1960 Songs: Seven Lonely Days

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The things you learn in a countdown. One of the reasons I’m using this particular song is because I never knew its background. To me, it was always a country song. BUZZ, wrong answer, hillbilly! Let’s go back to the year of my birth for this tune. Seven Lonely Days - Georgia Gibbs And now, Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs! And yes, that was her moniker. Garry Moore gave it to her as the host of Your Hit Parade, one of the early live TV music shows. Some people would say it was fitting, especially given how Gibbs would take an R&B song, cover it note-for-note, and get a bigger reception for it (mainly because she was white…that was segregation in the 50s, not necessarily her doing). At least she was keeping the soul in the songs, unlike Pat Boone, who pretty much diluted every R&B song he ever covered. Anyway, to this song. I only knew this as a country song, done by Patsy Cline in 1961 and a hit for Jean Shepard in 1969. So, naturally, I always assumed it was a “country” song. Let’s face it: “seven lonely days make one lonely week, seven lonely nights make one lonely me” is pretty darn country. But no. Her Nibs recorded this first in 1952. It was a straight-up pop version then. She changed labels, going from Mercury to RCA Victor in 1957; and, as was the case with a number of acts, re-recorded some of her earlier hits for the new label. This version is a lot more swinging than the first rendition. Gibbs died at 86 in 2006. She’s largely forgotten these days, and that’s a shame, because she had a GREAT voice. Seven Lonely Days Written by Earl Shuman, Alden Shuman, and Marshall Brown Recorded by Georgia Gibbs Released as a single, 1960 It was your favorite past time: