A Little Bitty Tear (1961)

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By:
Burl Ives (born Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives June 14, 1909 in Hunt City, Illinois, died April 14, 1995 at the age of 85 in Anacortes, Washington.)

Burl Ives was an Oscar-winning actor, writer, activist and folk music singer. To many who grew up watching the Rankin-Bass TV special Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Ives is best known as the voice of Sam the Snowman.

Referring to Ives's singing, music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice ... had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccinian vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel in expressive impact without being genteel in social conformity. And it moved people."

Ives began recording in the popular country genre in the early 1960s, starting with his album, The Versatile Burl Ives!, in 1961. Featured on that album was  "A Little Bitty Tear", which was released as a single late in that year.

It became one of Ives' highest-charting hits in 1962, and made him a household name.

Chart position:
#9 (US), #2 (US Country), #9 (UK).

The Top Ten Songs:
February 10, 1962 (US Billboard Hot 100).
  1. "Peppermint Twist" (Joey Dee and the Starliters)
  2. "Duke of Earl" (Gene Chandler)
  3. "The Twist" (Chubby Checker)
  4. "Can't Help Falling In Love" (Elvis Presley)
  5. "I Know" (Barbara George)
  6. "Norman" (Sue Thompson)
  7. "The Wanderer" (Dion)
  8. "Break It To Me Gently" (Brenda Lee)
  9. "A Little Bitty Tear" (Burl Ives)
  10. "Dear Lady Twist" (Gary U.S. Bonds)

Written by:
Hank Cochran (born Garland Perry Cochran August 2, 1935 in Isola, Mississippi, died of pancreatic cancer July 15, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee.)

Hank Cochran wrote or co-wrote such songs as "I Fall to Pieces" (Patsy Cline, #1 US Country and #12 US Pop in 1961,) "She's Got You" (Patsy Cline, #1 US Country and #14 US Pop in 1962,) and "Ocean Front Property" (George Strait, #1 US Country in 1987.)

In 1974 Hank Cochran was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In a 1965 interview with Billboard magazine, Cochran stated that he wrote many songs, including "A Little Bitty Tear", in his car while commuting home from work. He stated that "Nothing prompted the idea for" the song, that it "just came into my mind".

Also by:
Wanda Jackson, whose version, released at the same time as Ives' version, reached #84 (US); Miki and Griff, whose version reached #16 in the UK; Hank Cochran recorded his own version of the song in 1980, which made #57 (US Country); Bing Crosby.
 

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