"Rachel" is a song by Australian singer Russell Morris. The song was written by English singer-songwriter Raymond Froggatt and produced by Howard Gable.

It was released as a single in April 1970 and peaked at number 23 on the Australian Go-Set chart in May 1970. The track peaked at number 1 in New Zealand. ^[1]

Composer Froggatt did not release the song himself until 1972 on a Bell UK single. ^[2]

Background and recording

In 1969, Morris travelled to London to promote his track " The Real Thing" with UK label Decca Records. The song was a commercial failure and failed to chart. Whilst there, Russell recorded two numbers with expatriate Aussie guitarist and former Bee Gee Vince Melouney, one being Melouney’s "Little Lady", the other "Rachel". These cuts remain unreleased, the perfectionist singer being very unhappy with the producer's mix.

Morris returned to Melbourne in December 1969 and immediately set about fresh recording sessions with EMI and re-recorded of "Rachel".It was released as a single in April 1970, peaking at number 23. The single's fate was in part determined, as that of many other single releases at the time, by the controversial 1970 radio ban which resulted in major United Kingdom and Australian pop songs being refused airplay, including Morris' EMI.

Dave Justin version

The original release of "Rachel" was in November 1968 by British singer Dave Justin on an unsuccessful Polydor UK single. This was some 17 months before Russell Morris's release. ^{[3] [4]}

Track listing (Russell Morris)

7" Single

• Side A "Rachel" - 4:27
• Side B "Slow Joey" - 2:26

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

• List of number-one singles in 1970 (New Zealand)

References