The authorship of the song has not always been clear. Peggy Lee's original release on Capitol Records was credited to Don Raye.[2] Cliff Richard's release on Columbia was credited to John Jacob Niles.[3] The Songwriter's Hall of Fame now credits it to both.[1]
Cliff Richard with the Norrie Paramor Orchestra recorded it for release as a single in 1962 as I'm Lookin' out the Window.[5] It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and was successful in numerous other countries.[6] It was only Richard's second song released as a single without the backing of his band the Shadows (known as the Drifters on his first five singles).
The song was somewhat overshadowed by its upbeat B-side, "Do You Want to Dance",[5] which gained its own UK chart position of number 10 in the New Musical Express singles chart[7] as it allowed separate listing of B-sides. Notably, it also became the sole or primary listed song of the single in some countries' charts (refer to the Chart performance section below). As was more usual on singles in the early part of Richard's career, "Do You Want to Dance" also featured the Shadows backing Richard.[5]
Chart performance
Chart entries as "I'm Lookin' out the Window" / "Do You Want to Dance":
^Billboard did not publish the NZ chart every week. This NZ chart (source unknown) has the song at number 3. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 29 September 1962. pp. 19–. ISSN0006-2510.
^Salaverri, Fernando (September 1979). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN84-8048-639-2.
^Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 313. ISBN919727125X.
^International News Reports, Belgium, second paragraph Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 9 March 1963. p. 24. ISSN0006-2510.
