From Encyclopedia Britannica: - pop ballad, form of slow love song prevalent in nearly all genres of popular music. There are rock ballads, soul ballads, country ballads, and even heavy metal ballads. Here is a selection of some of the most popular “pop ballads” of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

VENUS (Charlie Santos)


"Venus" covered by me and my band.
(From Wikipedia): "Venus" is a song written by Ed Marshall and Peter DeAngelis. The most successful and best-known recording of the track was done by Frankie Avalon and released in 1959.
The song became Avalon's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it spent five weeks atop the survey. The song also reached number ten on the R&B chart. The song's lyrics detail a man's plea to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, to send him a girl to love and one who will love him as well. Billboard ranked it as the No. 4 song for 1959.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU (Ray Charles)

(From Wikipedia): "I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles' version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962. Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks. The Ray Charles version is noted for his saying the words before the last five lines of the song on the final chorus: "Sing the Song, Children". It was ranked No. 164 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #49 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

CONSTANTLY (Cliff Richard)


(Fom Wikipedia): "L'Edera" is an Italian language song. It was interpreted by a number of artists notably Nilla Pizzi and Claudio Villa both in 1958. Pizzi's version is found on her album La vita è un paradiso di bugie. Villa's version included "Oh Lola" on the B-side "Constantly (L'Edera) In 1964, the Italian song was revived by Cliff Richard in an English language song with music based on L'Edera. The single, a non-album release officially titled "Constantly (L'Edera)" is more commonly known as just "Constantly". The music is still credited to Saverio Seracini, who composed the music for "l'Edera". The English lyrics to the song were written for Cliff Richard by Michael Julien. The recording was arranged and conducted by Norrie Paramor. The British single reached No. 4 in UK Singles Chart chart and was an international hit charting in Australia (No. 6), Ireland (No. 8), New Zealand (No. 3), Norway (No. 4) and Sweden (No. 10) and was certified silver in the UK. In some markets, "Constantly" appeared as a B-side to another Cliff Richard single "True True Lovin'"

Saturday, July 18, 2015

SECRET LOVE (Doris Day)


(From Wikipedia): "Secret Love" is a popular song written in 1953 with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Its first performance was in the film Calamity Jane by Doris Day. It received an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Doris Day recorded the best-selling record of the song, which reached number 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1954. A popular version by Slim Whitman also made number 2. The record was made on August 5, 1953. The recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40108. The melody is based on the opening theme of Schubert's A-major piano sonata D.664.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

LOVE IS ALL AROUND (The Charlie Santos Group)


'Cover version' recorded by me and my band.
(From Wikipedia): "Love Is All Around" is a song recorded by the Troggs, featuring a string quartet and a 'tick tock' sound on percussion, in D-major. It was written by lead singer Reg Presley and was purportedly inspired by a television transmission of the Joy Strings Salvation Army band's "Love That's All Around". The song was first released as a single in the UK in October 1967. On the UK Singles Chart top 50, the record debuted at number 50 on 18 October 1967 (using the Wednesday date system) (date derived from 21 October 1967 and 28 October 1967), peaked at number five on 22 November 1967 (using the Wednesday date system) (date derived from 25 November 1967), and appeared 15 straight times. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the record entered at number 98 on 24 February 1968, peaked at number seven on 18 May 1968, and spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart. "Love Is All Around" has been covered by numerous artists, including R.E.M., with whom the Troggs subsequently recorded their 1992 comeback album Athens Andover. R.E.M.'s cover was a B-side on their 1991 "Radio Song" single, and they also played it during their first appearance at MTV's Unplugged series that same year. Wet Wet Wet's cover, for the soundtrack to the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral, was an international hit and spent 15 consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart.

DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING (Gerry and the Pacemakers)


(From Wikipedia):"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is a song written and originally performed by British beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers. The songwriting is credited to Gerry Marsden and the other band members, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire. It was released in April 1964 as Gerry and the Pacemakers' fifth single in Britain, and reached no. 6 in the UK singles chart. In the US, it was the breakthrough single for the group, and rose to no. 4 in the Billboard Hot 100. The record, like the group's earlier releases, was produced by George Martin.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

LOOK FOR A STAR (Garry Mills)


(From Wikipedia): Garry Mills (also Gary Mills) (born 13 October 1941, in West Wickham, Kent, England), was a British pop singer. Mills had three hits on the UK Singles Chart in the early 1960s. Released on Top Rank Records in 1960 were "Look for a Star" (charted at #7) and "Top Teen Baby" (#24). "I'll Step Down", released on Decca in 1961, charted at #39. In the United States, "Look for a Star" reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] "Look for a Star" also made the Hot 100 in versions by Deane Hawley and Garry Miles, the latter a pseudonym for Buzz Cason. The song, composed by Tony Hatch, appeared in the soundtrack to the horror film, Circus of Horrors (1960).

Saturday, May 2, 2015

AND I LOVE HIM (Nancy Wilson)



(From Wikipedia): Nancy Wilson (born February 20, 1937) is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret, pop and soul; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist. She has received many nicknames including "Sweet Nancy", "The Baby", "Fancy Miss Nancy" and "The Girl With the Honey-Coated Voice".
Originally 'And I Love Her' composed by Paul McCartney, recorded by The Beatles in 1964.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

FASCINATION (Nat King Cole)



(From Wikipedia): "Fascination" is a popular waltz song with music (1904) by Fermo Dante Marchetti and lyrics (1905) by Maurice de Féraudy (English lyrics by Dick Manning). It featured in the 1933 film The House on 56th Street, starring Kay Francis, was adapted for the soundtrack of the 1946 film, The Diary of a Chambermaid, starring Paulette Goddard, and then popularized in the 1955 movie The Grand Maneuver by René Clair. The theme was also used prominently in the b&w French film version of Gigi (1949) by Jacqueline Audry. Lastly, it also gained international renown when used in the 1957 movie Love in the Afternoon by Billy Wilder. A recording by Jane Morgan was released by Kapp Records as catalog number 191, which proved to become her signature song. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on September 9, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at #7; on the Best Seller chart, at #12; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached #11. It was also recorded by Dinah Shore, Dick Jacobs, Nat King Cole, Earl Grant and David Carroll, all of whose versions, except Grant, made the charts.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

RELEASE ME (Engelbert Humperdinck)



(From Wikipedia): "Release Me" (sometimes rendered as "Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)"), is a popular song written by Eddie Miller, Robert Yount, and James Pebworth under the pseudonym Dub Williams, published in 1946 . Miller wrote the song in 1946 but could not get anyone to record it for years, so he recorded it himself in 1949. Shortly afterward it was covered by Jimmy Heap, and with even better success by Ray Price and Kitty Wells. Subsequently a big seller was recorded by Little Esther Phillips, who reached number one on the R&B chart and number eight on the pop chart. A version by Engelbert Humperdinck reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. The Engelbert Humperdinck song has the distinction in the UK of holding the number-one slot in the chart for six weeks during March and April 1967, and preventing The Beatles single, "Penny Lane" / "Strawberry Fields Forever", from reaching the top. "Release Me" was also the highest selling single of 1967 in the UK, recording over one million sales, and eventually became one of the best selling singles of all time with sales of 1.38 million copies.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

I WHO HAVE NOTHING (Shirley Bassey)



(From Wikipedia): "I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King in 1963. "I (Who Have Nothing)" is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti" (English: "One of Many"), with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti.[1] "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who also produced the Ben E. King record using the backing track from Joe Sentieri's record (orchestra conducted by Luis Enriquez Bacalov). The song was included in the musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe. The original English Ben E. King version was released in 1963 and reached #29 on the Billboard charts. Other versions which reached the Billboard charts were performed by Terry Knight and the Pack in 1966 (#46), by Liquid Smoke in 1970 (#82), by Warhorse in 1972 and by Sylvester in 1979 (#40). The most popular version in the United States was by Tom Jones, peaking at #11 in Cash Box and at #14 in Billboard in the fall of 1970. Jones lyp-synched to the hit recording on a highly rated Raquel Welch television special that summer. Shirley Bassey released the song (produced by George Martin) in September 1963, reaching #6 on the UK charts. She performs the song at almost every live concert she gives, and it is on many of her compilation albums, including I Am What I Am with the London Symphony Orchestra, and her 1989 album La Mujer where she sings it in Spanish ("Hoy No Tengo Nada"). She has also been instrumental in making Donida's music known to English-speaking audiences through arranging for translations from the Italian, having performed with the composer conducting his own music on Italian television.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

