Col Joye & The Joy Boys - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
Australia
#6 Sydney #5 Brisbane #11 Adelaide #1 Perth

COL JOYE
with the JOY BOYS

Col Joye was a pioneering Aussie pop star of the rock’n’roll era (b. Colin Jacobsen, 1937) who in 1957 joined his brother Kevin’s jazz band that was to become Col Joye and the Joy Boys. He had ten Top 10 hits in the Sydney charts alone from May 1959 to May 1962, including four #1s, and was a star on television pop show Bandstand. Something of a legend in Australia, his rock’n’roll suit is on display at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.

Further reading: See, for example, the Col Joye bio at AllMusic.

Thanks to Dave Overett and Tony Le Fournour for suggestion.

Ricky Nelson - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA
#24 Melbourne

On Imperial LP Album Seven By Rick March 1962.

Released as a single in Australia (1962), but not released as a single in the US until September 1963.

See also the fine discographies from the Rick Nelson Official Website [archived].

Gene Pitney - Today’s Teardrops (1962)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA

Album track on The Many Sides of Gene Pitney January 1962.

Siw Malmkvist - For sent skall syndarn vakna (1961)

(Pitney - Schroeder - [+ lyricist])
Sweden

Single on Metronome March 1961 by popular Swedish singer who also recorded Sadie The Cleaning Lady in Swedish, German, Danish and English.

Laurie London - Today’s Teardrops (1961)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
UK

Single on Parlophone, March 1961 produced by George Martin .

Laurie London: British lad (b.1944) who had an international smash hit with pop gospel record He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands (1957).

Further reading: 1. Wikipedia entry on Laurie London. 2. Release details at PopMusicInfo.

Roy Orbison - Today’s Teardrops (1960)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder)
USA
Original version

Single on Monument, B-side of Blue Angel.

Anna-Lena Lofgrens - Morgen hast du keine Sorgen (1964)

(Pitney - Schroeder - Niessen)
Sweden
Later version

German version by Swedish singer using the instrumental track from Siw Malmkvist’s 1961 version För sent skall syndarn vakna.

Eddie Blazonczyk’s Versatones - Today’s Teardrops Polka (1987)

(Gene Pitney - Aaron Schroeder [+ arranger?])
USA
Later version

On album Let’s Celebrate Again by popular Chicago polka band formed in 1963 by former rockabilly and rock’n’roll performer: see Eddie Bell & His Bell Aires, The Masked Man (Hi Yo Silver) (1960). Versatones, active till the early 2000s, were later led by his son.

Further reading: 1. Eddie Blazonczyk biography by Craig Harris at All Music. 2. Versatones at Discogs.com.