Hello Stranger (1977) 5/30/20

In 1963, Barbrara Lewis wrote and recorded “Hello Stranger,” a very unusual song for its time, due to its mixture of soul and doo-wop with an organ as the dominant backing instrument.

It obviously didn't matter to radio listeners, because the song went to #1 on Billboard's R&B Chart, and #3 on the Pop Chart.

One huge fan of the song was an 11-year-old Hawaiian girl named Yvonne Elliman.

Cut to 1977.

Y'vonne was getting ready to record her “Love Me” album when producer Freddie Perren asked her what songs she'd like to include. The first words out of her mouth were “Hello Stranger.”

As luck would have it, Freddie loved the song, too...so they went to work.

One thing they agreed on was trying to make Yvonne's version similar to Barbara's—but updated for the late '70s.

They certainly succeeded! When the song was released as a single, it went went straight to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, where it spent 4 weeks. It was also #15 on the Hot 100 and #13 in Canada.

“Hello, Stranger:” A Great Song of the '60s..and '70s!

Yvonne Elliman:

Barbara Lewis: