The Letter (song)

"The Letter"
Single by The Box Tops from the album The Letter/Neon Rainbow
Released	1967 (U.S.)
Genre	Pop
Length	1:58
Writer	Wayne Carson Thompson
Producer	Dan Penn

"The Letter"
Single by Joe Cocker from the album Mad Dogs and Englishmen
B-side	"Space Captain"
Released	April, 1970
Format	7" 45 RPM
Genre	Rock
Length	4:46 (live album version) 4:11 (studio single version)
Label	A&M
Writer	Wayne Carson Thompson
Producer	Denny Cordell, Leon Russell

"The Letter" is a song written by Wayne Carson Thompson and made famous by The Box Tops and their singer, Alex Chilton, released in 1967 on the album of the same name. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the UK singles chart. The song was popular during the Vietnam War and was also included in the computer game Battlefield Vietnam. Rolling Stone ranked it #363 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Cover versions

• The Letter has been covered by Al Green, Joe Cocker, David Coverdale,The Beach Boys, Brenda Lee, Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Arbors, Blonde on Blonde, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick, Del Shannon and the Shadows. Cocker's version, released as a single in April of 1970, also did very well on the U.S. Pop Singles chart, peaking at number seven. The single version, done live in the studio, can be found on the 2005 deluxe edition of Cocker's 1970 album, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," while his live in concert take of the song can be found on both the original and the deluxe edition of the album. The Arbors version was also a chart success, peaking at number twenty in 1969.
• Eva Cassidy also covered "The Letter" on her album Time After Time, and it is covered somewhat regularly by the rock/jam band Gov't Mule.
• Chris Daughtry of American Idol covered "The Letter" for his audition with the judges.
• A cover version of "The Letter" by Dynamo 5 was used as the lead song for the film Sonnenallee.
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive recorded this as a demo. It can be heard on the B.T.O. Anthology. Randy Bachman also recorded it in 2007 with The Bachman Cummings Band for Jukebox.
• Melanie covered the song on her 1976 album Photograph.