Song:I Remember You
Album:The Essential Frank Ifield Collection
I Remember You was a top five hit in 1962. It was the only big US hit for Frank Ifield. He was a much bigger deal in his native England and in Australia. And when Beatlemania killed his pop music career, he turned to country music which was his first love anyway. He was born Nov. 30, 1937 in Coundon, Warwickshire, England. His family moved to Dural, Australia in 1946. This is a rural area near Sydney. His father was a farmer and engineer who invented the Ifield pump used in jet aircraft. Ifield loved country music and he learned to yodel imitating Hank Snow. The yodeling was always a part of Ifield's music. As a teen, Ifield was a regular on the Bonnington's Bunkhouse radio show and then The Ted Quigg Show. He also hosted the TV show Campfire Favourites. At the height of his success in Australia, Ifield moved to England and signed with EMI's Columbia label. When I Remember You topped the British charts in 1962, VeeJay Records picked it up in the US and it reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. I Remember You was written by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger and it was performed by Dorothy Lamour in the 1942 film The Fleet's In. Jimmy Dorsey had a hit with the song at the time. Ifield popularized the song and country singer Slim Whitman scored a country hit with his cover. Veteran EMI house producer Norrie Paramor arranged and produced the record. The harmonica solo is by veteran session musician Harry Pitch who apparently taught John Lennon to play the harmonica. Ifield continued to have success in England especially in country music. You can get all his hits on this budget comp. Ifield still tours and on Nov. 30 in Sydney, there will be an 80th birthday celebration on a boat. Here's a video of I Remember You by Frank Ifield.
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