Oh Sweet Lorraine

Album: Single Release Only (2013)
Charted: 42
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This features the Peoria, Illinois-based Green Shoe Studio CEO/producer Colgan Jacob Colgan and Fred Stobaugh, who penned the song. 96-year-old Stobaugh wrote "Lorraine" for his wife of 72 years, who died in April 2013. "Well, after she passed away," he recalled in the song's official documentary video , "I was just sitting in the front room one evening by myself. It just [came] to me. I kept humming it. It just seemed like it fit her."
  • Stobaugh entered his tune in a songwriting contest that Green Shoe studio was running. Colgan remembered receiving his letter. "What made Fred's entry so special was instead of a video, it was a large manila envelope titled Green Shoe Studio Singer Songwriter contest. It's an online contest. People [were] supposed to upload their videos," he said. "But, we received a manila envelope. Lo and behold, it was a letter from a 96-year-old man who said, 'I've written a song for my [late] wife.'"

    Colgan added: "I started to read the lyrics and was so touched by the song and without even meeting Fred we thought, we're going to do something."
  • According to Colgan, Fred joked in his letter about his inability to sing. "On the actual envelope itself, it says ' P.S. I don't sing, I would scare people, haha,'" said the Green Shoe Studio CEO.
  • The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #42, making Stobaugh the oldest-most credited artist to appear on the chart. He overtook Tony Bennett, who was 85 years and two months old when "Body and Soul" with Amy Winehouse, spent a week on the survey in 2011.

    Fred Stobaugh's record was broken in March 2024 when Ariana Grande's "Ordinary Things" featuring her 98-year-old gran, Marjorie "Nonna" Grande, debuted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80s

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.

Evolution Of The Prince Symbol

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.