"Do You Want to Know a Secret" is a song by The Beatles from the 1963 album Please Please Me, sung by George Harrison. In the United States, it was the first top ten song to feature Harrison as a lead singer, reaching #2 on the Billboard chart in 1964 as a single released by Vee-Jay, VJ 587. The song reached the #1 position on Billboard in 1981 and #2 in the United Kingdom in a cover version by Stars on 45 as part of a medley.

Composition[link]

"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was primarily written by John Lennon, but credited to McCartney–Lennon. The song was inspired by "I'm Wishing",^[1] a tune from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which Lennon's mother, Julia Lennon, would sing to him as a child. The first two lines of the song in Disney's movie ("Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell?") come right after the opening lyrics ("You'll never know how much I really love you... You'll never know how much I really care...").^[2][3] McCartney said it was a "50-50 collaboration written to order", i.e., for Harrison to sing.^[4]

Recording[link]

In 1980, Lennon said that he gave "Do You Want to Know a Secret" to Harrison to sing because "it only had three notes and he wasn't the best singer in the world", but added "he has improved a lot since then."^[3] Harrison sang two songs on Please Please Me, this song by Lennon–McCartney and "Chains" by Goffin/King. The Beatles did not record a song composed solely by Harrison until "Don't Bother Me" on With The Beatles.^[5]

The song was recorded during a ten-hour session on 11 February 1963 along with nine other songs for Please Please Me.^[6]

Single release[link]

"Do You Want to Know a Secret" was released a year later as a single by Vee-Jay in the United States on 23 March 1964, reaching the number two spot behind another Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love" in Billboard, reaching number three on the Cash Box chart, but reaching number one for two weeks in the chart published by the Teletheatre Research Institute.

Personnel[link]

• George Harrison – lead guitar, lead vocals
• John Lennon – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Ringo Starr – drums

The Billy J. Kramer version[link]

The Beatles' version was never released as a single in the UK, where a cover version by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (released b/w "I'll Be on My Way", Parlophone R5023, 26 April 1963)^[7] reached number two in the Record Retailer chart, and hit number one in the NME chart (used by Radio Luxembourg) and the BBC's Pick of the Pops chart, which were more widely recognised at the time. It appeared on his album, Little Children (album)

Chart performance[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Un secret (English: A Secret) is a 2007 French film directed and written by Claude Miller. The screenplay was based on the novel by Philippe Grimbert.

Synopsis[link]

The film follows Maxime Nathan and his Jewish family in France during the years leading up to World War II. François Grimbert (played as a young boy by Valentin Vigourt and as an adolescent by Quentin Dubuis) grows up in Paris in the 1950s. He is the skinny, sickly son of two marvelously athletic parents, Tania (Cécile de France) and Maxime (Patrick Bruel). For a while, he dreams of a stronger, fitter, more charismatic older brother to compensate for his own feelings of inadequacy. Only gradually does he learn of his parents' tragic past and that he has a sibling — a half-brother named Simon, his father's first son.

Simon is the big secret, but the discovery opens the door to further revelations and deeper enigmas. François knows that his parents met sometime around the war, and he imagines their courtship and marriage in the shadow of atrocities which nobody talks about any more.^[1][2]

Cast[link]

• Cécile De France as Tania Stirn/Grimbert
• Patrick Bruel as Maxime Nathan Grinberg/Grimbert
• Julie Depardieu as Louise
• Mathieu Amalric as François Grimbert (age 37)
• Nathalie Boutefeu as Esther
• Yves Verhoeven as Guillaume
• Yves Jacques as Commandant Béraud

Awards and nominations[link]

• César Awards
  • Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Julie Depardieu)
  • Nominated: Best Actress – Leading Role (Cécile De France)
  • Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Ludivine Sagnier)
  • Nominated: Best Cinematography (Gérard de Battista)
  • Nominated: Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Bouchard)
  • Nominated: Best Director (Claude Miller)
  • Nominated: Best Editing (Véronique Lange)
  • Nominated: Best Film
  • Nominated: Best Music Written for a Film (Zbigniew Preisner)
  • Nominated: Best Production Design (Jean-Pierre Kohut-Svelko)
  • Nominated: Best Writing - Adaptation (Nathalie Carter and Claude Miller)

• Montréal Film Festival
  • Won: Grand Prix des Amériques (tied with Ben X)

References[link]

External links[link]

• A Secret (Un secret) at the Internet Movie Database

"Do You Want To" is the lead single for Franz Ferdinand's second album, You Could Have It So Much Better. It was released 19 September 2005 and charted at number four in the UK Singles Chart (see 2005 in British music). The video, directed by Diane Martel, was released on August 23 and was played every hour on MTV2 on the day it debuted. In the U.S., the song had the most success on the Modern Rock chart, where it peaked at number nine, while reaching number 76 on the pop chart. It also reached the top spot in the UK Indie Chart. In February 2006, the single was certified Gold by the RIAA.^[1]

History[link]

The song was written as somewhat of a joke after Alex Kapranos came home from a party one night where people were yelling the most ridiculous and profane things to each other. The lyrics are basically some things that he heard different women shouting at him over the noise of the party. The song is addressed to a person the band met at the party (apparently at an art gallery or some other artistic or highbrow venue), and essentially invites the addressee to hook up.

