The week of Nov. 3, 1964, found The Supremes atop the Billboard Hot 100 with their classic ‘Baby Love.’ I posted that song way back at Song of the Day #339, early on in a Motown Weekends series.
At #2 was J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers’s ‘Last Kiss,’ a recording of a song originally released a few years earlier by the song’s writer, Wayne Cochran. While that version stalled out on the charts, this one did quite well.
The song is rather morose, detailing a car crash in which a boy and his date are thrown from the vehicle. The girl dies in his arms, and he vows to make it to heaven to reunite with her.
‘Last Kiss’ was an example of a genre popular in the late 50s and early 60s: the teen tragedy song. These tunes usually found the singer witnessing the untimely death of his or her love. At a time when young people were struggling to free themselves from restrictive parents, a violent death was seen as the ultimate form of rebellion.
Eerily, this version of ‘Last Kiss’ found its greatest success after Wilson and his band were themselves in a violent car crash. The incident killed their manager and left Wilson with serious injuries. He performed the song in concert on crutches, and soon thereafter saw it climb to #2.
Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She’s gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world
[Verse 1]
We were out on a date in my daddy’s car
We hadn’t driven very far
There in the road, straight ahead
The car was stalled the engine was dead
I couldn’t stop so I swerved to the right
I’ll never forget the sound that night
The crying tires, the busting glass
The painful scream that I heard last
[Chorus]
Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She’s gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world
[Verse 2]
Well, when I woke up, the rain was pouring down
There were people standing all around
Something warm running in my eyes
But I found my baby somehow that night
I raised her head and she smiled and said
“Hold me darling for a little while”
I held her close I kissed her our last kiss
I found the love that I knew I would miss
But now she’s gone even though I hold her tight
I lost my love my life that night
[Chorus]
Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She’s gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’ve never heard of the teen tragedy song genre. Fascinating!
Another type of Horror 😢
Although I couldn’t have named J. Frank and the Cavs in a hundred years as the artist, I do remember the song (I was 8 at the time). The version that brought back the memory of the song was done by Pearl Jam. Recorded at a sound check at Constitution Hall in 1998, it actually hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1999.
On a side note, where would we be without Wikipedia?