Grammy winner, producer, musician, rock and roll, country and rhythm and blues writer Wayne Carson Thompson composed "The Letter" and probably smiled when it, like his other material, was nominated for a Grammy.

The Box Tops (Alex Chilton, Bill Cunningham, Danny Smythe, Gary Talley and John Evans) recorded "The Letter" in 1967 and despite the fact that it was less than two minutes it soared to the top of the charts.

During rehearsals for the Mad Dogs and Englishmen conert tour Joe Cocker recorded "The Letter". The single peaked at number seven in 1970 on Billboard's Top One Hundred.