“Early in the Morning” (Vanity Fare)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Early in the Morning” by the British group Vanity Fare. This single was released in June of 1969 and was a top twenty hit worldwide—Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Switzerland, and the UK. Here in the U.S., the song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, #10 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #4 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.

“Early in the Morning” was the first of two big hits for Vanity Fare, the second being “Hitchin’ a Ride,” released later in 1969, which peaked at #5 on the Billboard chart. This one was written by bandmembers Mike Leander and Eddie Seago and has a bit of an Eastern European feel to it.

Vanity Fare first got together in 1966, originally calling themselves the Avengers. After recording a few unsuccessful demos, they then changed their name to the Sages. They eventually settled on the name Vanity Fare and signed with Page One Records. They had their first UK hit, “I Live for the Sun,” in 1968 then hit it big globally a year later with “Early in the Morning.” “Hitchin’ a Ride” was even bigger, but that’s as good as it got for the boys from Kent, at least here in the States. They continued to have a modicum of success in Europe, where they continued to perform for the next decade or so, albeit with a surfeit of replacement members. They competed to represent the UK in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing third in the UK round. They continue to perform today.

And here’s today’s bonus video of the day, Vanity Fare lip synching “Early in the Morning” on the July 10, 1969 episode of the BBC’s Top of the Pops program. Good looking group of lads, they were.