| "There Goes My Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of side-A labels of the US 7-inch (45 RPM) single | ||||
| Single byThe Drifters | ||||
| from the album The Drifters' Greatest Hits | ||||
| B-side | "Oh My Love" | |||
| Released | April 24, 1959 | |||
| Recorded | March 6, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Soul,rhythm and blues,doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:08 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriters | Benjamin Nelson, Lover Patterson,George Treadwell[1] | |||
| Producer | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | |||
| The Drifters singles chronology | ||||
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"There Goes My Baby" is a song written byBen E. King (Benjamin Earl Nelson), Lover Patterson,George Treadwell and produced byJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller forThe Drifters.[1][2] This was the first single by the second incarnation of the Drifters (previously known as the 5 Crowns), who assumed the group name in 1958 after manager George Treadwell fired the remaining members of the original lineup. TheAtlantic Records release wasBen E. King's debut recording as the lead singer of the group.
Leiber and Stoller used a radically different approach to production from whatAhmet Ertegun andJerry Wexler had employed with the originalClyde McPhatter-led Drifters. The combination of new style and new group fit, and the song reached number two on theBillboard Hot 100, behind "A Big Hunk o' Love" byElvis Presley.[3] "There Goes My Baby" also hit number one on the Billboard R&B chart.[4] On the Cash Box sales chart, it likewise went to number one for two weeks, in the summer of1959.
Thelyrics are loosely structured, almost free-form at a time when rhyming lines were mandatory. The accompaniment features aviolin section playingsaxophone-likeriffs inrock and roll style. The lead voice is in high gospel-style.[5]
This recording introduced the idea of usingstrings, a Brazilian baion and elaborate production values[2] on anR&B recording to enhance the emotional power of black music. The string arrangement is byStan Applebaum.[6] This pointed the way to the coming era ofsoul music as the popularity of thedoo-wop vocal groups peaked and faded.Phil Spector studied this production model under Leiber and Stoller.[7]
In 2010, the song was ranked #196 onRolling Stone's500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[8] The song has been covered by many artists, includingJay and the Americans,the Walker Brothers, andThe Walkmen. The song was included in the musical revueSmokey Joe's Cafe.
| Chart (1959) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[9] | 2 |
| USBillboardHot R&B Sides[10] | 1 |
| "There Goes My Baby" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byDonna Summer | ||||
| from the albumCats Without Claws | ||||
| B-side | "Maybe It's Over" | |||
| Released | July 5, 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:05 | |||
| Label | Geffen(U.S.) Warner Bros.(Europe) | |||
| Songwriters | Benjamin Nelson, Lover Patterson,George Treadwell,Jerry Leiber,Mike Stoller | |||
| Producer | Michael Omartian | |||
| Donna Summer singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "There Goes My Baby" onYouTube | ||||
Donna Summer's version of "There Goes My Baby" was issued as the first single on July 5, 1984, from her 1984 albumCats Without Claws byGeffen Records andWarner Bros. Records. Her rendition was produced byMichael Omartian. The single became a moderate hit, peaking at #21 on the US Hot 100, and in the top twenty of the US R&B chart. It also peaked #15 in SpainRadio chart.[13] Summer's version of this song features an electro-pop sound and was accompanied by a high-quality music video featuring Summer and husbandBruce Sudano as a down-on-their-luck couple at the outbreak ofWorld War II. The video was played in heavy rotation on the MTV network, becoming the last Summer video to achieve this. With this single, Summer earned her nineteenth - and second to last - US Top 40 hit.
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] | 52 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] | 31 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[16] | 23 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] | 31 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] | 31 |
| Spain (Los 40 Principales)[13] | 15 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[19] | 99 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[20] | 21 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[21] | 20 |
such post-disco rock tracks as Supernatural Love and There Goes My Baby
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