Lazy Elsie Molly by Chubby Checker

Album: Best Of Chubby Checker (1964)

Charted: 40

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Songfacts®:

This was written by the songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. The song is based on a children's nursery rhyme. When Boyce and Hart first decided to tackle a song together, they looked through a volume of Mother Goose for inspiration and came across the tale of Lazy Elsie Marley, a girl who loved to stay in bed late and sleep. Setting the poem to music (and changing the girl's name to Molly) they embellished the story, added a couple more verses and a chorus, a typical Chubby Checker rhythm and soon had a Top 40 Hit.

Comments: 2

Raunchy from Tulsa, OkThis was a good Chubby Checker hit from 1964. I believe it was released after The British Invasion on the U.S. charts when so many American artists just could not get onto the charts at all. But there were some exceptions, such as The Four Seasons, The Beach Boys, and Chubby Checker. Of course, the Brits ruled the Top 5 for some months. I think this song was based on an old nursery rhyme or an old legend from some country. My brother owned this 45 rpm single & I loved it. Don't know why Songfacts put this on when Chubby had so many other bigger hits that warrant more attention. Like his #1 hit "Pony Time." Or "Limbo Rock" or "Lets Twist Again" or "Slow Twistin'."
Bubblesk from Memphis, TnThis is a real catchy tune & outstanding production for 1964. I bought this 45 single & it had an attractive photo/sleeve of Chubby Checker too. The song "Lazy Elsie Molly" received a lot of airplay on radio in my area when I was in high school. So much so that I got tired of hearing it on the Joplin, Missouri stations! So I was surprised to learn that with all that popularity in Joplin and in Tulsa markets, the song ranked only #40 at Billboard! You know, back then, most teens didn't really pay attention to Billboard's charts like they do now. Back then, it was the charts put out by each AM rock & roll station, or Song Hits magazine, or Cashbox magazine. I still have some issues of Song Hits magazine for 1964 & they ranked this Chubby Checker hit at #5. The music scene was all changing back in 1964 because of the so-called "British Invasion" rock groups' impact on the charts too. But it wasn't long before American artists broke that hold on the charts. s I recall, Chubby Checker still turned out hits during that period, but they were a bit lower on the charts than his usual showing. A lot of American artists folded up right away in 1964 & never made it through the year. You have to consider the times of these chart rankings too. I always believed that if you're looking at a Billboard chart from the early Sixties, the ratings compilers at Billboard may have had a racial bias that wasn't officially acknowledged in the industry. But that's another story for another time. This song is a good hit for Chubby that I hear from time to time on the oldies radio networks.

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