A Lover's Concerto


"A Lover's Concerto" is a pop song written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, and recorded in 1965 by the Toys. "A Lover's Concerto" sold more than two million copies and was awarded gold record certification by the R.I.A.A.
Their original version of the song was a major hit in the United States and United Kingdom during 1965. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 2. It was kept out of the number 1 spot by both "Yesterday" by The Beatles and "Get Off of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones. "A Lover's Concerto" reached number 1 both on the US Cashbox chart, and in Canada on the RPM national singles chart. It peaked at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart.

History

Critic Dave Thompson wrote of the Toys' version, "Few records are this perfect. Riding across one of the most deceptively hook-laden melodies ever conceived... 'A Lover's Concerto' marks the apogee of the Girl Group sound." The song also had an unusual structure that blurred the differences between its verses and choruses.
The lyrics begin with:
Linzer and Randell used the melody of the familiar "Minuet in G major" from J.S. Bach's Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. The only difference is that the "Minuet in G major" is written in time, whereas "A Lover's Concerto" is arranged in time. Although often attributed to Bach himself, the "Minuet in G major" is now believed to have been written by Christian Petzold. The melody had been popularized by bandleader Freddy Martin in the 1940s; Martin's recording was released under the title "A Lover's Concerto".

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

In subsequent years, "A Lover's Concerto" has been recorded by numerous other notable artists, including Cilla Black, Kelly Chen, the Delfonics, Doris, the Fleetwoods, Audrey Hall, Doyle Lawson, the Lennon Sisters, Mrs. Miller, the Peanuts, the Pearls, Perrey and Kingsley, the Supremes, Carla Thomas, Tight Fit, Leslie Uggams, and Sarah Vaughan. Karina rendered the song in Spanish as "Concierto para enamorados" in 1966: that same year Alma Cogan made a German translation "So Fängt Es Immer An". Also, recorded the Finnish rendering named "Aamukonsertto". It was also covered in Japanese by the group SA under the title "Delight". The American singer Neil Sedaka recorded an Italian version, "Lettera bruciata". And Ferrante & Teicher did their own cover, titled "Familiar Concerto".

Later uses

"A Lover's Concerto" was used in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, in which the title character, attributing the Petzold minuet to Bach as was typical for the time in which that portion of the film was set, compares the two works in order to help his students gain an appreciation of Western classical music. The song is also featured, as a duet between a cello and a computer, in the 1984 film, Electric Dreams. Additionally, it was featured during the opening scene of the 1994 film Andre.