Western Union (song)

"Western Union" is a 1967 song by the American rock band the Five Americans. The single peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1967. It also reached number 7 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart that same month.

"Western Union"
Single by the Five Americans
from the album Western Union/Sound of Love
B-side"Now That It's Over"
ReleasedJanuary 1967[1]
GenrePop rock[2]
Length2:20
LabelAbnak
Songwriter(s)
  • John Durrill
  • Michael Rabon
  • Norm Ezell
Producer(s)Dale Hawkins
The Five Americans singles chronology
"If I Could"
(1966)		 "Western Union"
(1967)		 "Sound of Love"
(1967)

Origins

In a March 1967 interview that appeared in Michael Oberman's "Top Tunes" column in the Evening Star newspaper (Washington, D.C.), Norman Ezell, guitarist for the group, explained how they came up with "Western Union." "Mike Rabon, our lead guitar player, was just fooling around with his guitar when he came up with a unique sound," Norman said. "It sort of reminded us of a telegraph key. That's when we decided to write 'Western Union.'"[3]

The song tells of a Dear John letter being communicated by telegram, a service of Western Union. The lyrics “Western Union man, bad news in his hand” were remindful of death notification telegrams hand-delivered to the families of soldiers killed in war, still in use at the time of this song's release.[4]

Chart performance

Cover versions

In 1967, The Strangers' recording reached number 30 in Australia.[5]

The Ventures included it on their 1967 album Super Psychedelics.[13]

The Searchers released a single of "Western Union" on Pye Records in 1967.

French-canadian band Le Spectre released a French cover of the song in 1967 on the Disques Monde label.[14]

DTV set the song to Pigs Is Pigs.

References
  1. "Record Details". 45cat.com. 45cat. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  2. Western Union at AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  3. Pore-Lee-Dunn Productions. "Five Americans". Classicbands.com. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. "Beyond "I Regret to Inform You"". Retrieved 7 April 2022.>
  5. "Go-Set National Top 40, 31 May 1967". poparchives.com.au. Go-Set. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 100229." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  7. Flavour of New Zealand, 7 July 1967
  8. "The Five Americans Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, 22 April 1967". tropicalglen.com. Cash Box. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  10. "RPM 100 Top Singles of 1967 - January 6, 1968" (PDF).
  11. "Top 100 Songs of 1967 - Billboard Year End Charts". bobborst.com. Billboard. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  12. "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1967". tropicalglen.com. Cash Box. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  13. Super Psychedelics at AllMusic. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  14. Félix B. Desfossés. "Vente de Garage, Le Blogue". Blogspot. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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