| "My Prayer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Platters | ||||
| from the album The Platters (Mercury Records) | ||||
| B-side | "Heaven on Earth" | |||
| Released | July 1956 | |||
| Genre | Traditional Pop, Doo-Wop | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Buck Ram | |||
| The Platters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title Avant de mourir (Before dying) 1926. The lyrics for this version were added by Kennedy in 1939.
Glenn Miller recorded the song that year for a number two hit and the Ink Spots' version featuring Bill Kenny reached number three, as well, that year.[1] It has been recorded many times since, but the biggest hit version was a doo-wop rendition in 1956 by the Platters,[2] whose single release reached number one on the Billboard Top 100 in the summer, and ranked four for the year.[3] This version also went to #1 on both the R&B Airplay and R&B Juke Box chart.[4]
The Platters recording features in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in the 1985 film Mischief, in the 1999 film October Sky, and in two episodes of the 2017 series of Twin Peaks. The Ink Spots' version of the song was featured in the 1992 movie Malcolm X. Vera Lynn sang the song in the British film One Exciting Night in 1944.[5]
The song also became a tango in the Italian version by Norma Bruni and Cinico Angelini's orchestra (1940), "Sì, voglio vivere ancor!".[6]
- ^ Notes on the song by its publisher Archived 2007-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 5 - Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1956
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 463.
- ^ "YouTube". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ First italian version of "My prayer", titled "Sì, voglio vivere ancor!" by Norma Bruni on YouTube