(Otis Blackwell)
Australia
#17 Sydney #18 Melbourne #37 Brisbane
Single on Lee Gordon, chorus and orchestra directed by Lonnie Lee’s friend and mentor Johnny O’Keefe who is credited as Eddie Cash Jr.
Nat Kipner’s original composition on the B-side, I Found A True Love, was a bigger hit that charted in all Australian state capitals (including Hobart where we don’t have detailed data).
Rock’n’roll star Lonnie Lee was from western New South Wales, born David Lawrence Rix (1940). He had his first hit in 1959, Ain’t It So, written with Johnny O’Keefe. Sometimes credited with his band The Leemen, he followed up with a number of national hits. In Sydney, for example, he charted eight times from 1959 to 1962. Like many early Aussie rockers, he moved on to a career in country music and was still performing well into the 2020s.
See also: The Leemen – Johnny Guitar.
Further reading: 1. Biographical details at LonnieLee.com. 2. Lonnie Lee page from Howlspace [archived].
(Otis Blackwell)
USA
Original version
Single on Everest January 1960 with orchestra conducted by the song’s composer Otis Blackwell.
It is seemingly impossible to find any trace of Nick Darrow apart from this solitary single and its thumbnail reviews in Billboard and Cash Box, neither of which has any room for biographical details.
Searches will throw up many red herrings, including a character called Nick Darrow in a 1932 crime movie.
Wild idea: Could Nick Darrow be a pseudonym?
The writer:
Singer-songwriter-pianist Otis Blackwell (1931-2002) wrote or co-wrote many hit songs including Great Balls of Fire, Breathless, Let’s Talk About Us, All Shook Up, Don’t Be Cruel, Return to Sender, Fever (as John Davenport), Hey Little Girl, Handy Man. See Spectropop’s Otis Blackwell obituary, and the Otis Blackwell biography at This Is My Story.
Thanks to Tony Watson.
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Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2026. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…