Release Me

About Release Me

"Release Me" (sometimes rendered as "Release Me (and Let Me Love Again)"), is a popular song written by Eddie "Piano" Miller and Robert Yount in 1949. Four years later it was recorded by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters (in 1953), and with even better success by Patti Page (1954), Ray Price (1954), and Kitty Wells (1954). Subsequently, Jivin' Gene [Bourgeois] & the Jokers recorded the tune in 1960, and that version served as an inspiration for Little Esther Phillips, who reached number one on the R&B chart and number eight on the pop chart with her big-selling cover. The Everly Brothers followed in 1963, along with Lucille Starr as "The French Song" including a translation in French (1964), Jerry Wallace (1966), Dean Martin (1967), Engelbert Humperdinck (1967) who was number one on the UK Singles Chart and many others in the years after. Lucille Starr's translation in "The French Song" was an international success that made Starr the first Canadian artist to have a record sell over a million copies. The Humperdinck version has the distinction in the UK of holding the number one slot on the chart for six weeks during March and April 1967, and preventing The Beatles' "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever" from reaching the top spot. Humperdinck's "Release Me" was also the highest selling single of 1967 in the UK, recording over one million in sales, eventually becoming one of the best selling singles of all time with sales of 1.38 million copies. more »