Bobby Helms' Fraulein

I’ve been digging into my record collection this past week. Instead of looking at my long-playing records, I thought it was time to go through my stack of seven-inch 45s. They don’t number anywhere near my LPs, but I think the collection’s still decent enough. About half of them belonged to my father, bought well before I was even 10 years old, and there are so many gems among them. Sometimes, I feel like the ones I bought don’t quite match up to his taste in music. One of the 45s I picked out was a single by Bobby Helms, Fraulein.

This is a classic country hit from 1957 with an interesting backstory. Released in February that year by Decca Records—though by the time it reached Penang, the label was called Colortune—the song was a huge success. It topped the U.S. country chart for four weeks and stayed there for an incredible 52 weeks. It even crossed over to the pop charts, peaking at number 36. Written by Lawton Williams, Fraulein tells the story of a travelling man's bittersweet encounter with a young German girl—the Fraulein in the title.