Silence Is Golden (song)
| "Silence Is Golden" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| B-side to "Rag Doll" by The Four Seasons from the album Born to Wander | |
| Released | 1964 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:25 |
| Label | Philips Records |
| Writer(s) | Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio[1] |
| "Silence Is Golden" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Tremeloes | ||||
| B-side | "Let Your Hair Hang Down" | |||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Genre | Beat music | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | CBS (UK), Epic (US and Canada) | |||
| Writer(s) | Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Mike Smith[1] | |||
| The Tremeloes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Silence Is Golden" is a song co-written by Bob Gaudio of the American rock band, The Four Seasons, with Bob Crewe. It was released as a B-side to the hit song "Rag Doll," in 1964. This song was originally made and sung by The Four Seasons.[2]
It was later covered by the English band The Tremeloes, whose recording was a No. 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart on 18 May 1967,[3] staying at the top for a total of three weeks.[4] Guitarist Rick West sang lead vocal on "Silence Is Golden", although the prominent voice is Len Hawkes falsetto which mimics the parts sung in the original by Frankie Valli.
The Tremeloes single hit No. 11 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart[5] on the Epic label and was one of the top 100 songs of 1967. The track sold one million copies globally, earning gold disc status.[6] The Tremeloes also recorded an Italian version, "E in silenzio".
The song was also covered by Swedish singer Jim Jidhed in 1989.
Chart position
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Norway | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 1 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Netherlands | 5 |
| Germany | 8 |
| Belgium | 10 |
| Spain | 10 |
| USA | 11 |
References
- 1 2 3 Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ↑ "Silence Is Golden by The Tremeloes Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 565. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Official Singles Chart UK Top 100". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ "The Tremeloes | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 231/2. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
External links
| Preceded by "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw |
UK number one single (The Tremeloes version) 18 May 1967 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum |