Pat Boone (b. 1934) was a major pop star in the 1950s. Back in 1957, he registered more hit singles than Elvis Presley. "April Love" is one of Boone's biggest hits from that year. This song is from the film also titled April Love, starring Boone and Shirley Jones.
"April Love" was composed by Academy Award-winning songwriters Sammy Fain (1902-1989) and Paul Francis Webster (1907-1984). Fain composed the music while Webster wrote the lyrics. Webster had previously written "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" for Boone to sing for the 1956 film Friendly Persuasion.
According to Susan Sackett in Hollywood Sings!, Fain and Webster quickly composed "April Love" in order to meet the film's release deadline. Everyone involved with the film's soundtrack knew that "April Love" would be the song most people would remember.
Boone told Fred Bronson in the Billboard Book of Number One Hits that he found the original arrangement of "April Love" not upbeat enough to become a hit. He said it didn't sound commercial enough, at first. A last-minute discussion with arranger Billy Vaughn is what led to the 12-note instrumental build-up. This is what you hear on the single release of "April Love."
The film version differs in that it contains a prologue sung by Boone. He sings it to Jones and an appreciative crowd in the movie, backed by a big band. The lyrics for this section are:
Has anybody here seen April,
Dressed in her gown of green?
She walks in a world of enchantment,
Where no one ever grows much older than 17.
"April Love" topped the US chart for two weeks not in April, but in December 1957. It spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart. The song also received an Oscar nomination, but lost to "All the Way" from The Joker is Wild.
"April Love" was composed by Academy Award-winning songwriters Sammy Fain (1902-1989) and Paul Francis Webster (1907-1984). Fain composed the music while Webster wrote the lyrics. Webster had previously written "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)" for Boone to sing for the 1956 film Friendly Persuasion.
According to Susan Sackett in Hollywood Sings!, Fain and Webster quickly composed "April Love" in order to meet the film's release deadline. Everyone involved with the film's soundtrack knew that "April Love" would be the song most people would remember.
Boone told Fred Bronson in the Billboard Book of Number One Hits that he found the original arrangement of "April Love" not upbeat enough to become a hit. He said it didn't sound commercial enough, at first. A last-minute discussion with arranger Billy Vaughn is what led to the 12-note instrumental build-up. This is what you hear on the single release of "April Love."
The film version differs in that it contains a prologue sung by Boone. He sings it to Jones and an appreciative crowd in the movie, backed by a big band. The lyrics for this section are:
Has anybody here seen April,
Dressed in her gown of green?
She walks in a world of enchantment,
Where no one ever grows much older than 17.
"April Love" topped the US chart for two weeks not in April, but in December 1957. It spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart. The song also received an Oscar nomination, but lost to "All the Way" from The Joker is Wild.
I played a couple of tracks from the heavy metal covers album on my show a while back. He still has a good voice.
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