ALMOST THERE (Andy Williams)


(From Wikipedia): "Almost There" is a song written by Gloria Shayne and Jack Keller and performed by Andy Williams. The song reached #2 in the UK, #12 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, and #67 on the Billboard chart in 1964. The A-side, "On the Street Where You Live", was also a hit, reaching #3 on the adult contemporary chart and #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (Gerry and the Pacemakers)


(From Wikipedia): "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, kills himself to avoid capture during a failed robbery. It is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise (Billy and Julie's daughter) is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate the unhappy Louise to join in the song.
In the United Kingdom, the song's most successful cover was released by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963, after the band's producer George Martin suggested that they record it as a follow up to their hit "I Like It," peaking at number one in the singles chart for four consecutive weeks. The song was first sung at Old Trafford by Jane Hardwick a teenage opera singer with New Mills Operatic Society, shortly after the Munich air crash tragedy in 1958. Fans on Liverpool's famous Kop first sang the song on Saturday November 30, 1963 and quickly became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club and is invariably sung by its supporters moments before the start of each home game. The words "You'll Never Walk Alone" also feature in the club crest and on the Shankly Gate entrance to Anfield, their home stadium.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING (The Righteous Brothers)


(From Wikipedia): "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is a 1964 song by The Righteous Brothers that became a number-one hit single in the United States and the United Kingdom the following year. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) ranked the song as having had more radio and television play in the United States than any other song during the 20th century. Additionally, the song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA and ranked #34 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal stylings were sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul". Medley and Hatfield both possessed exceptional vocal talent, with range, control and tone that helped them create a strong and distinctive duet sound and also to perform as soloists. Medley sang the low parts with his deep, soulful baritone, with Hatfield taking the higher register vocals with his soaring countertenor. They adopted their name in 1962 while performing together in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called The Paramours, which featured John Wimber (a founder of the Vineyard Movement) on keyboards. At the end of one particular performance, a U.S. Marine in the audience shouted, "That was righteous, brothers!", prompting the pair to adopt the name as they embarked on their duo career.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

FEELINGS (Morris Albert)


From 'Wikipedia':
"Feelings" is a song written by Louis Gasté, also known as Loulou Gasté, and Brazilian singer Morris Albert and made famous by Albert, who recorded it as a single released in 1974 that later appeared as the title track of his 1975 debut album. The song's lyrics, recognizable by their "whoa whoa whoa" chorus, concern the singer's inability to "forget my feelings of love". Albert's original recording of the song was very successful, performing well internationally. "Feelings" peaked at #6 on the pop and #2 on the Adult Contemporary charts in America. Over the next few years "Feelings" was performed by many other vocalists including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Angelica Maria, Petula Clark, José José, Caetano Veloso, Engelbert Humperdinck, Muslim Magomayev, Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, The O'Jays, Sarah Vaughan, Walter Jackson, Sergey Penkin, Julio Iglesias, Dobie Gray and Johnny Mathis. It was also recorded by numerous easy listening bandleaders and ensembles such as Percy Faith, Ferrante & Teicher, 101 Strings and Herb Ohta whose ukelele rendition was recorded with André Popp's orchestra for A&M Records.
In more recent years "Feelings" has been best known as a target of parody and ridicule for embodying what are perceived by many as the most insipid lyrical and musical qualities of 1970s "soft rock" music. It appears frequently on lists of "the worst songs ever" and was included on the 1998 Rhino Records compilation album '70s Party Killers.
In 1981, the French songwriter Loulou Gasté sued Morris Albert for copyright infringement, claiming that "Feelings" plagiarized the melody of his 1957 song "Pour Toi". They now share the credits of the song.