Video[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (May 2010)

The music video takes place in a rather madcap art gallery "transmission party"; the band's instruments appear out of nowhere, and Alex Kapranos dances in an Elvis-esquely suggestive manner around his microphone stand. According to Spin magazine, the song is apparently based on an actual party in Glasgow art gallery attended by the members of the band. The band wanted the video to set the scene on the actual party.

The video, edited by Paul Martínez and directed by Diane Martel, was filmed in a large studio in Lower Manhattan. Aside from a few paid actors in the front row, most of the extras for the last dance sequence in the video are Franz Ferdinand fans recruited from the band's web page.

The syndicated version of the video removes a sequence where a flaming man shakes hands with a mannequin, reminiscent of the famous album cover from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here.

Usage in the media[link]

The song has appeared in many commercials and trailers, such as Fun With Dick and Jane, Daddy Day Camp, and Good Luck Chuck. The song was featured as the ending theme song to the anime series Paradise Kiss. It was also used on children's TV channel, cbeebies. It featured in the program "Doodle Do". The song was also used for Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, and is now available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band. Also appear on the Soundtracks of Top Spin 3. It was also played in the beginning of the CSI: NY episode "Bad Beat".

Honors[link]

It was named the Sound Opinions single of 2005. It also came 10th in Triple J's hottest 100 for 2005. On Q's top 100 Indie Anthems Ever it was placed on #43, Q also named it the greatest single of 2005.

The song was listed as the 342nd best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.

Track listings[link]

UK Versions[link]

CD

RUG211CD

1. "Do You Want To"
2. "Your Diary"

Maxi-CD

RUG211CDX

1. "Do You Want To"
2. "Fabulously Lazy"
   • Lead vocals: Nick McCarthy (verses, bridge) and Alex Kapranos (chorus)
3. "What You Meant" (Acoustic Version)

7"

RUG211

1. "Do You Want To"
2. "Get Away"
   • Lead vocals: Nick McCarthy (verses) and Alex Kapranos (chorus)

12"

RUG211T

1. "Do You Want To" (Erol Alkan Glam Racket Remix)
2. "Do You Want To" (Original Version)

Europe Version[link]

Cardsleeve CD

1. "Do You Want To"
2. "Your Diary"

References[link]

Billy J. Kramer (born William Howard Ashton, 19 August 1943, Bootle, Liverpool, England) is a British Invasion/Merseybeat singer. In the 1960s he was managed by Brian Epstein, who also managed The Beatles, and he recorded several original Lennon and McCartney compositions.

Early life and career[link]

He grew up as the youngest of seven siblings and attended the St George of England Secondary School, Bootle. He then took up an engineering apprenticeship with British Railways and in his spare time played rhythm guitar in a group he had formed himself, before switching to become a vocalist. The performing name Kramer was chosen at random from a telephone directory. It was John Lennon's suggestion that the "J" be added to the name to further distinguish him by adding a 'tougher edge'.^[1] Kramer soon came to the attention of Brian Epstein, ever on the look-out for new talent to add to his expanding roster of local artists. Kramer turned professional but his then backing group, the Coasters, were less keen, so Epstein sought out the services of a Manchester-based group, The Dakotas, a combo then backing Pete MacLaine.

Even then, The Dakotas would not join Kramer without a recording contract of their own. Once in place, the deal was set and both acts signed to Parlophone under George Martin. Collectively, they were named Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas to keep their own identities within the act. Once the Beatles broke through, the way was paved for a tide of Merseybeat and Kramer was offered the chance to cover "Do You Want to Know a Secret?", first released by the Beatles on their own debut album, Please Please Me. The track had been turned down by Shane Fenton (later known as Alvin Stardust) who was looking for a career-reviving hit.

Success[link]

With record producer George Martin, the song "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" was a number two UK Singles Chart hit in 1963,^[2] and was backed by another tune otherwise unreleased by The Beatles, "I'll Be on My Way". After this impressive breakthrough another Lennon–McCartney pairing, "Bad to Me" c/w "I Call Your Name", reached number one.^[2] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[3] "I'll Keep You Satisfied" ended the year with a respectable number four placing.^[2]

Kramer was given a series of songs specially written for him by John Lennon and Paul McCartney which launched him into stardom. "I'll Keep You Satisfied", "From a Window", "I Call Your Name" and "Bad to Me" earned him appearances on the television programmes, Shindig!, Hullabaloo and The Ed Sullivan Show. (Kramer had also been offered Lennon–McCartney's "I'm In Love", and recorded a version in October 1963. In the end, it was shelved and the song was instead given to The Fourmost. In the 1990s, a Kramer CD compilation album included Kramer's version, and included some recording studio banter on which John Lennon's voice could be heard).

