Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1949
Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)
Buy Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)'" is a popular song. The music was written by Evelyn Danzig and the lyrics by Jack Segal. The song has become a standard with many recorded versions and has appeared on several Christmas albums.
Background and lyrics
"Scarlet Ribbons" was written in only 15 minutes in 1949 at Danzig's home in Port Washington, New York after she invited lyricist Segal to hear her music. The song tells a miraculous tale: a father hears his small daughter pray before she goes to bed for "scarlet ribbons for her hair". It is late, no stores are open in their town, nor is there anywhere the dad can obtain the ribbons so he is distraught throughout the night. At dawn he again peeps in and is amazed to see beautiful "scarlet ribbons" in "gay profusion lying there." He says that if he lives to be two hundred, he will never know from where the ribbons came.Rufo, Tony. (2006) '[https://books.google.com/books?id=NT9qPihauuMC&pg=PA68#v=onepage&q&f=false The Complete Book of Pop Music Wit & Wisdom]', Tyndale House Publishers. pp. 68-69. Accessed September 25, 2016.
Renditions
Jo Stafford
"Scarlet Ribbons" was first released by Jo Stafford in 1949. In January 1950, Stafford's version reached No. 14 on 'Billboard's chart of "Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys"."[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1950/Billboard%201950-01-28.pdf Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys]", 'Billboard', January 28, 1950. p. 24. Accessed September 25, 2016.Harry Belafonte
In 1952 Harry Belafonte, at his third session for RCA Records, covered the song with an arrangement using his guitarist Millard Thomas and male vocal group. The four-year-old recording finally became a success in 1956 after it appeared on his second album, which reached No. 1 on 'Billboard's album chart for six weeks and stayed on the chart for over a year. The song reached No. 18 on the UK's 'New Musical Express' chart in late 1957.The Browns
In 1959, the Browns released what would become the most successful version of "Scarlet Ribbons" in the US. The Browns' version spent 14 weeks on the 'Billboard' Hot 100, reaching No. 13 on January 2, 1960,[http://www.billboard.com/artist/389932/browns/chart The Browns - Chart History - The Hot 100], 'Billboard.com'. Accessed September 25, 2016. while reaching No. 7 on 'Billboard's Hot C&W Sides."[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1960/Billboard%201960-01-11.pdf The Billboard Hot C&W Sides]", 'Billboard', January 11, 1960. p. 48. Accessed September 25, 2016.Cliff Richard
In 1991, Cliff Richard released the song on his Christmas album 'Together with Cliff Richard', and as a single. The song reached No. 19 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and No. 51 in Germany.[http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Cliff+Richard&titel=Scarlet+Ribbons&cat=s Cliff Richard - Scarlet Ribbons], charts.org.nz. Accessed September 25, 2016.References
Category:1949 songs
Category:Jo Stafford songs
Category:Joan Baez songs
Category:The Kingston Trio songs
Category:The Browns songs
Category:Cliff Richard songs
Category:American Christmas songs
Category:Glen Campbell songs
Category:Songs written by Jack Segal
Category:Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins
Category:Sinad O'Connor songs
Category:RCA Victor singles
Buy Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1949