Connie Francis Sings Spanish and Latin American Favorites
Encyclopedia
Connie Francis sings Spanish and Latin American Favorites is a studio album
of Spanish
and Latin American songs recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis
.
In July 1960, Francis was in Hollywood for the interior shots of her first motion picture Where The Boys Are
which made it impossible for her to record the album during live sessions at E.M.I.'s famous Abbey Road Studios
in London as she had done with Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites. Hence, the playbacks to these songs were pre-recorded in London under the supervision of Francis' British producer Norman Newell
and were conducted by Geoff Love
. The tapes containing these playbacks were shipped to Hollywood where Francis overdubbed
her vocals.
Francis, who had studied Spanish in school, was fluent in the language which prompted her to perform the songs eiter entirely in Spanish or bilingual with a few lines sung in English.
The album was originally released in October 1960 under the catalogue numbers E-3853 (mono) and SE-3853 (stereo) on MGM Records
. The album consisted of 13 songs, although 15 playbacks had been produced. First pressings of the album contain the complete intended listing of all 15 tracks on the cover, though actually the songs Amor and Aquellos ojos verdes
were not released in the U. S. and at that time were only available on singles and EPs in Spain and South America.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Latin American songs recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
.
Background
After the success of her 1959 album Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites (which remained on the album charts for 81 weeks and peaked at # 4), Francis decided to release more albums which appealed to immigrants in the United States.In July 1960, Francis was in Hollywood for the interior shots of her first motion picture Where The Boys Are
Where the Boys Are
The kind of cool modern jazz popularized by such acts as Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Chico Hamilton, then in the vanguard of the college music market, features in a number of scenes with Basil...
which made it impossible for her to record the album during live sessions at E.M.I.'s famous Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London as she had done with Connie Francis sings Italian Favorites. Hence, the playbacks to these songs were pre-recorded in London under the supervision of Francis' British producer Norman Newell
Norman Newell
Norman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs...
and were conducted by Geoff Love
Geoff Love
Geoff Love was a British easy-listening, and disco orchestra leader. He was born in the industrial town of Todmorden in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His father was a mixed race American-born guitarist and dancer, and his mother an actress. As a child, Love began to learn to play the violin but...
. The tapes containing these playbacks were shipped to Hollywood where Francis overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
her vocals.
Francis, who had studied Spanish in school, was fluent in the language which prompted her to perform the songs eiter entirely in Spanish or bilingual with a few lines sung in English.
The album was originally released in October 1960 under the catalogue numbers E-3853 (mono) and SE-3853 (stereo) on MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
. The album consisted of 13 songs, although 15 playbacks had been produced. First pressings of the album contain the complete intended listing of all 15 tracks on the cover, though actually the songs Amor and Aquellos ojos verdes
Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes)
"Green Eyes" is a popular song, originally written in Spanish under the title "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez. The English translation was made by Eddie Rivera and Eddie Woods in 1929....
were not released in the U. S. and at that time were only available on singles and EPs in Spain and South America.
Side A
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Malagueña Malagueña Originally the sixth movement of the Suite Andalucia by Ernesto Lecuona, who also provided it with Spanish lyrics, the song "Malagueña" has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum corps standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages.-Notable vocal performances:A... " |
Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist of Canarian father and Cuban mother, and worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality.... |
3.06 |
| 2. | "Quiéreme mucho Yours (Quiéreme Mucho) "Yours" is a popular song. The music was written by Gonzalo Roig with the lyrics by Albert Gamse and Jack Sherr. The song was published in 1931. The song is based on a Spanish language song, "Quiéreme Mucho", and the original Spanish lyrics were written by Augustin Rodriguez.-Recorded versions:Hit... " |
Gonzalo Roig Gonzalo Roig Gonzalo Roig was a Cuban musician, composer, musical director and founder of several orchestras. He was a pioneer of the symphonic movement in Cuba.... , Albert Gamse, Jack Sherr |
2.51 |
| 3. | "Siboney Siboney (song) Siboney is a 1929 classic Cuban song by Ernesto Lecuona. The music is in cut time, originally written in C major. The lyrics were reportedly written by Lucuona while away from Cuba and is about the homesickness he is experiencing .Siboney became a hit in 1931 when performed by the Cuban singer... " |
Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist of Canarian father and Cuban mother, and worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality.... |
2.49 |
