Just One Smile

"Just One Smile"
Single by Gene Pitney
from the album I Must Be Seeing Things
B-side"Innamorata"
Released1965
Recorded1965 (1965)
GenrePop
Length2:37
LabelMusicor Records (US)
Stateside Records (UK)
Songwriter(s)A-side : Randy Newman
B-side : Mimo Del Sud
Producer(s)Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney singles chronology
"(In the) Cold Light of Day"
(1966) 		"Just One Smile"
(1965) 		"I'm Gonna Listen to Me"
(1967)

"Just One Smile" is a pop song written by Randy Newman in 1960.[1] An early version was recorded by Gene Pitney in 1965.[2][3] It appeared on his 1965 album, I Must Be Seeing Things, and AllMusic noted that it "allowed Pitney to explore the extent of his dramatic range with its tale of the giddy highs and painful lows of a love affair".[4]

The song became a Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart,[5] although it failed to register in the Top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.[6] "Just One Smile" was Pitney's seventh consecutive Top Ten hit single in the UK.[5]

"Just One Smile" was covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears on their 1968 album, Child Is Father to the Man.[1][7] That version was just one of a number of covers of the song, which have been recorded by Dusty Springfield, Eternity's Children, Walter Jackson, Sheena Easton, and the Sensations, amongst others.[8] For example, Marcia Hines covered the song on her Ladies and Gentlemen album (1977).[9]

The original version of the song was recorded by the Tokens in 1965, on the B-side to their single, "The Bells of St. Mary's".[10]

Chart performance

Month Year Title Chart positions
AU CA[11] UK[5] US[6]
November 1966 "Just One Smile" (A-side) 55 51 8 64
"Innamorata" (B-side)

References

  1. ^ a b Bruce Pollock (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. p. 199. ISBN 978-0415970730.
  2. ^ "Gene Pitney - Just One Smile (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  3. ^ Richie Unterberger (2008-04-01). "On Vine Street: The Early Songs of Randy Newman - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  4. ^ Donald A. Guarisco. "Looking Through the Eyes of Love - Gene Pitney | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  5. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 428. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. ^ a b "Gene Pitney - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  7. ^ William Ruhlmann. "Child Is Father to the Man - Blood, Sweat & Tears | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  8. ^ "Search for "just one smile"". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  9. ^ "Ladies and Gentlemen by Marcia Hines". Rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  10. ^ "The Tokens - The Bells Of St. Mary (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  11. ^ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2016-10-09.


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