Careless Hands

This article is about the 1949 song. For the 1971 album by Dottie West, see Careless Hands (album).

"Careless Hands" is a popular song written by Carl Sigman and Bob Hilliard, and first recorded in 1948.

The song was originally recorded by Sammy Kaye with vocals by Don Cornell,[1] and then recorded in 1949 by Mel Tormé, whose version reached no.1 on the US pop chart and became Tormé's first major success.[2] It was also recorded by many other singers including Bing Crosby (recorded March 22, 1949)[3] and Al Martino.[1] There were no less than four charted versions in 1949, by Mel Tormé (#1), Sammy Kaye (#3), Bing Crosby (#12) and Bob & Jeanne (#21).[4]

In the UK, a version by comedian and entertainer Des O'Connor reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967.[5]

In 1971, "Careless Hands" was recorded by American country music artist Dottie West. It was released as a single, peaking at number 48 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in April 1971. The song was subsequently released on a studio album of the same name.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Careless Hands" at SecondhandSongs.com. Retrieved 19 February 2014
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 421. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  3. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 483. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  5. ^ Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 565. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  6. ^ "Dottie West Chart History: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2019.