Is This the Way to Amarillo - wikipedia Is This the Way to Amarillo `` ( Is This The Way To ) Amarillo '' Single by Tony Christie B - side `` Love Is a Friend of Mine '' Released November 1971 Recorded 1971 Genre Pop, schlager Length 3 : 35 Label MCA ( UK and Europe ) ; Kapp ( US ) Songwriter ( s ) Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield Producer ( s ) Tony Christie `` ( Is This The Way To ) Amarillo '' is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It is about a man traveling to Amarillo, Texas to find his girlfriend Marie. The reason that Amarillo was chosen for the song was because it was the only place name that Sedaka could think of that rhymed with `` willow '' and `` pillow ''. The song was originally to be titled `` Is This the Way to Pensacola '' referring to Pensacola, Florida, but Sedaka felt that Amarillo worked better than Pensacola. Written by two Americans with a strong country - western lyrical theme, the song was first released in Europe, where it has become much more popular than in the composers ' native country, with a big - band / orchestral pop arrangement sung by Tony Christie. Christie 's version was a major hit in Europe and a modest success in his native United Kingdom upon its release, then became even more popular in the mid-2000s when the song was reissued. As Christie 's version failed to make a major impact in the U.S., Sedaka released his own recording of the song in 1977, which narrowly missed the top 40 but was an easy listening hit in the U.S. and Canada. Contents 1 Tony Christie version 2 Neil Sedaka version 3 Chart performance 3.1 Weekly singles charts 4 Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version 4.1 Music video 4.2 Chart performance 4.3 Charts and certifications 4.3. 1 Weekly charts 4.3. 2 Year - end charts 4.3. 3 Decade - end charts 4.3. 4 Certifications 4.4 Track listing 4.5 Chart succession 5 Other cover versions 6 References 7 External links Tony Christie version The song was recorded by Tony Christie and released in the UK in November 1971, initially reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. However, it was a substantially bigger hit at that time across Continental Europe, notably in Germany and Spain, where it made number one. In the U.S., however, Christie 's record stalled at # 121 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100. Following the re-issue of Christie 's version in 2005, promoted with a video featuring Peter Kay, the song gained even greater prominence, reaching number 1 in the UK. In 2006, the song was played at the World Cup Final in Berlin and was also played by the Central Band of the Royal British Legion on Centre Court at Wimbledon before the start of the Men 's Singles final. During the final chorus, Christie intentionally sings the wrong lyrics. Instead of the standard `` I 've been weeping like a willow '', Christie changes it to `` weeping like a Winslow '' as a homage to one of his favourite high school teachers. Neil Sedaka version `` Amarillo '' Single by Neil Sedaka from the album A Song B - side `` The Leaving Game '' Released May 1977 Recorded 1977 Genre Pop Label Elektra ( US ) ; Polydor ( Europe ) Songwriter ( s ) Sedaka / Greenfield In the United States, Neil Sedaka, the writer of the song and a man who had recently returned to prominence as a pop singer in the mid-1970s after a decade of relative obscurity, recorded his own version of the song, released under a shortened title of `` Amarillo. '' Sedaka 's version of `` Amarillo '' got to number 44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1977 ; in Canada, Sedaka reached number two on the Adult Contemporary chart. Chart performance Weekly singles charts Chart ( 1977 ) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles 54 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary U.S. Billboard Hot 100 44 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version `` ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo '' Single by Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay from the album Is This the Way to Amarillo Released March 14, 2005 Format Digital download, CD, DVD Genre Pop, schlager Length 3 : 40 Songwriter ( s ) Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield Producer ( s ) Tony Christie Peter Kay singles chronology `` ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo '' ( 2005 ) `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' ( 2007 ) `` ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo '' ( 2005 ) `` I 'm Gonna Be ( 500 Miles ) '' ( 2007 ) In 2002, Tony Christie 's version was used in the Channel 4 sitcom Phoenix Nights. The song was then re-released on March 14, 2005 to raise money for Comic Relief. The video features Peter Kay, Tony Christie and other celebrities, including William Roache, Anne