(Travis Pritchett)
Australia
#14 Sydney #6 Melbourne #17 Brisbane #14 Perth
Single on HMV, Sydney.
Ted & Ray were probably singer and actor Ted Hamilton (b.1937) and his contemporary at HMV, Ray Melton (c.1939-1964).
Both singers were releasing solo singles on HMV around the time of the Ted & Ray single. Ted and Ray each had an HMV single reviewed on the same page of the Women's Weekly in December 1959 [Trove]
Ray Melton later recorded on the Teen label: see The Key (1960, #28 Sydney) and its flipside Chain Gang.
References: 1. HMV (Australia) discography at Global Dog. 2. Tell Her No at Platter-saurus database, supported by reliable anecdotal evidence given to me. 3. Australian Women's Weekly, 16 December 1959 [Trove].
Further reading: Ted Hamilton's long and varied career outlined at Wikipedia.
Listen: 1. Ted & Ray – Tell Him No: audio at YouTube. 2. Ray Melton sings at YouTube.
Thanks to Dave Overett and Tony Watson.
(Travis Pritchett)
Australia
Single on W&G, Melbourne, "arranged & directed" by Bruce Clarke.
The Unichords released a couple of singles on W&G around this time, and were credited on records by Frankie Davidson, Heather Horwood and Denis Gibbons.
References: 1. The First Wave discography. 2. Global Dog’s discographies for W&G Records: OZ – 000 series (1955-1960) and OZ – 1000 series (1960-1964).
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Live performance on TV's Town Hall Party, once immortalised via YouTube but removed for copyright reasons.
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Single on Liberty #55183 by California-born singer (1924-2000) who charted in 1957 with I’m Available (#8 USA).
Initially reported by Billboard, 16 March 1959, as having been "recalled" by Liberty, but by the 13 April edition it was being listed as an available version [Google books]. The other side of the single was A Boy And A Girl.
References: 1. Margie Rayburn biography at Black Cat Rockabilly. 2. Brief Wikipedia entry (incomplete discography). 3. Liberty 55000 series discography at Global Dog. 4. Billboard, 16 March 1959 (excerpt below under Travis & Bob) and 13 April 1959.
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Another cover version from March 1959, on Atco (reviewed in Billboard 23 March 1959).
A Leiber & Stoller production, originally for Big Top label (see Billboard story, below).
References:
1. Recording details, including audio and label shots, at
Rockin’ Country Style. 2. Review, Billboard, 23 March 1959, p.51. 3. Ad, same Billboard edition,
p.53. [Google
books]
Listen; Audio (mp3) at Rockin’ Country Style.
Radio: This had some airplay on WJJD Chicago. See the charts from March-May 1959 at ARSA.
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Single on New York label Bullseye, released around the same time as the version by Travis
& Bob (both were reviewed in Billboard on 9 March 1959).
Dean and Mark Mathis were from Hahira, Georgia. They later formed The Newbeats with falsetto lead Larry Henley and had a number of charting singles, beginning with Bread And Butter (1964, #2 USA).
References, further reading: 1. Recording details, including audio and label shots, at Rockin’ Country Style. 2. Newbeats article at Wikipedia. 3. Billboard, 9 March 1959 [Google books].
Listen; Audio (mp3) at Rockin’ Country Style.
Radio charts: This version had some airplay in the US, going by these radio station charts at ARSA.
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Original version
#8 USA
Single #1017 on Mobile, Alabama label Sandy. Recording acquired and distributed by Dot, retaining the Sandy label.
Travis Pritchett (1939-2010) and Bob Weaver (b.1939) were from the small town of Jackson, Alabama. Tell Him No was their only hit, although they recorded a few more singles before breaking up.
References, further reading: 1. Recording details, including audio and label shots, at Rockin’ Country Style. 2. Travis & Bob history (republished from another source) at Black Cat Rockabilly. 3. Alabama Music Office duplicates the Black Cat content but adds Travis Pritchett’s 2010 obituary and some images.
Listen: Audio (mp3) at Rockin’ Country Style.
From SEASON’S TOP SCRAMBLE: Dot Snares Sandy ‘Tell Him No’ Master With Capping 12G bid: Billboard, March 16, 1959
[Full story: Google
Books]
(Travis Pritchett)
USA
Later version
Single on Georgia label Money.
Rockin’ Country Style dates this as 1965 or later.
(Travis Pritchett)
UK
Later version
Track on Rock On, debut album by British pop star and actor (b.1947).
Pop Archives
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Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2021. 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, Joop Jansen, More…