Sad Eyes – Robert John | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1) & Adult Contemporary (#10); 1979

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

If you own a copy of White Bucks And Saddle Shoes by Bobby Pedrick, Jr., then you have the first chart single (#74; 1958) by the future Robert John. My Jelly Bean by Bobby and The Consoles on Diamond Records (1963) is also a Robert John 45.

Finally, Pedrick – as Robert John – broke into the Top 50 with If You Don’t Want My Love (1964) and then the Top 10 four years later with a re-recording of The Tokens 1961 super hit, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. With a #3 record under his belt, Robert thought success was his, yet, his record label refused to finance a full album.

So he quit the music biz. In 1978 a producer friend urged Robert to try his hand writing a song similar to Toby Beau’s #1 AC hit, My Angel Baby. The result of Robert’s effort, Sad Eyes, bumped 1979’s #1 single My Sharona from the top slot.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo

Lyrics Written by:

  • Robert John

Awards:

  • Robert John was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Sad Eyes” in 1980

Check Out all the Song Meanings of the 70s
Top 100 Songs Of The 1970s

Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).