Kirkbride, Jim Bowen, Ronnie Corbett, Michael Parkinson and Geoffrey Hayes. Music video In the accompanying video, Peter Kay mimed the song accompanied by various celebrities including Brian May, Roger Taylor, Shakin ' Stevens, Shaun Ryder, Bez, Paddy McGuinness, Michael Parkinson, Heather Mills, Danny Baker, Ronnie Corbett, Mr Blobby, Jimmy Savile, Jim Bowen, look - alikes of Mahatma Gandhi and Cliff Richard ( the same lookalike is used in the Phoenix Nights spin off Max and Paddy 's Road to Nowhere ), William Roache, Anne Kirkbride, Sally Lindsay, Bernie Clifton, Keith Harris and Orville the Duck, Sooty, Sweep, Geoffrey Hayes and Bungle, as well as Tony Christie himself. Within the first few cameos, Max and Paddy from Peter Kay 's Phoenix Nights and its spin - off appear together, arguing and eventually fighting in the Granada studios ' corridor. This is one of many appearances of characters from Kay 's TV series, including Paddy 's tennis playing cell mate Cliff from Max and Paddy 's Road to Nowhere, and both a midget football team and Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights. The video consists almost entirely of Kay walking towards the camera flanked by different pairings of the celebrities, in front of increasingly bizarre and unlikely backgrounds. From 2012 onwards any repeat airing of the music video on television is now a new re-edited version which takes out the appearance of Jimmy Savile. In October 2012, revelations emerged which revealed that Savile was one of the worst paedophile sex abusers in Britain, and so his appearance on this charity video which helped raised funds for disadvantaged children in Africa and Britain had to be edited out for future broadcasts. The re-edited version is mainly the same as the original except the short 15 second scene with Savile who joined Peter Kay and actress Sally Lindsay is now re-edited to show Sally and Peter only, with a slowed down and repeated showing of Sally on her own next to Peter to fill the gap left by the absence of Savile, thus eliminating Savile from the 15 second section. The original version remains on YouTube. Chart performance This time around, the song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and remained there for seven weeks before finally being knocked off by `` Lonely '' by Akon. It went on to become the UK 's best - selling single of 2005. During its success, the song was credited in chart rundowns and other media appearances to `` Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay ''. However, Kay does not appear on the record, since it is a re-issue of the original version and not a re-recording. Having sold 1.2 million copies by the end of 2009, `` ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo '' was the third best - selling single of the 2000s in the UK, behind `` Anything Is Possible '' / `` Evergreen '' by Will Young and `` Unchained Melody '' by Gareth Gates. As of March 2017, it has sold 1.28 million copies. Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 2005 ) Peak position Scotland ( Official Charts Company ) UK Download ( Official Charts Company ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Year - end charts Chart ( 2005 ) Rank UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) Decade - end charts Chart ( 2000 -- 09 ) Rank UK Singles Chart Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) 2 × Platinum 1,280,000 sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone Track listing CD single `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' - 3 : 40 `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( All Around the World Mix ) - 3 : 45 `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( music video ) - 3 : 49 `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( making of the video ) - 5 : 14 DVD single `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( music video ) - 3 : 49 `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( Club Mix ) - 6 : 14 `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' ( Instrumental w / Photo Gallery ) - 3 : 40 Chart succession Preceded by `` All About You / You 've Got a Friend '' by McFly UK number one single March 20, 2005 -- May 7, 2005 Succeeded by `` Lonely '' by Akon Preceded by `` All About You / You 've Got a Friend '' by McFly Irish Singles Chart number - one single March 31, 2005 -- April 28, 2005 Succeeded by `` Lonely '' by Akon Other cover versions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2014 ) The Dutch singer Albert West covered the song in 1988. After the successful re-release of the song in the UK, Tony Christie re-recorded it with the Hermes House Band ; this version charted in Germany in 2005. There is also a version by The Les Humphries Singers and a version in German by Roberto Blanco. There was also a 1971 version on the