Pink Shoe Laces

"Pink Shoe Laces"
Single by Dodie Stevens
from the album Pink Shoe Laces
B-side "Coming of Age"
Released February 1959
Genre Pop
Label Crystalette
Songwriter(s) Mickie Grant[1]

"Pink Shoe Laces" (or "Pink Shoelaces") is a song composed by Mickie Grant that was recorded by Dodie Stevens, accompanied by Bobby Hammack and his Orchestra, and released as a single in 1959 on Crystalette Records, a record label distributed by Dot Records.[2] The verses of the song are spoken rather than sung.

Recording

Dodie Stevens was born on February 17, 1946. The song was recorded when the singer was 11 years old.[3]

Content

The song is about an unusual man named Dooley, with whom the singer is in love, who has a strange lifestyle and wears crazy clothes. He wears "Tan Shoes with Pink Shoelaces, A Polka-Dot Vest" and a "Big Panama with a Purple Hatband." He takes the girl "Deep Sea Fishing in a Submarine", and "Goes to Drive-In Movies in a Limousine" and owns a "Whirly Birdy and a 12 foot Yacht". However, when he feels that war is coming, he enlists in the fighting corps, but gets put into the brig for creating a storm when they "tried to put him in a uniform", preferring to wear his crazy clothes. One day, he feels ill, and decides to write out his will stating: "Just before the angels come to carry me, I want it down in writin' how to bury me", preferring to be buried in his crazy clothes. The voice heard speaking the line was one of the backup male singers on the recording.

Chart performance

The single reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1959.[2][4] It sold more than a million copies.[3]

Track listing

Side A. "Pink Shoe Laces"
Side B. "Coming of Age"[5]

Cover versions

The Chordettes sang a version of the song, speaking and singing all of the lyrics, except for Dooley's WIll, which is spoken by another male voice.

In 1960, Mexican rock and roll group Los Hooligans recorded a Spanish-language cover titled "Agujetas de color de rosa". Their version was highly popular in Mexico, topping the charts for 9 weeks in 1961, and became one of the first rock and roll hits in that country[6].

References

  1. ↑ Bruce Pollock (2014-03-18). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era. Routledge. pp. 282–. ISBN 978-1-135-46296-3.
  2. 1 2 "Dodie Stevens — Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  3. 1 2 Joseph Murrells (1978). The Book of Golden Discs. Barrie and Jenkins. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-214-20480-7.
  4. ↑ Jay Warner (2004). On this Day in Music History. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-0-634-06693-1.
  5. ↑ Martin Popoff (2010-08-05). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991. Krause Publications. pp. 1126–. ISBN 1-4402-1621-5.
  6. ↑ Galvan, Hugo (2013). Rock Impop: El rock mexicano en la radio top 40.
  • Laurie Stras (2011). She's So Fine: Reflections on Whiteness, Femininity, Adolescence and Class in 1960s Music. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-4094-3665-2.
  • Joseph Murrells (1978). The Book of Golden Discs. Barrie and Jenkins. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-214-20480-7.
  • Adams, Greg. "Pink Shoelaces - Dodie Stevens - AllMusic Review by Greg Adams". AllMusic. allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
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