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Lucky Lips

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Wikipedia article




'Lucky Lips' is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by Ruth Brown in 1956 and was successfully covered by Cliff Richard in 1963.

Ruth Brown and early cover versions



The song was first recorded by the R&B singer Ruth Brown for Atlantic Records in New York in September 1956,[http://www.jazzdisco.org/atlantic-records/discography-1956/ Atlantic Records Discography, 1956]. Retrieved 27 April 2014. and was released as a single in early 1957. It was her second hit on the US pop chart, after "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" in 1953, reaching number 25 on the pop chart and number 6 on the 'Billboard' R&B chart.

The song was covered by the white singer Gale Storm, as the B-side of her single "On Treasure Island", for Dot Records. Storm's recording reached number 77 on the 'Billboard' pop chart. The song was also covered by Dottie Evans for Bell Records.[http://www.45cat.com/record/nc468664us Dottie Evans, "Lucky Lips"]. 45cat.com. In Britain, it was recorded by Alma Cogan as the B-side of "Whatever Lola Wants", which reached number 26 on the UK singles chart, also in 1957.[http://www.45cat.com/record/pop317 "Whatever Lola Wants"]. 45cat.com. Retrieved 27 April 2014.

Cliff Richard version



In 1963 the song was recorded by Cliff Richard, whose version went to number 4 in the UK. It was more successful internationally, reaching number 1 in Belgium, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa and Sweden. His version with German lyrics reached number 1 in West Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Richard was presented with a Gold disc by EMI Records for one million worldwide sales of "Lucky Lips".

Richard's German version, titled "Rote Lippen soll man kssen" ("Red Lips Should Be Kissed"), with lyrics by Hans Bradtke, stayed at number 1 in West Germany for seven weeks and had sold half a million by the end of 1963. The English version also charted in West Germany in its own right before the German version was released in September.

Chart performance

"Lucky Lips" (English version)

"Rote Lippen soll man kssen" (German version)

Other cover versions



With lyrics in Swedish by Christer Jonasson as "Slit och slng", Siw Malmkvist scored a 9 week long Svensktoppen hit with the song from November 5, 1966 January 14, 1967, peaking at #2. These lyrics reflects the society of Swedish in the 1950s and 60s. Siw Malmkvist also made a version in Danish, "Slid og slb".

In 1969, a Catalan version, "Llavis de mel" (Honey lips), was included in "Tots Som Pops", the first LP recorded by the Catalan group La Trinca. The lyrics were translated and adapted by the writer Jaume Picas (19211976).

Estonian singer Ivo Linna and his band Rock Hotell recorded an Estonian language version titled 'Kikilips' (Bowtie) about the article of clothing in 1980. His version has become a very well-known song in Estonia.

In 2003, Florian Ast released a Bernese German version titled "Schni Meitschi" (Beautiful Girls). The song reached #7 in Schweizer Hitparade.

References



Category:Songs about luck

Category:1957 singles

Category:1963 singles

Category:Cliff Richard songs

Category:Number-one singles in Belgium

Category:Number-one singles in Germany

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Sweden

Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland

Category:Number-one singles in Denmark

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Category:Columbia Graphophone Company singles

Category:Atlantic Records singles

Category:1957 songs

Category:Ruth Brown songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor

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