MGM label ( K 14360 ) by a band called English House. It was produced by Terry Slater. The A-side was `` Music Is The Voice Of Love '' composed by Terry Slater and Phil Everly. The song has also been covered in Czech as `` Kvítek mandragory '' by Helena Vondráčková. and as `` Napis Na Dverich '' by Jiri Hromadka. The Finnish version, `` Amarillo '', with lyrics by Pertti Reponen, was first recorded by Johnny Liebkind in 1972, then by Kari Tapio in 1979 and most recently by Danny ( Ilkka Lipsanen ) in 1987 ; the latter made the song a staple of Finnish pop music. Others Other artists to have recorded the song include Daniel O'Donnell, Albert West, and James Last. References Jump up ^ `` Is This the way to Pensacola ? Record columnist Tam Cowan finds it could all have been so different when he meets his lifelong idol Neil Sedaka at his New York apartment ''. Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014. ^ Jump up to : ( 1 ) Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ Joel Whitburn 's Top Pop Singles 1955 - 1990 - ISBN 0 - 89820 - 089 - X Jump up ^ Press Association ( 21 March 2005 ). `` Comic Relief gets 70s star to the top ''. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Christie holds on to chart reign ''. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Akon topples Christie chart reign ''. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 14 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Amarillo tops 2005 single sales ''. BBC News. BBC. Jump up ^ Bassett, Jordan ( December 31, 2009 ). `` Will Young and James Blunt win biggest selling single and album of the noughties ''. NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved August 14, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Copsey, Rob ( March 24, 2017 ). `` The Official biggest selling Comic Relief singles revealed ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 14, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 14, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 14, 2015. Jump up ^ `` 2005 UK Singles Chart '' ( PDF ). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved July 6, 2015. Jump up ^ `` 2005 Year - end Charts '' ( PDF ). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved November 6, 2016. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay -- ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo ''. British Phonographic Industry. Enter ( Is This the Way to ) Amarillo in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` Kvitek Mandragory on Helena Vondráčková 's website ''. Retrieved August 15, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Welkom op de website van Albert West ''. Albertwest.nl. Retrieved April 2, 2014. External links Revealed : The Road to Amarillo Manchester Evening News, March 21, 2005 ' Amarillo ' video crashes MoD PCs BBC News, May 17, 2005 Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Neil Sedaka Studio albums Rock with Sedaka Circulate Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits 3 Great Guys Workin ' on a Groovy Thing / Sounds of Sedaka Emergence Solitaire The Tra - La Days Are Over Laughter In The Rain Overnight Success The Hungry Years Steppin ' Out A Song All You Need Is the Music In the Pocket Now Come See About Me The Good Times Compilation albums Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits Italiano Oh ! Carol Sedaka 's Back Oh Carol Let 's Go Steady Again Neil Sedaka 's Greatest Hits The ' 50s and ' 60s 14 Knockouts The Many Sides of Neil Sedaka Sunny Neil Sedaka 's Greatest Hits My Friend Neil Sedaka : All Time Greatest Hits All Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Laughter in the Rain : The Best of Neil Sedaka, 1974 - 80 The Very Best of Neil Sedaka Oh Carol : The Complete Recordings, 1955 -- 66 Stairway to Heaven : The Best of Neil Sedaka Love Songs Live albums Live at the Royal Festival Hall On Stage Singles `` The Diary '' `` I Go Ape '' `` Crying My Heart Out for You '' `` Stupid Cupid '' `` Fallin ' '' `` Oh ! Carol '' `` One - Way Ticket To The Blues '' `` Stairway to Heaven '' `` You Mean Everything to Me '' `` Run Samson Run '' `` Calendar Girl '' `` Little Devil '' `` Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen '' `` Breaking Up Is Hard to Do '' `` Next Door to an Angel '' `` La terza luna '' `` Lettera bruciata '' `` Everything Is Beautiful '' `` Love Will Keep Us Together '' `` Laughter in the Rain '' `` The Immigrant '' `` Bad Blood '' `` Love in the Shadows `` Lonely Night ( Angel Face ) '' `` Amarillo '' `` Your Precious Love '' `` Rhythm of the Rain '' Related articles Discography Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam The Tokens Food Rocks `` Workin ' On a Groovy Thing '' Book : Neil Sedaka Best - selling singles by year in the United Kingdom 1952 -- 1969 1952 : `` Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart '' -- Vera Lynn ( UK ) 1953 : `` I Believe '' -- Frankie Laine 1954 : `` Secret Love '' -- Doris Day 1955 : `` Rose Marie '' -- Slim Whitman 1956 : `` I 'll Be Home '' -- Pat Boone 1957 : `` Diana '' -- Paul Anka 1958 : `` Jailhouse Rock '' -- Elvis Presley 1959 : `` Living Doll '' -- Cliff Richard ( UK ) 1960 : `` It 's Now or Never '' -- Elvis Presley 1961 : `` Wooden Heart '' -- Elvis Presley 1962 : `` I Remember You '' -- Frank Ifield ( UK ) 1963 : `` She Loves You '' -- The Beatles ( UK ) 1964 : `` Ca n't Buy Me Love '' -- The Beatles ( UK ) 1965 : `` Tears '' -- Ken Dodd ( UK ) 1966 : `` Green, Green Grass of Home '' -- Tom Jones ( UK ) 1967 : `` Release Me '' -- Engelbert Humperdinck ( UK ) 1968 : `` Hey Jude '' -- The Beatles ( UK ) 1969 : `` Sugar, Sugar '' -- The Archies 1970 -- 1989 1970 : `` The Wonder of You '' -- Elvis Presley 1971 : `` My Sweet Lord '' -- George Harrison ( UK ) 1972 : `` Amazing Grace '' -- The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Band ( UK ) 1973 : `` Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree '' -- Tony Orlando and Dawn 1974 : `` Tiger Feet '' -- Mud ( UK ) 1975 : `` Bye Bye Baby '' -- Bay City Rollers ( UK ) 1976 : `` Save Your Kisses for Me '' -- Brotherhood of Man ( UK ) 1977 : `` Mull of Kintyre '' / `` Girls ' School '' -- Wings ( UK ) 1978 : `` Rivers of Babylon '' / `` Brown Girl in the Ring '' -- Boney M. 1979 : `` Bright Eyes '' -- Art Garfunkel 1980 : `` Do n't Stand So Close to Me '' -- The Police ( UK ) 1981 : `` Do n't You Want Me '' -- The Human League ( UK ) 1982 : `` Come On Eileen '' -- Dexys Midnight Runners ( UK ) 1983 : `` Karma Chameleon '' -- Culture Club ( UK ) 1984 : `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '' -- Band Aid ( UK ) 1985 : `` The Power of Love '' -- Jennifer Rush 1986 : `` Do n't Leave Me This Way '' -- The Communards ( UK ) 1987 : `` Never Gonna Give You Up '' -- Rick Astley ( UK ) 1988 : `` Mistletoe and Wine '' -- Cliff Richard ( UK ) 1989 : `` Ride on Time '' -- Black Box 1990 -- 2009 1990 : `` Unchained Melody '' -- The Righteous Brothers 1991 : `` ( Everything I Do ) I Do It for You '' -- Bryan Adams 1992 : `` I Will Always Love You '' -- Whitney Houston 1993 : `` I 'd Do Anything for Love ( But I Wo n't Do That ) '' -- Meat Loaf 1994 : `` Love Is All Around '' -- Wet Wet Wet ( UK ) 1995 : `` Unchained Melody '' -- Robson & Jerome ( UK ) 1996 : `` Killing Me Softly '' -- Fugees 1997 : `` Something About the Way You Look Tonight '' / `` Candle in the Wind 1997 '' -- Elton John ( UK ) 1998 : `` Believe '' -- Cher 1999 : ``... Baby One More Time '' -- Britney Spears 2000 : `` Can We Fix It ? '' -- Bob the Builder ( UK ) 2001 : `` It Was n't Me '' -- Shaggy featuring Rikrok ( UK ) 2002 : `` Anything Is Possible '' / `` Evergreen '' -- Will Young ( UK ) 2003 : `` Where Is the Love ? '' -- The Black Eyed Peas 2004 : `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '' -- Band Aid 20 ( UK ) 2005 : `` Is This the Way to Amarillo '' -- Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay ( UK ) 2006 : `` Crazy '' -- Gnarls Barkley 2007 : `` Bleeding Love '' -- Leona Lewis ( UK ) 2008 : `` Hallelujah '' -- Alexandra Burke ( UK ) 2009 : `` Poker Face '' -- Lady Gaga 2010 -- present 2010 : `` Love the Way You Lie '' -- Eminem featuring Rihanna 2011 : `` Someone Like You '' -- Adele ( UK ) 2012 : `` Somebody That I Used to Know '' -- Gotye featuring Kimbra 2013 : `` Blurred Lines '' -- Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams 2014 : `` Happy '' -- Pharrell Williams 2015 : `` Uptown Funk '' -- Mark Ronson ( UK ) featuring Bruno Mars 2016 : `` One Dance '' -- Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla ( UK ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Is_This_the_Way_to_Amarillo&oldid=804919686 '' Categories : 1971 singles 1977 singles 2005 singles Comic Relief singles UK Singles Chart number - one singles Number - one singles in Germany Irish Singles Chart number - one singles Neil Sedaka songs Culture of Amarillo, Texas Songs written by Neil Sedaka Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield Songs about Texas Amarillo, Texas 1971 songs Schlager songs Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2016 Use mdy dates from December 2014 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2014 Singlechart usages for Scotland Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for UKdownload Singlechart usages for UK Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Articles needing additional references from January 2014 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Eesti Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2017, at 22 : 51. 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Question: who wrote show me the way to amarillo
Answer: Neil Sedaka