Editing Ken Dodd (section)

== Music ==
Dodd had many hit records, charting on 18 occasions in the [[UK Top 40]], including his first single "Love Is Like a Violin" (1960), produced on [[Decca Records]] by [[Alex Wharton]], which charted at number 8 (UK). His version of [[Bill Anderson (singer)|Bill Anderson]]'s song "[[Happiness (Bill Anderson song)|Happiness]]" charted in 1964 and became Dodd's signature song.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2006/06/20/ken_dodd_1507_event_feature.shtml|title=Ken Dodd Happiness Show|work=BBC Hereford & Worcester|year=2006|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref>

Dodd's recording of  "[[Tears (Ken Dodd song)|Tears]]" on the [[Columbia Graphophone Company|Columbia]] label topped the [[UK singles chart]] for five weeks in 1965,<ref name="betts">{{cite book| first= Graham| last= Betts| year=2004| title= Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004| edition= 1st|publisher= Collins| location= London| isbn= 0-00-717931-6| page=228}}</ref>  becoming the biggest hit single in Britain that year and selling over a million copies in the UK alone. The recording was the third-highest selling song of the 1960s in Britain;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7791739/Ken-Dodd-outsold-only-by-The-Beatles.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/7791739/Ken-Dodd-outsold-only-by-The-Beatles.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Ken Dodd: outsold only by The Beatles|date=1 June 2010|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=12 March 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>  at the time it was the UK's biggest selling single by a solo artist,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited 
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 170}}</ref> and remains one of the biggest selling singles of all time. Dodd was selected to perform the song on ''[[A Jubilee of Music]]'' on [[BBC One]] on 31 December 1976, a celebration of the key pop successes of [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]]'s first 25 years as Britain's monarch.

Dodd had two further UK top ten records: "The River (Le Colline Sono In Fiore)", written by [[Renato Angiolini]] with lyrics by [[Mort Shuman]] (number 3, 1965); and "Promises", written by [[Norman Newell]] and [[Tom Springfield]] (number 6, 1966).<ref name="betts"/>  As well as his successful chart career as a ballad singer, Dodd occasionally released comedy [[novelty record]]s, including the 1965 [[Extended play|EP]] ''Doddy and the Diddy Men'', featuring the song "Where's Me Shirt?" which Dodd co-wrote.<ref name=45cat>[http://www.45cat.com/record/seg8466 "Doddy and the Diddy Men", ''45cat.com'']. Retrieved 12 March 2018</ref>

In the 1960s, his fame in the UK was such that he rivalled [[the Beatles]] as a household name, and his records have sold millions worldwide.<ref name=tickled>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phj0c |title=BBC Radio 2 – Ken Dodd: How Tickled I've Been |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 2013 |access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref>

In 2021, Ken Dodd's recording of "Love is Like a Violin" was featured in the Walt Disney film ''[[Cruella (film)|Cruella]]''.