Too Many Rivers
| "Too Many Rivers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Brenda Lee | ||||
| from the album Too Many Rivers | ||||
| B-side | "No One" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1964 | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Harlan Howard | |||
| Brenda Lee singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "Too Many Rivers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Warner Bros. Nashville | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Harlan Howard | |||
| Producer(s) | Terry Skinner, J.L. Wallace | |||
| The Forester Sisters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Too Many Rivers" is a Harlan Howard composition which was a 1965 hit single for Brenda Lee.
Brenda Lee version
Brenda Lee recorded "Too Many Rivers" in a January 29, 1964 recording session at Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville, TN overseen by producer Owen Bradley. The song was not released until May 1965 and then as the B-side of the single "No One". However, airplay favored "Too Many Rivers", which entered the Hot 100 in Billboard dated May 29, 1965 at #96, besting the #98 debut of "No One", which then dropped off the chart. "Too Many Rivers" continued to climb up the charts, and eventually ascended to a #13 peak on the Hot 100 dated July 13, 1965. "Too Many Rivers" also reached #22 on the UK chart, affording Lee her final UK hit.
Other versions
The first evident release of "Too Many Rivers" had been a single release for C&W singer Claude Gray whose version had also been recorded at Columbia Recording Studio Nashville, its session occurring on September 17, 1964. Subsequent to the Pop chart success of the Brenda Lee version, "Too Many Rivers" was recorded for albums (title in parentheses) by a large number of C&W artists:
Veteran UK vocalist Vera Lynn remade "Too Many Rivers" for her 1977 album release ...Sings which album - featuring the Geoff Love Orchestra and the Jordanaires chorale - was produced by Owen Bradley the producer of Brenda Lee's "Too Many Rivers" single: credited to Vera Lynn With The Jordanaires, "Too Many Rivers" had a September 30, 1977 UK single release. "Too Many Rivers" has also been recorded by Joe Simon (Simon Pure Soul/ 1966), Jerry Lee Lewis (Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano?/ 1972), Marie Osmond (Paper Roses/ 1973), Webb Wilder & the Nashvegans (Town & Country/ 1995), and Annette Klingenberg (da) (Weep No More/ 1998). The Finnish rendering "Niin Monta Virtaa" was recorded by Katri Helena for her 1975 album Paloma Blanca.
Charts (Brenda Lee Version)
Weekly charts
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 99 |
UK Singles Chart
|
22 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[2] | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[3] | 13 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 15 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1965) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
Charts (The Forrester Sisters Version)
The Forester Sisters
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] | 5 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 4 |
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 125.
- ^ "Brenda Lee Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Brenda Lee Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "The Forester Sisters Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
