Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)

Not to be confused with Kokomo (song).
"Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)"
Song by Gene and Eunice (original)
Published1954
GenreNovelty song, rock
LabelCombo, Aladdin Records
Composer(s)Forest Gene Wilson, Eunice Levy

"Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)" is a popular rock novelty song written in late 1954 by the rhythm and blues partnership of Forest Gene Wilson and Eunice Levy,[1] and also credited to Jake Porter. One of the earliest rock and roll songs,[2] it was probably "the most extensively recorded rock 'n' roll song of that time".[3]

Originally recorded by rhythm and blues duo Gene and Eunice (Wilson and Levy) in November 1954 on the Combo label and again in January 1955 on the Aladdin label, it was covered by at least 17 different musicians in the first few months of 1955 alone, including Perry Como, The Crew-Cuts, The Charms, Louis Armstrong and Gary Crosby, Goldie Hill & Red Sovine, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Rita Robbins, The Hutton Sisters (Marion Hutton and Betty Hutton), The Flamingos, Ronnie Aldrich and The Squads, Tito Rodríguez, Big Dave and His Orchestra, Marvin & Johnny, Barry Frank (with the Four Bells), Bill Darnell & Betty Clooney, Jack Cardwell with Jackie Hill, and The Dooley Sisters. Andy Griffith also recorded a satirical parody of the song.

The song spent 15 weeks in the Billboard charts from January to May 1955, and peaked at #3 in its Honor Roll of Hits in the week ending March 2, 1955.[4] The version by Perry Como, RCA's first rock 'n' roll release,[5] was the most successful,[3] reaching #2 on the Billboard charts in February 1955, while a version by The Crew-Cuts reached #6 on the Pop charts that same month.[6] Gene and Eunice's two versions were on the charts for 7 weeks and reached #6 on the Billboard R&B charts.[7]

  1. ^ Malcolm Mcfarlane and Ken Crossland, Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record (McFarland, 2009):97.
  2. ^ Larry Birnbaum, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012):312.
  3. ^ a b Charlie Gillett, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, rev. ed. (Pantheon Books, 1984):53.
  4. ^ The Billboard(March 19, 1955):30.
  5. ^ Malcolm Mcfarlane and Ken Crossland, Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record (McFarland, 2009):96-97.
  6. ^ Jay Warner, American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006):109.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 227.