abstract
| - %22Before and After%22 is a 1965 hit single by Chad & Jeremy. It was the duo's label debut on Columbia Records, released after Columbia acquired rights to all of the duo's post-January 1, 1965 recordings. The song was written by Van McCoy, then a staff writer for Columbia's publishing arm April Blackwood Music. Artie Wayne, professional manager of April Blackwood, placed %22Before and After%22 with Chad & Jeremy, who recorded the song in March 1965 in the sessions for their album also entitled Before and After; Lor Crane produced these sessions at Columbia's New York City studios.The song borrows the concept of %22before and after%22 images popular in advertising campaigns for weight loss products: the song's narrator compares his image with that of the current beau of his ex-girlfriend: %22He wears a smile, I wear a frown...See the difference between the old and new/ Before and after losing you.%22Released May 1965, %22Before and After%22 rose to a Billboard Hot 100 peak of #17 that July, its chart impact muted by the concurrent release of other Chad & Jeremy singles by the duo's previous label World Artists (specifically %22What Do You Want With Me%22 and %22From a Window%22). %22Before and After%22 was Chad & Jeremy's fourth - and final - Top 20 hit.An earlier recording of the song had been recorded by The Fleetwoods for their January 1965 album release titled Before and After with the title track - titled %22Before and After (Losing You)%22 - having an unsuccessful single release that February. %22Before and After%22 has also been recorded by The American Breed, Lesley Gore, and by Van McCoy himself on the 1978 album My Favorite Fantasy.
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