The Dakotas, meanwhile, enjoyed Top 20 success in 1963 on their own with Mike Maxfield's composition "The Cruel Sea", an instrumental retitled "The Cruel Surf" in the U.S., which was subsequently covered by The Ventures. This was followed by a George Martin creation, "Magic Carpet", in which an echo-laden piano played the melody alongside Maxfield's guitar. But it missed out altogether and it was a year before their next release. All four tracks appeared on an EP later that year.

The three big hits penned by Lennon and McCartney suggested that Kramer would always remain the Beatles' shadow, unless he tried something different. Despite being advised against it, he turned down the offer of another Lennon–McCartney song, "One and One is Two", and insisted on recording the Stateside chart hit "Little Children". It became his second chart topper and biggest hit.^[2] It was Kramer's only major hit outside the UK. In the US, this was followed up with "Bad to Me". "Little Children" b/w "Bad To Me" is the only debut single of an act on the Hot 100, each of whose sides separately reached that chart's top 10 (#7 and #9, respectively). Despite this success Kramer went backwards with his second and last UK single of 1964, the Lennon–McCartney composition "From a Window", which only just became a Top Ten hit.^[2]

After the peak[link]

The year 1965 saw the end for the beat music boom, and the next Kramer single was "It's Gotta Last Forever", which harked back to a ballad approach. In a year where mod-related music from the likes of The Who prevailed, the single missed completely. Kramer's cover of "Trains and Boats and Planes" saw off Anita Harris' cover version only to find itself in direct competition with Dionne Warwick's version, which won the day. Kramer's effort still reached a respectable number 12, but was the group's swansong, as all subsequent cuts missed the chart.^[2]

The Dakotas' ranks were then strengthened by the inclusion of Mick Green, formerly a guitarist with the London band the Pirates who backed Johnny Kidd. This line-up cut a few tracks which were at odds with the balladeer's usual fare. These included a take on "When You Walk in the Room" and "Sneakin' Around". The Dakotas' final outing whilst with Kramer was the blues-driven "Oyeh!", but this also flopped.

Latterly[link]

After releasing "We're Doing Fine", which also missed the charts, the singer and group parted company. Kramer, then living in Rugby, had a solo career over the next ten to fifteen years or so working in cabaret and television with his new band, again from the Manchester area, consisting of Pete Heaton (bass), John Miller (drums), and Tim Randles (guitar), after which he eventually went to live in the United States.

The Dakotas re-formed in the late 1980s and recruited vocalist Eddie Mooney and session musician Toni Baker. They still tour and record. Other latter-day members are drummer Pete Hilton and guitarist Alan Clare.

In about 1983 Kramer released a solo single called "You Can't Live On Memories"/"Shooting The Breeze" which failed to chart.

In 2005, Kramer recorded the song "Cow Planet" for Sandra Boynton's children's album, Dog Train. A long term fan of Kramer's, Boynton had sought him out for her project: in 1964, at age 11, she had bought "Little Children" as the first album she owned.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Billy J. Kramer official website
• The Dakotas official tribute page
• The Dakotas official website

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Santo & Johnny were an Italian-American rock and roll duo from Brooklyn, New York, comprising brothers Santo and Johnny Farina.^[1]

They are best known for their instrumental "Sleep Walk", which became a regional hit and eventually reached the top of the Billboard pop chart when it was released nationally in 1959.^[2]

At present, Santo is semi-retired and Johnny currently tours and records new material with his own band. Johnny is also the president of Aniraf, Inc., an international record company based in New York.^[3]

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Santo and Johnny Farina were born in Brooklyn, New York; Santo on October 24, 1937 and Johnny on April 30, 1941.^[3][4] Their father was drafted into the Army while they were children and was stationed for some time in Oklahoma. After hearing a steel guitar on the radio, he wrote to his wife, "I'd like the boys to learn to play this instrument".^[5]

Upon returning from World War II, the boys' father found a music teacher who gave the boys steel guitar lessons. When Santo was a teenager, he was able to get a local music store to modify an acoustic guitar, allowing him to play it like a steel guitar.^[4]

Within two years, Santo was performing in amateur shows on a new Gibson six-string steel guitar and had started receiving lessons from a steel guitar teacher who had studied in Hawaii. By the age of fourteen, Santo was composing songs, and formed an instrumental trio with a guitarist and drummer. This trio appeared at local dances and parties, performing both original compositions and some Hawaiian standards. With money Santo made from these performances, he bought another steel guitar, one with three necks, each with eight strings. This allowed him to experiment even further, and he tried different tunings until he found ones that appealed to him.

