In the summer of 1953 a prisoner in Tennessee State jail in Nashville, a rapist Johnny Bragg, was walking across the courtyard to his duties in the laundry with a burglar, Robert Riley. It was raining and Bragg commented, "Here we are just walking in the rain, and wondering what the girls are doing." Riley suggested it was a good idea for a song and within a few minutes Bragg had written a couple of verses. As he was illiterate, he asked Riley to write it down in exchange for a writing credit. It was recorded by The Prisonaires, a quintet formed in their prison of which Johnny Bragg was lead singer (they had to be transported under armed guard to Memphis to record it). Released as a single by Sun Records it was successful and made the R&B charts.
On June 29, 1956, Johnnie Ray recorded a cover version during the same session as "Look Homeward Angel" in New York City with a band lead by Ray Conniff and produced by Mitch Miller. It was his biggest hit for several years.
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