Moon Over Naples

"Moon Over Naples"
Single by Bert Kaempfert
from the album The Magic Music of Far Away Places
B-side"The Moon is Making Eyes"
Released1965
Recorded1965
Length2:35
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert singles chronology
"Three O'Clock in the Morning"
(1965) 		"Moon Over Naples"
(1965) 		"Holiday for Bells"
(1965)

"Moon Over Naples" is a 1965 instrumental composed and recorded by German bandleader Bert Kaempfert. The instrumental version reached No. 6 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. It won a BMI Award in 1968.

Vocal versions of the song have been recorded as "Spanish Eyes" with lyrics by Eddie Snyder and Charles Singleton. The most notable of these was released by Al Martino, which topped Billboard's Easy Listening chart for 4 weeks in 1966.[1][2] It is one of the most recorded songs with over 500 versions released in various languages.[3]

Background

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"Moon Over Naples" was composed by Bert Kaempfert. It was the first track on his album, The Magic Music of Far Away Places, for Decca Records. In 1968, "Moon Over Naples" earned Kaempfert one of five BMI Awards that year; the other awards were for his compositions "Lady", "Sweet Maria", "Strangers in the Night" and "The World We Knew (Over and Over)" with a posthumous BMI Award given September 16, 2003.[4]

Two different sets of lyrics were added to the tune by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. In one, "Moon Over Naples" was written as a Neapolitan song, and this vocal version was recorded by Sergio Franchi in 1965, but the song did not chart. In another set of lyrics, the composition became a song about a Mexican woman, and the song title was changed to "Spanish Eyes".[5] Both lyricists are credited in these two versions.[6][7]

Charts

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Moon Over Naples
Chart (1965–1966) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 18
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 59
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] 6
West Germany (GfK)[14] 18

"Spanish Eyes"

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The Austrian singer Freddy Quinn was the first artist who recorded "Spanish Eyes" in 1965 with English lyrics written by Eddie Snyder and Charles Singleton. Quinn was a friend of Kaempfert who was involved in the production of Quinn's hit song "Die Gitarre und das Meer". Quinn's recording of "Spanish Eyes" was released in the United States in 1965 by Polydor. However, as the single by Quinn was rising in Billboard's regional charts, it was pulled from the market due to a dispute over the rights to the song between Polydor and Kaempfert's label Decca.[15][3]

Al Martino version

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"Spanish Eyes"
Single by Al Martino
from the album Spanish Eyes
B-side"Melody Of Love"
Released1965
Recorded1965
VenueNew York
GenreEasy listening
Length2:45
LabelCapitol Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tom Morgan
Al Martino singles chronology
"Forgive Me"
(1965) 		"Spanish Eyes"
(1965) 		"Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself To Sleep"
(1966)

According to Al Martino, Kaempfert was interested for him to record the song, and sent him a copy of the instrumental version of "Moon Over Naples", which Martino thought had the potential to be a hit. However, Martino did not like the lyrics of a vocal version he later heard, and told Kaempfert's publisher so.[16] Singleton and Snyder, the original lyricists, were employed to rewrite the lyrics. Martino, satisfied with the new lyrics, contacted Kaempfert to request that he come and help with the recording in New York because he liked the sound of Kaempfert's recording. Martino recorded the song as "Spanish Eyes", with Kaempfert also playing on the record.[17]

"Spanish Eyes" was released in the late 1965 in the United States, and it reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and spent four weeks atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart in early 1966.[17] This vocal version was also a hit in Europe, where it sold an estimated 800,000 copies in Germany.[17]

It appeared on the UK Singles Chart twice, first peaking at number 49 in 1970. Later in 1973, a deejay decided to play the song, and it received a strong response from the audience, and the song was re-released. It reached number five in August 1973.[16][18]

Charts

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Chart (1965–66) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[21] 47
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 13
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 49
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 15
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[25] 1
West Germany (GfK)[26] 3
Chart (1973) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 5

Other versions

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Other language versions

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  • Ivo Robić recorded a German version titled "Rot ist der Wein", which reached No. 14 on the West German chart in 1966.[31] Robić also recorded a version in Serbo-Croat.[3]
  • The song has been recorded in French as "Tes yeux" (Luis Mariano), "Tous ces voyages" (Lucky Blondo), and "Vivre au soleil" (Nana Mouskouri). It was recorded as "Occhi spagnoli" in Italian, and "Spanska Ögon" in Swedish.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening". Billboard. January 29, 1966. p. 18.
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 401.
  3. ^ a b c d Kraushaar, Elmar (2011). Freddy Quinn: Ein unwahrscheinliches Leben (in German). Atrium Verlag AG Zürich. ISBN 978-3-03792-008-4.
  4. ^ "Official Bert Kaempfert awards / charts". Archived from the original on June 23, 2008.
  5. ^ Leigh, Spencer (2015). Frank Sinatra: An Extraordinary Life. McNidder and Grace Limited. ISBN 978-0-85716-088-1.
  6. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1967). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. p. 1824.
  7. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office (1968). Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. p. 631.
  8. ^ "Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra – Moon Over Naples" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  9. ^ "Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra – Moon Over Naples" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra – Moon Over Naples" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bert Kaempfert" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  12. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. September 4, 1965.
  13. ^ "top 40 Easy Listening". Billboard. August 28, 1958. p. 20.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra – Moon Over Naples" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  15. ^ Pan, Jon (2014). Strangers in the Night: Die wahre Geschichte eines Welthits (in German). neobooks. ISBN 978-3-8476-7529-7.
  16. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits. Billboard Books. p. 41. ISBN 0-8230-7693-8.
  17. ^ a b c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 41.
  18. ^ Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  19. ^ "Al Martino – Spanish Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  20. ^ "Al Martino – Spanish Eyes" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  21. ^ "Al Martino – Spanish Eyes" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  22. ^ "Al Martino – Spanish Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. ^ a b "Al Martino: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  24. ^ "Al Martino Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "Al Martino Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Al Martino – Spanish Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  27. ^ Spanish Eyes lyrics and brief history at Deessongs.homestead.com
  28. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
  29. ^ "Engelbert Humperdinck- A Man Without Love". AllMusic.
  30. ^ "The Engelbert Humperdinck 2014 duets album has a new star act. Il Divo have re-recorded Engelbert's classic 'Spanish Eyes' with the legendary singer". Noise11. December 22, 2013.
  31. ^ "Ivo Robić - Rot ist der Wein". Deutsche Offizielle Charts.
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