"Here Comes My Baby"
Song by Cat Stevens
from the album Matthew and Son
Released10 March 1967 (1967-03-10)
Recorded1966
StudioDecca Studios, London
Genre
Length2:58
LabelDeram
Songwriter(s)Cat Stevens
Producer(s)Mike Hurst

"Here Comes My Baby" is a song written by British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. It is well known for being an international hit for the Tremeloes in 1967.

Original version

In 1966, Stevens was discovered by Mike Hurst, formerly of the Springfields, who after their split in 1963, decided to become a record producer. Whilst working for American producer Jim Economides, Hurst was introduced to Stevens who was trying to find a record label who would sign him. He played "Here Comes My Baby", which Hurst thought was great and took it to Economides. However Economides disliked it, so Stevens wasn't signed. The company eventually went bust and some time later, Stevens went to Hurst's house asking if he was still interested after being rejected by every record label in London. Stevens played him a new song, "I Love My Dog", which Hurst thought was "so unusual and really weird" and agreed to record it, with the song eventually being released as Stevens' debut single and to launch Decca Records' flagship label Deram.[1] Meanwhile, "Here Comes My Baby" was shelved after "I Love My Dog" was seen as the stronger song to release as a single, and it was later included on Stevens' debut album Matthew and Son, released in March 1967.[2]

Stevens' version notably features in the 1998 Wes Anderson film Rushmore along with "The Wind"; it was the first film he granted permission to use his songs after his conversion to Islam in the late 1970s.[3]

The Tremeloes version

"Here Comes My Baby"
Cover of the single released in Germany
Single by the Tremeloes
from the album Here Come the Tremeloes
B-side"Gentleman of Pleasure"
Released13 January 1967 (1967-01-13)
Genre
Length2:48
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Cat Stevens
Producer(s)Mike Smith
The Tremeloes singles chronology
"Good Day Sunshine"
(1966)		 "Here Comes My Baby"
(1967)		 "Silence Is Golden"
(1967)

After Stevens shelved "Here Comes My Baby", it was recorded by beat group the Tremeloes. Their version was released several months prior to Stevens' album release, with it being released as a single in January 1967. It became the group's first top-ten hit since the departure of lead singer Brian Poole the year before, and their first top-twenty hit in the US.[4]

The Tremeloes' version is slightly different, lyrically, from the original, with the beginning lyrics altered and the final verse left out.[2] Stevens' lyrics begin "In the midnight moonlight I'll / Be walking a long and lonely mile", whereas in the Tremeloes' version, this has been changed to "In the midnight, moonlight hour / he's walking along that lonely, lonely mile".[5] Most cover versions of the song sing this altered version. The group's version is also more upbeat that the original, with Stevens calling it "a complete Xmas-party take on an originally sad song".[6] However, the success of the Tremeloes' version helped establish Stevens as a songwriter, who had his own top-ten hit with "Matthew and Son" in early 1967, and another of his songs, "The First Cut Is the Deepest", would become a hit for P. P. Arnold later in 1967.[7][2]

Charts

Other cover versions and appearances

References

  1. ↑ Mike Hurst Story - Interview by Iain McNay. Cherry Red. 17 October 2019. Time 25:30–33:30. Retrieved 28 September 2022 – via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 "Here Comes My Baby by The Tremeloes - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Lime, Harry. Cat Stevens - aka Yusuf Islam. Lulu.com. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-244-19094-1.
  4. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. p. 996. ISBN 9780898201802.
  5. ↑ "Here Comes My Baby by the Tremeloes - 1967 Hit Song". Vancouver Pop Music Signature Sounds. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "10 Years and 10 Questions with Yusuf / Cat Stevens". Consequence. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  7. 1 2 "TREMELOES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 10067." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  10. ↑ "The Tremeloes – Here Comes My Baby" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Here Comes My Baby". Irish Singles Chart.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Tremeloes" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. ↑ "The Tremeloes – Here Comes My Baby" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  15. ↑ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Premium. p. 286. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
  16. ↑ "Top 50" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 4 March 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "Pop 50" (PDF). Melody Maker. 25 February 1967. p. 2. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "NME Top 30". New Musical Express. 4 March 1967.
  19. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 10, 1967". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Top Records of 1967 – Hot 100". Billboard. 30 December 1967. p. 42. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  21. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1991). Joel Whitburn's Pop Singles Annual 1955–1990. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 207. ISBN 0898200911.
  22. ↑ "MAVERICKS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "The Mavericks - Here Comes My Baby". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  24. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
  25. ↑ "RPM Country 100". RPM. Vol. 70, no. 8. 13 December 1999. Retrieved 28 September 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ↑ "SONS OF ADMIRALS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.


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