The song tells the tragic story from a witness' perspective of a young man named Tommy who is in love with Laura and wants to marry her, so he enters a stock car race, despite being the youngest and most inexperienced driver, hoping to win and use the prize money to buy Laura a wedding ring. The second verse tells how his car overturns and bursts into flames, although nobody knows what had happened. Tommy is fatally injured and his last words are "Tell Laura I love her... My love for her will never die". In the final verse, Laura prays inside the chapel, where a church organ is heard, and where she can still hear Tommy's voice intoning the title one more time, before it fades out.
Recording history
The lyrics of "Tell Laura I Love Her" originally concerned a rodeo, not an automobile race, as composer Jeff Barry was an aficionado of cowboy culture. However, at RCA's instigation, Barry rewrote the song, in order to more closely resemble the No. 1 hit "Teen Angel".
https://youtu.be/22oY2CuNCO4?si=K8mtPDH7ftf4Pb1M
The personnel on the original recording included Al Chernet, Charles Macy, and Sebastian Mure on guitars; Lloyd Trotman on bass; Andrew Ackers on organ; Bob Burns on sax; and Bunny Shawker on drums. Decca Records in England decided not to release Ray Peterson's 1960 recording on the grounds that it was "too tasteless and vulgar" and destroyed about twenty-five thousand copies that had already been pressed.
A cover by Ricky Valance, released by EMI on the Columbia label, was No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks. Valance's version was initially banned by the BBC; it was considered to be in "bad taste" and expressed concern for copycat activity.
The Peterson single was re-released in 1962, following the success of Valance's recording.
In 1973, Dutch singer Albert West released his 7" version which reached No. 8 on the Dutch Top 40 and No. 1 in Austria.
https://youtu.be/FuD2hghJdQ8?si=aUIXYFSaOc9VWMK_
In 1973, New Zealand band Creation released a rendering which peaked at No. 3 on the New Zealand charts and at No. 20 in the Australian charts the following year.
Swedish ("Jag Älskar Min Laura", by Carli Tornehave),
https://youtu.be/sWljULx2oy0?si=Re0u4fDPm5Vxl_iV
Mandarin ("告訴羅娜我愛她")
https://youtu.be/aG82Y7QCwXI?si=M9Ksq1JsRANTY68p
and Vietnamese ("Trưng Vương Khung Cửa Mùa Thu", by Nam Lộc).
https://youtu.be/f0ZnlrY-Ne0?si=LPOF8bAvNepLKyZL
Answer song versions
An answer song, "Tell Tommy I Miss Him" was released by Marilyn Michaels in 1960. It was originally released by RCA Victor Records as a single and is included on the 2007 compilation album The Answer to Everything - Girl Answer Songs of the '60's.
British singer Laura Lee with orchestra directed by Johnny Keating also recorded a version, released by Triumph Records as a single in the UK in August 1960.
The song tells the tragic story from a witness’ perspective of a young man named Tommy who is in love with Laura and wants to marry her, so he enters a stock car race, despite being the youngest and most inexperienced driver, hoping to win and use the prize money to buy Laura a wedding ring. The second verse tells how his car overturns and bursts into flames, although nobody knows what had happened. Tommy is fatally injured and his last words are “Tell Laura I love her… My love for her will never die”. In the final verse, Laura prays inside the chapel, where a church organ is heard, and where she can still hear Tommy’s voice intoning the title one more time, before it fades out.
Recording history
The lyrics of “Tell Laura I Love Her” originally concerned a rodeo, not an automobile race, as composer Jeff Barry was an aficionado of cowboy culture. However, at RCA’s instigation, Barry rewrote the song, in order to more closely resemble the No. 1 hit “Teen Angel“.
Mark Dinning "Teen Angel"
The personnel on the original recording included Al Chernet, Charles Macy, and Sebastian Mure on guitars; Lloyd Trotman on bass; Andrew Ackers on organ; Bob Burns on sax; and Bunny Shawker on drums. Decca Records in England decided not to release Ray Peterson’s 1960 recording on the grounds that it was “too tasteless and vulgar” and destroyed about twenty-five thousand copies that had already been pressed.
A cover by Ricky Valance, released by EMI on the Columbia label, was No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks. Valance’s version was initially banned by the BBC; it was considered to be in “bad taste” and expressed concern for copycat activity.
The Peterson single was re-released in 1962, following the success of Valance’s recording.
Johnny T Angel – “Tell Laura I Love Her” (Bell) 1974
In 1973, Dutch singer Albert West released his 7″ version which reached No. 8 on the Dutch Top 40 and No. 1 in Austria.
Tell Laura I Love Her
In 1973, New Zealand band Creation released a rendering which peaked at No. 3 on the New Zealand charts and at No. 20 in the Australian charts the following year.
Das Ende Der Liebe – Rex Gildo 1960 (Tell Laura I Love Her)
Italian (“Dite a Laura che l’amo”, by Michele),
Michele – Dite a Laura che l'amo (1967)
Swedish (“Jag Älskar Min Laura”, by Carli Tornehave),
Carli Tornehave – Jag Älskar Min Laura (Tell Laura I Love her)
Mandarin (“告訴羅娜我愛她”)
舒雲 ~ 告訴羅娜我愛她
and Vietnamese (“Trưng Vương Khung Cửa Mùa Thu”, by Nam Lộc).
Trưng Vương Khung Cửa Mùa Thu – Ngọc Lan (Tác giả: Nhạc Ngoại, Lời Việt: Nam Lộc)
Answer song versions
An answer song, “Tell Tommy I Miss Him” was released by Marilyn Michaels in 1960. It was originally released by RCA Victor Records as a single and is included on the 2007 compilation album The Answer to Everything – Girl Answer Songs of the ’60’s.
British singer Laura Lee with orchestra directed by Johnny Keating also recorded a version, released by Triumph Records as a single in the UK in August 1960.
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
![Righteous Brothers – [You’re My] Soul And Inspiration](http://img.youtube.com/vi/mzrPs-hLKmM/0.jpg "Righteous Brothers – [You’re My] Soul And Inspiration")
){kind=link}
Comments