“Endless Sleep” by Jody Reynolds

“Endless Sleep” was released in 1958. It reached number 5 on the Billboard Charts, selling over one million copies. Although it isn’t the first teen tragedy song (that credit goes to The Cheers and their 1955 “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots”) it is the first one to take on a much more haunting, darker tone.

Inspired by Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” Jody Reynolds wrote “Endless Sleep” before a gig in Yuma, Arizona and played it onstage that same night. None of the record companies wanted to touch it. With hints at double suicide, or even murder, they considered the lyrics too controversial and depressing, especially because his original version had the girlfriend being swept out to sea and to her death.

Eventually the song would find a home with Demon Records. They were an upstart label fronted by famed singer / songwriter Joe Greene in Hollywood, California. This of course was an interesting partnership as Rock and Roll was considered the devil’s music. To help give the track legitimacy, they forced Reynolds to change the lyrics, saving the girlfriend in the end. The label also credited Dolores Nance (a fictitious woman) as a cowriter in order to make it appear it was written by a ‘professional’ songwriting team.
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I adore the ending of this song and how his vocals wash away into the distance. I also think most fans had trouble deciphering his lyrics (playback equipment was primitive back then), and they probably just assumed the girlfriend had died in the end anyway. Wouldn’t you? There is a picture of a devil on the label…