jmjiloveyou - Green Door

jmjiloveyou photo

jmjiloveyou

Jan 29, 2024 12:32pm

<p>Songwriter(s) Bob Davie, Marvin Moore"The Green Door" (or "Green Door") is a 1956 popular song with music composed by Bob "Hutch" Davie and lyrics written by Marvin Moore. The song was first recorded by Jim Lowe, whose version reached number one on the US pop chart. The lyrics describe the allure of a mysterious private club with a green door, behind which "a happy crowd" play piano, smoke and "laugh a lot", and inside which the singer is not allowed.The hit version of the song in the United States was recorded by Jim Lowe, backed by the orchestra of songwriter Davie, with Davie also playing piano, and by the vocal group the High Fives. The track was arranged by Davie, who added thumbtacks to the hammers of his piano and sped up the tape to give a honky-tonk sound. Released by Dot Records, the single reached #1 on the Billboard charts for one week on November 17, 1956, replacing "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley.In the United Kingdom, Lowe's version reached #8 on the charts, but a version by Frankie Vaughan was even more popular, reaching #2. Another UK recording, by Glen Mason, reached #24 on the UK chart. The most popular British version was by rock and roll revivalist Shakin' Stevens which spent four weeks at number one in August 1981.Gene McDaniels released a version of it as a single in 1960, but it failed to chart. In 1964, Bill Haley &amp; His Comets recorded a version for a single release on Decca Records during an unsuccessful attempt to make a comeback with the label that had made them famous with "Rock Around the Clock" (this version was produced by Milt Gabler); Haley and the Comets also recorded an instrumental version in 1962 for the Mexican Orfeon Records label. Country humorist Mayf Nutter re-charted the song in 1973. Crystal Gayle recorded the song in 1977, and it has since become a fan favorite at her concerts. Psychobilly band the Cramps covered the song on their 1981 album, Psychedelic Jungle. The Spanish pop-punk group Los Nikis made a Spanish version in 1986.Other versions have been recorded by Roland Alphonso, Wynder K. Frog, Houston and Dorsey, Ray Hamilton, The Promenade Orchestra and Chorus featuring vocals by Joe Seneca, Danny Colfax Mallon, Country Dick Montana, Esquerita, Jumpin' Gene Simmons, Skip &amp; Flip (1961), The Jerms, and Skitzo.The singer cannot get any sleep each evening, due to the sound of the music coming from the club. He tries to go there by knocking once on the green door, trying to tell the person behind the door that he had been there before, only to have the door slammed immediately. Then, through the keyhole, he tries to say the possible secret password "Joe sent me", which only results in laughter as he is again rejected admittance into the private club.One suggestion of the song's origins is that it was inspired by an afterhours club in Dallas, Texas, to which lyricist Moore had been refused entry because he did not know the correct password.At the time of the song's initial popularity in the 1950s, many believed it was inspired by a green-doored restaurant and bar called "The Shack" in Columbia, Missouri, where singer Jim Lowe had attended the University of Missouri. However long-time Shack owner Joe Franke doubts this theory.An oft-repeated urban legend has developed saying the song refers to London's first lesbian club, Gateways (1930–1985), which was in Bramerton Street in Chelsea. It had a green door and was featured in the film The Killing of Sister George. But aside from that there is no substantive connection between the 1950s American song and the British club.</p>