A song from the movie - American Graffiti
The Diamonds' version followed a month later. The Diamonds were soon covering Little Darlin' successfully.[2] The Diamonds were a Canadian pop group that evolved into a Doo-Wop group. The Diamonds' version reached number two in sales for eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked this version as the No. 3 song for 1957.[3]
The Diamonds' version is generally considered a superior version (though some die hard R&B purists disdain it since it is a cover).[citation needed] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine argues that the Diamonds Little Darlin' is an unusual example of a cover being better than the original:
[T]he Diamonds' take remained the bigger hit, and over the years, the better-known version. Normally, this would have been an outrage, but there's a reason why the Diamonds' version has sustained its popularity over the years: it's a better, fiercer recording. Both versions are good, even if they're a little silly, because it's a good doo wop song, giving each member of the quartet a lot to do. At times, the vocal phrases verge on self-parody -- the "ai-ya-yi-yai-yai-ya"'s or the "wella-wella"'s -- which may be why The Diamonds' version is superior.[4]
On the Pop Chronicles, host John Gilliland claimed that their version was in fact a parody of the genre.[2] Nonetheless, Little Darlin' (primarily the Diamonds' version, but to some extent the Gladiolas' version) remains an all-time Rock 'n Roll R&B classic.[2]
American Graffiti is a 1973 American coming of age comedy-drama film directed and co-written by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Wolfman Jack. Suzanne Somers has a cameo. Set in Modesto, California in 1962, the film is a study of the cruising and rock and roll cultures popular among the post–World War II baby boom generation. The film is told in a series of vignettes, telling the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures over a single evening.
The genesis of American Graffiti was in Lucas' own teenage years in early 1960s Modesto. He was unsuccessful in pitching the concept to financiers and distributors but found favor at Universal Pictures after United Artists, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures turned him down. Filming was initially set to take place in San Rafael, California, but the production crew was denied permission to shoot beyond a second day.
American Graffiti premiered on August 2, 1973 at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and was released on August 11, 1973 in the United States. It received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Produced on a $777,000 budget,[1] it has become one of the most profitable films of all time. Since its initial release, American Graffiti has garnered an estimated return of well over $200 million in box office gross and home video sales, not including merchandising. In 1995, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
A sequel, More American Graffiti, was released in 1979.
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