the three male members of the chorale were signed to Liberty Records by label founder Al Bennett, who had Snuff Garrett - in his apparent debut as a producer - record the trio in three sessions at the Owen Bradley Studio at the end of November or the beginning of December 1959. Two sides from the Garrett sessions had a May 1960 single release credited to the Statues (the group name was a reference to the Statue of Liberty, as the group was signed to Liberty Records): the intended A-side was the Marijohn Wilkin original co-write (with Polly Harrison) "Keep the Hall Light Burning" but it was the flip: a remake of "Blue Velvet", which would not only become a Top Ten hit in Nashville but also rank on regional hit parades across the US rising as high as No. 8 on the September 30, 1960 Top 50 survey for preeminent Los Angeles Top 40 station KRLA. However, the Statues's version of "Blue Velvet" would only accrue enough focused national interest to rank on the Hot 100 for a period of three weeks in August 1960, with a peak of No. 84, while reaching No. 80 on the Cash Box Top 100. Bobby Vinton version Background The most successful recording of "Blue Velvet" was recorded (on May 27, 1963) and released by Bobby Vinton in August 1963, backed by Burt Bacharach and his Orchestra. Bobby Vinton's version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 21 September 1963 and remained at No. 1 for the subsequent two weeks. "Blue Velvet" also afforded Vinton a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Middle-Road Singles chart, where its No. 1 tenure was eight weeks. Bobby Vinton's No. 3 hit in the summer of 1963, with "Blue on Blue", prompted the recording of the Blue on Blue album comprising songs featuring the word "blue" in the title. Although songwriter Bernie Wayne would recall being told by Vinton that the singer had wanted to record the song since hearing the Tony Bennett version in 1951 it was reportedly Vinton's friend, music publisher Al Gallico, who suggested "Blue Velvet" as a Blue on Blue album track and sent his secretary with a dollar to a music store to purchase the song's sheet music; an hour later, Vinton had recorded "Blue Velvet" in two takes. Vinton did not expect the song to be a hit, and