Diary (Bread song)
| "Diary" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bread | ||||
| from the album Baby I'm-a Want You | ||||
| B-side | "Down on My Knees" | |||
| Released | April 1972 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 3:05 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Gates[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | David Gates | |||
| Bread singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Diary" is a song written and produced by David Gates and released by his band Bread in 1972, both as a single and on the album Baby I'm-a Want You.[2][3]
In the lyrics, the singer reads his girlfriend's diary thinking she is writing nice things about him until he realizes she is writing about another man.[4][5]
It spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 15,[6] while reaching No. 3 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[7][8] No. 12 on Canada's RPM 100,[9] and No. 26 on Australia's Go-Set chart.[10] The song was ranked No. 50 on Billboard's year-end ranking of 1972's "Top Easy Listening Singles".[11]
Record World praised the lyrics and called it an "incredibly delicate piece with all the ingredients for a number one hit."[12] Cash Box called it the group's "gentlest" single in a while.[13] Rolling Stone critic David Lubin had a negative opinion, saying that "with its bland melody and an instrument which sounds like it's either an electrified jew's harp or underwater, [Diary] is a melodramatic piece about a fellow who finds and misinterprets the diary of the girl he's in love with, and like a character in an early Gide novel, he pledges his life to her nevertheless."[14]
Classic Rock History critic John Tabacco rated it as Bread's 8th best song, noting that the "sparse" production with "just an acoustic guitar, Gates’s sweet vocals, and an electric guitar with a vibrato effect" was reminiscent of Bread's earlier song "If".[5]
Anita Kerr recorded an easy listening cover of "Diary", which featured Pieter van Vollenhoven on piano, and was released on her 1979 album Together, which reached No. 42 in the Netherlands.[15]
Chart performance
[edit]| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Go-Set | 26 |
| Canada RPM 100 | 12 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[16] | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[6] | 15 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening[8] | 3 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[17] | 15 |
| US Record World The Singles Chart[18] | 11 |
References
[edit]- ^ Diary - By: Bread, MusicVF.com. Accessed October 3, 2015
- ^ "Baby I'm-a Want You – Bread". AllMusic. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "New Radio Action and Billboard Pick Singles", Billboard, April 15, 1972. p. 62. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ Fox, Jim (April 21, 1972). "Old Post Platter Picks". The Sun. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-12-23 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Tabacco, John. "The Top 10 Songs From The Group Bread". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
- ^ a b Hot 100 - Bread Diary Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ Adult Contemporary - Bread Diary Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "Easy Listening", Billboard, June 10, 1972. p. 32. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "RPM 100 Singles", RPM Weekly, Volume 17, Ed. 20, July 1, 1972. Accessed October 3, 2015
- ^ "Go-Set National Top 40", Go-Set, 4 November 1972. poparchives.com. Accessed October 3, 2015
- ^ "Top Easy Listening Singles", Billboard, December 30, 1972. p. TA-22. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 15, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
- ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 15, 1972. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
- ^ Lubin, David (March 30, 1972). "Baby I'm-A Want You". Retrieved 2024-12-24.
- ^ Anita Kerr & Harry van Hoof & Pieter van Vollenhoven – Together, Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 17 July 1972". Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100", Cash Box, June 24, 1972. p. 4. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
- ^ "The Singles Chart", Record World, June 17, 1972. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
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