Ebony Eyes (John D. Loudermilk song)

"Ebony Eyes"
Single by The Everly Brothers
B-side"Walk Right Back"
ReleasedJanuary 1961
RecordedNovember 1, 1960
Length2:54
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)John D. Loudermilk
The Everly Brothers singles chronology
"So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)"
(1960)
"Ebony Eyes"
(1961)
"Temptation"
(1961)

"Ebony Eyes" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk, recorded in 1961 by The Everly Brothers, and released as a single together with "Walk Right Back", which reached No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[1] The lyrics tell a young man's tragic story of losing his beloved fiancée in an airplane crash in dark, stormy weather conditions, which remind him of his fiancée's "ebony eyes".

The single, a double A-side in the UK, reached No.1 in the UK Singles Chart on 2 March 1961 for 3 weeks[2] and was the ninth best-selling single of the calendar year 1961 in the U.K.[3] "Ebony Eyes" was initially banned by the BBC from airplay in the U.K. as its lyrics were considered too upsetting to play on the radio.[1]

  1. ^ a b Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 56. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ "Official [U.K.] Singles Chart Top 50: 02 March-08 March 1961". The Official U.K. Charts Company. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. ^ "The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1961 [in the U.K.]". www.sixtiescity.net. Retrieved 3 April 2017.