Song:It's All In The Game
Album:It's All In The Game: The Complete Hits Of Tommy Edwards
The 1958 number one hit It's All In The Game was the biggest hit in the three decade singing career of crooner Tommy Edwards. It's also the only hit song that was written by a US Vice President. I'm not kidding. He was born Feb. 17, 1922 in Richmond, VA and began performing at 9 years of age. He first made his mark when he wrote the 1946 Louis Jordan hit That Chick's To Young To Fry. His 1949 recordings on Top Records earned him a contract with MGM Records. His 1951 version of It's All In The Game reached #18 on the Billboard Best Sellers In Stores chart. It was also recorded by Dinah Shore, Sammy Kaye and Carmen Cavallero and Edwards' version outsold those. It's All In The Game was a 1911 instrumental composition called Melody In A Major written by Chicago banker Charles Dawes. He would go on to be US Vice President under Calvin Coolidge. In 1951, veteran lyricist Carl Sigman decided to put lyrics to the song. He also wrote Ebb Tide. Edwards continued to record for MGM with some chart success. In 1958, MGM decided to have Edwards record a stereo version of It's All In The Game and Leroy Holmes wrote a more contemporary arrangement than the original version. And it topped the Billboard Hot 100. Edwards had some other chart hits until he left MGM in 1960 but nothing to match It's All In The Game. The song has been covered by many artists and Edwards' version is a classic oldie. This 1995 comp on Eric Records contains both versions of It's All In The Game. Tommy Edwards died of a brain aneurysm on Oct. 22, 1969 at age 47. Here's a video of It's All In The Game by Tommy Edwards.
No comments:
Post a Comment