"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a famous song by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The song is part of the musical, Carousel. It was first released in 1945. A version by Mersey Beat band Gerry and the Pacemakers was recorded in 1963. This cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone" soon became a very popular song with football fans. This is most famous with Liverpool Football Club.
You'll Never Walk Alone
History
The musical premiered at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on April 19, 1945, and ran for 890 performances. On 7 June 1950 it premiered at the Drury Lane Theatre in London; here it reached 566 performances.
On May 1, 1945, Frank Sinatra stood in the recording studio with Axel Stordahl's orchestra and recorded the first single version of the song. It was released in September 1945 by Columbia Records (#36825) and reached #9 on the Billboard charts. It was also Sinatra who performed this song in a particularly sustained, "anthemic" manner in 1989 on the occasion of the inauguration of the 41st US President George H. W. Bush.
Known cover versions
In the UK, You'll Never Walk Alone reached number one in the charts four times. George Martin produced the first cover version of the original with Gerry & the Pacemakers on 2 July 1963, which was released on 4 October 1963 (List of Number One Hits in the UK Charts (1963)). The Pacemakers were from Liverpool and shared manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin with the Beatles. Neither were initially convinced of the song's hit potential because it seemed too slow. It was followed by The Crowd (in June 1985) and Robson & Jerome as part of a medley (in November 1996). The Crowd version again featured Gerry Marsden of Gerry & The Pacemakers as the lead singer.
During the Corona Crisis, Tom Moore and Michael Ball released a cover version as part of a fundraising campaign and reached number one in the UK charts in April 2020. At 99, Tom Moore was the oldest performer at the top of the charts.