Gayle McCormick - It's A Cryin Shame - [STEREO]

[dbrinkm1]

I remember this song being played a great deal in Illinois and Southern Callif..Really surprised that it did no better than 44.Gayle was a "Fox" with a great voice ! The group just did not have a good source of new songs and they were not promoted as well as they needed to be for success.

[ThomasJamesAlford]

It's a crying shame that this wasn't a bigger hit! ... 20 years after it charted, it was requested quite a bit on the now defunct "Oldies 98.9" (Montgomery, AL) which is what I listened to when i wasn't on the air at WEGL-FM 91.1, the Auburn student station

[bsbrimer]

Maybe we should call the Oldie stations and request this song! It was great back then and STILL is!

[454something]

Great voice from the lead singer of Smith. Is the cartridge Acutex or just the head-shell? I like Empire. Thanks for posting.

[MusicMike2]

@comicbookinker -- Head-shell is Acutex....cartridge is Pickering.

[trailboyus66]

It sure was an awesome song and still is. Our oldies station KXMO: does not have it right now. I would say my best guess on #44 would be that the song was not promoted as it should have been. 1971 was home to allot of very good music. So many so fast. I think this should have been a number 1 hit!

[josiemax]

I was blown away to hear that this got no higher than #44, and never made American Top 40 in the fall of '71 (it definitely made the Connecticut top 40 charts).

Gayle McCormick - what a voice! (And she's a white gal - remembering this song, I'd have assumed it was by somebody like Freda Payne or the Honey Cone!)

[nevadasmith38]

It was an AM song most people had switched ove3r to listening to FM they didn;t play top 40 music

[cheeriosinabowl]

It only got to # 44 ??? I remember way back in the day, it was always on radio, very popular where I live.

Shame that this song gets zero air time nowadays. I haven't heard it on radio in over 30 years.

Great song though -- still sounds fresh.

[javelin1010]

i remember waiting four weeks to buy this single because it was totally sold out after being released on the radio.

[motorbiker63]

If this only got up to #44, why then do I remember always hearing it?

[MusicMike2]

@motorbiker63 ---- #44 nationally....which is an average. Your local radio stations may have played it more than others. The stations in my hometown played it often, too.

[vinylsingleman]

@motorbiker63 If all radio stations had waited until a record got in the Top 40 before playing it there wouldn't be any records getting there, except perhaps for already-well-established artists (a "Them That Got" situation).

[motorbiker63]

@vinylsingleman Thanks for the info, but I wasn't asking a question ... it was more like a comment. But thanks, anyway.

[66KIMBLE]

Gayle is like the Betty Page of music world

[evannyny]

Her sister is Maureen McCormick of the Brady Bunch. There certain songs, for some reason or other that NEVER get played on oldies stations. This is one such song!

[dllewiszz]

@evannyny Nope, Maureen is from California and Gayle is from (and still lives in) St. Louis.

[oldstampsfan]

@dllewiszz yes,youre right,and gayle is much better looking!!!

[candidnot]

I remember this song from first grade, never knew who it was, and hadn't heard it since then, until today; it's been going through my head lately and a Google search using the chorus led me here. This is a great song, has that proto-disco sound that was easing its way into pop back then, as has been mentioned in here, could have been done by Freda Payne; maybe even First Choice. I gotta favorite this, don't want to lose it. It would be a cryin shame if I did, lol.

[Planktontwo]

Hi again, Music Mike. Love these oldies you dig up.

[RUDYNATACHA]

I saw Gayle sing this on television once around 1972.

[bellbrookbob]

Never hear this on oldies stations

[thespeez]

@bellbrookbob - That's because the song didn't chart that well. It only got to #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart. I don't know how well it performed on the Soul or R&B charts, if at all. I think the song would've 'fit' on such stations.

[uriahsteel]

One of my all-time favorite songs. Gayle has one of the best voices!!!

[OldSongsRGr8t]

Great song! It definitely sounds like something the Honey Cone or Freda Payne could've done, but it was sung beautifully by Gayle McCormick. It's a shame that she never got her due, for she definitely had a great voice and the looks to match! None of this Corporate Swill today can compare to the brilliant recordings and heartfelt performances of yesteryear. Keep up the great work Mike!

[battlesurf]

She has fantastic voice! Cheers.

[EasilyWowed]

I remember her in the band: Smith.  I had to look-up the year (1971). Almost 40 years; still a great song.

[blondielives]

she could have easily been a top world class model!

[youaintsee]

Love the song. Great posting.  Thanks.

[hadoenough]

Wow, what a flashback. This song has a Freda Payne feel to it (especially the hook).

I heard this a few times back in the day, but never knew who it was. Thanks for this flashback!

[burtw68]

my mom and dad knew ms. gayle mccormick,i grew up in the same town as her overland,missouri in saint louis county!

[Strat22c]

Nice job keepin this stuff alive. Good music never goes out of style :)

[Christian06820]

Where did all this fantastic music go?? I remember this like it was yesterday and it got a lot of airplay in Toronto - loved it then and it still sounds terrific!!!

Thanks, Mike!!!!!

[trailboyus66]

Awesome Mike. Summer Symphony is up but I think it would be awesome if you could put it up and give the introduction and a little history about Jack Gold.

[roanoke703]

I forgot how much I liked this song! They played this a lot in Detroit . Thanks!

[dreamyblue44]

Sounds like Kiki Dee in her Motown days. Great stuff!

[BabaBooey21]

Always loved this song. Glad I was able to pick up the 45 vinyl a few years ago.

[Basie369]

It's A Cryin Shame that this song is not number one

[RUDYNATACHA]

This was my favorite song when it was out. Thank God it got lots of airplay in WV where I lived. It wasn't till 25 years later I learned it never made the Top 40. I think it was top ten on our local stations. It still kicks!