation.
The song was performed on November 15, 1954, on the television show, Studio One (the first song ever to be introduced on television) and caught the public's fancy, reaching #1 in the United States and #16 in the United Kingdom in 1955. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Let Me Go, Lover! ascended to #1 on the Billboard Most Played by Jockeys chart on January 1, 1955, the date that the rock and roll era began, according to music historians such as Joel Whitburn.
I
saw that broadcast and remember thinking I HAD to have that song; I did
and was one of the millions who pushed it to Number One!
45 RPM, side 1
photo by Styrous®
Weber made a demo of the song Marionette, which she gave to Charles Randolph Grean, an A&R worker for RCA and Dot Records in New York.
Grean gave the demo to Mitch Miller, the head of artists and repertoire at Columbia Records. Miller said, “She sounded like every girl you ever heard singin’ behind the counter in a five and-dime store.”
Miller then took a song written in 1953 by Jenny Lou Carson, Let Me Go, Devil (Carson admired the talents of Hank Williams and his battle with alcoholism and his subsequent death inspired her to write the song). Grean had it rewritten for Weber by Jenny Lou Carson and Al Hill as Let Me Go, Lover! Weber recorded it on the Columbia label with Marionette as the B-side.
At the time of the biggest success of Let Me Go, Lover!, Weber gave birth to a
daughter, Terry Lynn, and was unable to promote her career. Weber's
next single, Lover Lover (Why Must We Part) (b/w Tell the Lord,
Columbia 40474), released later in 1954, failed to make the record
charts. Mitch Miller, in a 2004 interview for the Archive of American Television, recalled that Weber's husband assumed total control of the
singer's activities, thus depriving Weber of experienced career
guidance. After three more non-hits, Call Me Careless, Goodbye
Lollipops, Hello Lipstick and the appropriately-titled Gone (which was also recorded by Ferlin Husky) Weber
was dropped from Columbia's roster.
In her final years, she lived a reclusive life before moving to a mental
institution. The efforts by Columbia Records to send her royalty checks
failed, as they were returned to sender as "address unknown". For this
reason, chart program American Top 40 ranked Weber at number one on a special program featuring the "Top 40 Disappearing Acts", which was broadcast in 1975.
On May 13, 1981, Weber died of heart failure at a mental institution in Ancora, Winslow Township, Camden County, New Jersey, she was 45 years old. Her death was overshadowed by the first attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II on the same date.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A - Let Me Go, Lover, written by Hill*, J. L. Carson*
Side 2:
B - Marionette, written by Travaline*, Capano*, Fortis*
Companies, etc.
Side 1:
A - Let Me Go, Lover, written by Hill*, J. L. Carson*
Side 2:
B - Marionette, written by Travaline*, Capano*, Fortis*
Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Hollywood
Directed By [Orchestra] – Jimmy Carroll
Directed By [Orchestra] – Jimmy Carroll
Credits:
Orchestra under the direction of Jimmy Carroll
A side: From the CBS Studio One Westinghouse Production "Let Me Go Lover"
A side: From the CBS Studio One Westinghouse Production "Let Me Go Lover"
Notes:
Columbia Hollywood Pressing.
"Columbia" and [Logos] Trade Marks Reg. U.S.A. Pat. Off. Marcas Registradas. Made in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Columbia Hollywood Pressing.
"Columbia" and [Logos] Trade Marks Reg. U.S.A. Pat. Off. Marcas Registradas. Made in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (A-Side - Label): ZSP 34068
Matrix / Runout (B-Side - Label): ZSP 34067
Pressing Plant ID (Stamped in runouts): H
Matrix / Runout (A-Side - Stamped): ZSP34068-1O H
Matrix / Runout (B-Side - Stamped): ZSP34067-1N H
Matrix / Runout (B-Side - Label): ZSP 34067
Pressing Plant ID (Stamped in runouts): H
Matrix / Runout (A-Side - Stamped): ZSP34068-1O H
Matrix / Runout (B-Side - Stamped): ZSP34067-1N H
Joan Weber – Let Me Go Lover / Marionette
Label: Columbia – 4-40366
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Hollywood Pressing
Country: US
Released: Oct 18, 1954
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Vocal, Easy Listening
YouTube links:
Label: Columbia – 4-40366
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Hollywood Pressing
Country: US
Released: Oct 18, 1954
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Vocal, Easy Listening
Viewfinder links:
One Hit Wonders ~ Joan Weber ~ Let Me Go, Lover
Historic Camden County ~
YouTube links:
Joan Weber ~
Gone Styrous® ~ Tuesday, December 12, 2023