When Johnny reached the age of twelve, he began to play accompaniment to Santo on a standard electric guitar. The brothers soon formed a duo and became rather popular in school, eventually performing at events in the New York boroughs. They recorded a demo which they circulated to local New York record companies.

In 1958, Mike Dee & The Mello Tones (Santo Farina, steel guitar; Johnny Farina, guitar and their uncle Mike Dee, drums) recorded a self-penned instrumental which they called "Deep Sleep". Loosely inspired by the song "Softly, As In The Morning Sunrise" (Sigmund Romberg, 1929), it had the same chord progression but a simpler melody line.^{[citation needed]}

"Deep Sleep" became "Sleep Walk" and in September 1959 it topped the American charts.

Music career[link]

The brothers eventually came to the attention of a music publishing company and signed a song writer's contract and eventually a contract with Canadian-American Records. Their first release, "Sleep Walk", was composed by the two brothers. (The original single credits three Farinas, including an "A. Farina" for the composition. It's sometimes reported that their mother or sister helped, but this is apparently false.^[6]) It was recorded at Trinity Records in Manhattan. "Sleep Walk" entered Billboard's 'Top 40' on August 17, 1959. It rose to the No. 1 position for two weeks in September (the 21st and the 28th)^[2] and remained in the 'Top 40' list until November 9. It was the last instrumental to hit #1 in the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record.^[5] The follow-up song "Tear Drop" was also a hit, though their LP Santo & Johnny was less successful in the United States.

After touring Europe, Mexico, and Australia, Santo & Johnny signed to an Italian record label and had several hits in Europe that included "Sleep Walk", "Love Story", "Maria Elena", "Ebb Tide", "Love is Blue", "Enchanted Sea", and others.^{[citation needed]} In 1964, they released an album of The Beatles covers; "And I Love Her" hit #1 in Mexico and held the spot for 21 weeks. In 1973, Santo & Johnny recorded the theme to the movie The Godfather, which went to #1 in Italy and stayed at that spot for 21 weeks.^{[citation needed]} They received a gold record in Italy and were inducted into the Italian Music Hall of Fame.^{[citation needed]}

On-line[link]

Johnny Farina currently operates the official Santo And Johnny worldwide website, which includes current tour dates, discography, biography, trivia and new merchandise^[7] Farina also currently operates the official Johnny MySpace page, which includes current tour dates, discography, biography, and audio samples from his new solo albums^[8]

Legacy[link]

"Sleep Walk" continues to be popular due to consistent radio airplay as well as its usage in commercials, television shows, and movies. One of the first covers was by Betsy Brye^[9] (stage name of Bette Anne Steele) in 1959. While Santo & Johnny wrote lyrics for "Sleep Walk", they never recorded a lyrical version, but Betsy Brye's version included these lyrics. It has been also covered by The Shadows, Stray Cats, The Ventures, Jake Shimabukuro, Amos Garrett, Kenny Vance and the Planotones, Larry Carlton,^[10] Deftones, Chet Atkins,^[11] Danny Gatton, Leo Kottke, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Jonathan Richman,^[12] Larry Berwald, and Joe Satriani.^[13] Indie group Modest Mouse also covered the song with lyrics and entitled their version "Sleepwalkin'". A version of the song by Brian Setzer received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1998.^[14] "Sleep Walk" was used throughout the 1992 Stephen King film, Sleepwalkers. "Sleep Walk" also plays a role in the 1995 Terry Gilliam sci-fi film, 12 Monkeys. It is also played in the end scene of "La Bamba" after protagonist Ritchie Valens dies. The song can also be heard in "Eddie and the Cruisers".

Santo & Johnny were inducted into The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2002.^[15]

Discography[link]

This section is incomplete. Please help to improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (February 2009)

Canadian-American Records Ltd[link]

• Santo & Johnny (1959)
• Encore (1960)
• Hawaii (1961)
• Come On In (1962)
• Around the World... with Santo & Johnny (1962)
• Offshore (1963)
• In the Still of the Night (1964)
• Santo & Johnny Wish You Love (1964)
• The Beatles Greatest Hits Played by Santo & Johnny (1964)
• Mucho (1965)
• Santo y Johnny en México (1965?)

Imperial[link]

• The Brilliant Guitar Sounds of Santo & Johnny (1967)
• Golden Guitars (1968)
• On the Road Again (1968)
• The Best That Could Happen (1969)

Black Tulip[link]

• The Original Recordings

Aniraf Record Co.[link]

• Pure Steel (2007)
• Christmas Mine (2008)
• Italian Being Served (2009)

References[link]