It's Too Soon to Know

"It's Too Soon to Know" is an American doo-wop[1] ballad by Deborah Chessler (1923–2012),[2] performed first by The Orioles. It was number one on the American Rhythm and blues charts in November 1948. It is considered by some to be the first "rock and roll" song,[3][4] and described by others as "the first rhythm and blues vocal group harmony recording".[5]

"It's Too Soon to Know" should not be confused with "Too Soon to Know", a different composition written by country singer Don Gibson (whose own recording of that song was released in 1958 on Gibson's album, Oh Lonesome Me) and subsequently covered by Roy Orbison, who had a hit single in the UK (and more modest chart success in the US) with the song in 1966.

  1. ^ "Art", Esquire magazine, 118: 1992, p. 122.
  2. ^ Horner, Pamela (2009), "An Evening with Deborah Chessler, Songwriter and Former Manager of the Orioles at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" Archived 8 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Echoes of the Past, No. 88, p. 18, accessed 28 May 2010.
  3. ^ Marcus, Greil (24 June 1993), "Is this the woman who invented rock & roll?' the Deborah Chessler story", Rolling Stone, Issue 659, p. 41.
  4. ^ Marcus, Greil (1989) Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, pp. 257–258, ISBN 0-674-53580-4
  5. ^ Tompkins, George (2002), "Foreword", in Rosalsky, Mitch (2002), Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. ix, ISBN 0-8108-4592-X