| Carl Belew | |
|---|---|
 By RCA Victor – Public Domain, Link. Carl Belew in 1965 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carl Robert Belew |
| Born | April 21, 1931 Salina, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Died | October 31, 1990 (aged 59) Salina, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1950s–1970s |
| Labels | Decca, RCA Victor, MCA |
Carl Robert Belew (April 21, 1931 – October 31, 1990) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Belew recorded for Decca, RCA Victor, and MCA in the 1950s through 1970s, charting 11 times on Hot Country Songs. He also wrote singles for Johnnie & Jack, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, and others.
Career
Born in Salina, Oklahoma, Belew’s musical career began in the 1950s when he performed on the Louisiana Hayride. He signed to Decca Records by the end of the decade, reaching number 9 on the country music charts with “Am I That Easy to Forget“, which was later recorded by Skeeter Davis, Debbie Reynolds, Esther Phillips,
| Esther Phillips Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Bubbling Under-Hot Singles | 12 |
Engelbert Humperdinck, Jim Reeves, and others. Also in this period, Johnnie & Jack recorded Belew’s “Stop the World and Let Me Off”, while Andy Williams recorded “Lonely Street“.
Belew’s only other chart entry for Decca was the Number 19 “Too Much to Lose”, followed by the Number 8 “Hello Out There”, his first RCA Victor release, in 1962. He continued to write songs for others, including “What’s He Doing in My World” by Eddy Arnold
and “That’s When I See the Blues” by Jim Reeves;
both Waylon Jennings
and Susan Raye
charted in the 1970s with covers of “Stop the World and Let Me Off”.
Belew died of cancer on October 31, 1990 in Salina, Oklahoma.
Discography
Albums
- Carl Belew (1960)
- Hello Out There (1964)
- Am I That Easy to Forget (1965)
- Another Lonely Night (1965)
- Country Songs (1966)
- Lonely Street (1967)
- Twelve Shades of Belew (1968)
- When My Baby Sings His Song (1972)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [2] | |||
| 1957 | “Stop the World (And Let Me Off)“ | — | — |
| 1959 | “Am I That Easy to Forget“ | 9 | Carl Belew |
| 1960 | “Too Much to Lose” | 19 | |
| 1962 | “Hello Out There”A | 8 | Hello Out There |
| 1964 | “In the Middle of a Memory” | 23 | Am I That Easy To Forget |
| 1965 | “Crystal Chandelier“ | 12 | Twelve Shades of Belew |
| 1966 | “Boston Jail” | 43 | |
| “Walking Shadow, Talking Memory” | 65 | ||
| 1967 | “Girl Crazy” | 65 | — |
| 1968 | “Mary’s Little Lamb” | 68 | |
| 1971 | “All I Need Is You” (with Betty Jean Robinson) | 51 | When My Baby sings His Songs |
| 1974 | “Welcome Back to My World” | 56 | Big Time Gamblin’ Man |
| Carl Belew Chart (1959) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles | 9 |
Engelbert Humperdinck
| “Am I That Easy to Forget” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Engelbert Humperdinck | |
| from the album The Last Waltz | |
| B-side | “Pretty Ribbon” |
| Released | 1967 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:05 |
| Label | Parrot |
| Songwriter(s) | Carl Belew, W.S. Stevenson |
| Producer(s) | Peter Sullivan |
| Engelbert Humperdinck singles chronology | |
| “The Last Waltz“ (1967)”Am I That Easy to Forget“ (1967)”A Man Without Love“ (1968) |
| Englebert Humperdinck Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA) | 1 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio) | 10 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 18 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 1 |
“Am I That Easy to Forget” is the title of a popular song written by the country music singer Carl Belew and W.S. Stevenson and published in 1958. Belew recorded his song in Nashville on December 17, 1958, and released the single in March 1959, when it reached number nine on the U.S. country music chart. Other country music artists who have recorded cover versions of the song include Skeeter Davis (#11 country, 1960),
| Skeeter Davies Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles | 11 |
Ernest Tubb (1960),
Gene Vincent (1966),
George Jones (1967),
Patti Page (1968),
Jim Reeves (#12 country, 1973)
| Jim Reeves Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles | 12 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 9 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio) | 15 |
and Prairie Oyster (1991).
Chart performance
Orion
| Orion Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 100 |
“Am I That Easy to Forget” is the title of a popular song written by country music singer Carl Belew and W.S. Stevenson and published in 1958. Belew recorded his song in Nashville on December 17, 1958, and released the single in March 1959, where it reached number nine on the U.S. country music chart.
In 1960, singer and actress Debbie Reynolds recorded a version of “Am I That Easy to Forget” that reached number 25 on the U.S. pop chart.
| Debbie Reynolds Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 25 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 13 |
The highest charting version of the song on the U.S. pop chart was recorded by singer Engelbert Humperdinck on August 11, 1967. Released as a single in late 1967 from his album The Last Waltz, it reached number 18 on the Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart in early 1968.
Humperdinck’s version was also a big hit in England, where it spent two weeks at number three on the UK Singles Chart, as well as in Ireland, where it spent three weeks at number one on the Irish Singles Chart.
Humperdinck himself recorded a special version for Italy, in the local language, entitled “Dimenticarti non potrei” (“I couldn’t forget you”).
Petula Clark recorded the song in French as “Tu Reviendras Vers Ta Maison”,
and Leon Russell recorded the song as “Hank Wilson” in 1973.
- Version by Marty Robbins
- Instrumental by Billy Vaughn
- Nora Aunor – Am I That Easy To Forget
- David Alexander – Am I That Easy To Forget
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