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.
Charlie Santoss - One-Hit Wonders - Variedades - Instrumental Hits - Os Precursores - Hong Kong English Pop - Hong Kong Cantopop - The British Invasion - A Jovem Guarda
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Thursday, June 18, 2020
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD by Charlie Santos
From Wikipedia: "What a Wonderful World" is a jazz song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single, which topped the pop charts in the United Kingdom. Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
UNCHAINED MELODY (Righteous Brothers)
(From Wikipedia) Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North used the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
In 1955, three versions of the song (by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, and Roy Hamilton) charted in the Billboard Top 10 in the United States, and four versions (by Al Hibbler, Les Baxter, Jimmy Young, and Liberace) appeared in the Top 20 in the United Kingdom simultaneously, an unbeaten record for any song. The song and "Do They Know It's Christmas" are the only songs to reach number one in four different recordings in the UK. Of the hundreds of recordings made, it was the July 1965 version by the Righteous Brothers, performed as a solo by Bobby Hatfield, that became a jukebox standard for the late 20th century. This version achieved a second round of great popularity when it was featured in the film Ghost (1990). In 2004, it finished at number 27 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE (Bee Gees)
(From Wikipedia)"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September. It was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 24 December 1977 (becoming the first of six consecutive US number-one hits), ended the 10-week reign of Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The single spent six weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart. It is listed at number 22 on the 55th anniversary edition of Billboard's All Time Top 100. Alongside "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", it is one of the group's three tracks on the list. The song was covered by Take That for their 1996 Greatest Hits album, reaching number-one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks. "How Deep Is Your Love" ranked number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Monday, August 28, 2017
STARRY, STARRY NIGHT 'Vincent' (Don McLean)
(From Wikipedia) "Vincent" is a song by Don McLean written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is also known by its opening line, "Starry Starry Night", a reference to Van Gogh's painting The Starry Night. The song also describes different paintings by the artist. It was created on the 100th anniversary of the midpoint of Van Gogh's life. McLean wrote the lyrics in 1971 after reading a book about the life of the artist. The following year, the song became the number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and No. 12 in the US. Coincidentally, it spent 12 weeks on the Hot 100. In the US, "Vincent" also peaked at number two on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 94 song for 1972. The song makes use of the accordion, vibraphone, strings, and guitar. In 2000, PBS aired Don McLean: Starry, Starry Night, a concert special that was filmed in Austin, Texas
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.
Monday, September 7, 2015
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.
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