About the song
“My True Story” by the Jive Five. Now there’s a song that takes you right back, isn’t it? Released in 1961, this wasn’t just a chart-topper; it was a cultural touchstone. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts and secured a solid number three spot on the Hot 100. But its impact went beyond mere numbers. This song resonated with a generation grappling with the complexities of love, loss, and the bittersweet pangs of growing up.
What strikes you immediately is that quintessential doo-wop sound. Those lush harmonies, the yearning in Eugene Pitt’s lead vocal, the way the melody seems to ache with a tender sort of heartbreak – it’s all there in perfect measure. The arrangement is deceptively simple, allowing the raw emotion of the lyrics to take center stage. And speaking of the lyrics, they tell a tale as old as time itself: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy pours his heart out in song. But there’s a sincerity, an almost naive vulnerability to the storytelling that elevates it beyond cliché.
You can practically picture the scene: a young man, heartbroken and alone, pouring his feelings onto paper. He’s not afraid to admit his pain, his confusion, his sense of betrayal. “My best friend, he married my girlfriend,” he sings, and you feel the sting of that loss as if it were your own. And yet, there’s no bitterness, no anger. Just a profound sadness and a longing for what might have been.
“My True Story” captured the zeitgeist of early 1960s America. It was a time of innocence, of burgeoning hopes and dreams, but also a time of uncertainty. The Cold War loomed large, social change was brewing, and young people were searching for their place in a rapidly shifting world. This song, with its themes of love and loss, resonated with those anxieties and offered a kind of catharsis. It was a reminder that even in the face of heartbreak, there was beauty to be found in expressing your emotions, in sharing your story with the world.
But “My True Story” is more than just a nostalgic relic. Its influence can be heard in countless artists who followed, from the soul singers of the 60s and 70s to the contemporary R&B artists of today. That raw emotion, that vulnerability, that timeless tale of love and loss – it continues to resonate with listeners across generations. And that, perhaps, is the true mark of a classic.
Video
Lyrics
Cry, cry, cry whoa
Cry, cry, cry whoa
There is a story
That I must tell
Of two lovers
That I bewail
Now they must cry, cry, cry whoa
Their blues away (cry cry cry their blues away)
Her name was Sue, yes
His name was Earl
His love was Lorraine
She’s a wonderful girl
But they must cry, cry, cry whoa
Their blues away (their blues away)
Love will make you happy
And love will make you cry
Love will make the tears fall
When your lover says goodbye
And then you’ll cry, cry, cry whoa
Your blues away (cry cry cry your blues away)
This story ends here
It was no lie
Names have been changed dear
To protect you and I
But we must cry, cry, cry whoa
Our blues away (cry cry cry)
Mmm (whoa, whoa our blues away)
We must cry (cry cry cry whoa whoa our blues away) mm, oh baby