| 4. | "Solamente una vez You Belong to My Heart "You Belong to My Heart" is the name of an English language version of the Mexican Bolero song "Solamente una vez" which means "Only One Time". "Solamente una vez" was written and originally sung by the Mexican songwriter Agustín Lara... " |
Agustín Lara Agustín Lara Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.-Biography:Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move again to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After Lara's mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their... , Ray Gilbert |
2.44 |
| 5. | "Quiénséra Sway (song) "Sway" is the English version of "¿Quién será?", a 1953 mambo song by Mexican composer and bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. The most famous version is that of Dean Martin recorded in 1954. English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel... " |
Pablo Beltrán Ruiz Pablo Beltrán Ruiz Pablo Beltrán Ruiz was a Mexican composer and band leader most famous for composing the Spanish language song "¿Quién será?", a hit made famous internationally by Dean Martin as "Sway" in 1954, and later by Bobby Rydell in 1960, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.Pablo Beltrán Ruiz was born in... , Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel is an American lyricist of popular songs, television and movie themes whose writing career includes such titles as "Sway", "Canadian Sunset", "Summer Samba", "The Girl from Ipanema", "Killing Me Softly With His Song", "Meditation" and "I Will Wait for You", along with an Oscar for... |
1.53 |
| 6. | "Quizás, quizás, quizás Quizás, Quizás, Quizás "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" , is a popular song by Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres. Farrés wrote the original Spanish lyrics, as well as composing the 1947 hit... " |
Osvaldo Farres Osvaldo Farres Osvaldo Farres was a Cuban song-writer and composer best known for having written the songs Quizás, Quizás, Quizás, "Acercate Mas", and "Tres Palabras."... |
2.05 |
| 7. | "Beso de fuego" | Ángel Villoldo Ángel Villoldo Ángel Gregorio Villoldo Arroyo was an Argentine musician and one of the pioneers of tango. He was born south of the city of Buenos Aires. He was lyricist, composer and one of the major singers of the era. He is also known by the pseudonyms A. Gregorio, Fray Pimiento, Gregorio Giménez, Angel Arroyo... |
2.32 |
Side B
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Granada Granada (song) "Granada" is a Mexican song written in 1932 by Agustín Lara. The song is about the Spanish city of Granada and has become a "standard" in music repertoire.... " |
Agustín Lara Agustín Lara Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.-Biography:Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move again to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After Lara's mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their... |
3.34 |
| 2. | "Bésame mucho Bésame Mucho "Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.-Inspiration:According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.She was inspired by the piano... " |
Consuelo Velázquez Consuelo Velázquez Consuelo Velázquez was a Mexican concert pianist, songwriter and recording artist.According to her obituary, she was 88 years old when she died... , Sunny Skylar Sunny Skylar Sunny Skylar was an American composer, singer, lyricist, and music publisher. He was born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn, New York. As a singer, he appeared with a number of big bands, including those led by Ben Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, George Hall and Vincent Lopez... |
2:42 |
| 3. | "Nosotros" | traditional | 2.54 |
| 4. | "Vaya, con dios" | Larry Russel, Inez James, Buddy Pepper | 3.06 |
| 5. | "Te quiero, dijiste" | María Gever, Charles Pasquale | 2.24 |
| 6. | "Celos (Jealousy)" | Jacob Gade Jacob Gade Jacob Thune Hansen Gade was a Danish violinist and composer, mostly of orchestral popular music.... |
2.42 |
Not included songs from the sessions
| # | Title | Songwriter | Length | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Amor" | Gabriel Ruiz Gabriel Ruiz Gabriel Osvaldo Ruiz is an Argentine football defender currently playing for Guillermo Brown.Ruiz started his playing career with Newell's Old Boys in 1999... , Ricardo López Méndez Ricardo López Méndez Ricardo López Méndez was a Mexican poet and song lyricist. He was born in Izamal, Yucatán. He became director of the Public Library and an advisor to Felipe Carrillo Puerto, governor of Yucatán from 1922 to 1924. In 1927 he moved to Mexico City as a representative of the government of Yucatán... |
2.40 | Spanish |
| 2. | "Amor" | Gabriel Ruiz Gabriel Ruiz Gabriel Osvaldo Ruiz is an Argentine football defender currently playing for Guillermo Brown.Ruiz started his playing career with Newell's Old Boys in 1999... , Ricardo López Méndez Ricardo López Méndez Ricardo López Méndez was a Mexican poet and song lyricist. He was born in Izamal, Yucatán. He became director of the Public Library and an advisor to Felipe Carrillo Puerto, governor of Yucatán from 1922 to 1924. In 1927 he moved to Mexico City as a representative of the government of Yucatán... , Sunny Skylar Sunny Skylar Sunny Skylar was an American composer, singer, lyricist, and music publisher. He was born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn, New York. As a singer, he appeared with a number of big bands, including those led by Ben Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, George Hall and Vincent Lopez... |
2.38 | Bilingual English-Spanish |
| 3. | "Aquellos ojos verdes Green Eyes (Aquellos Ojos Verdes) "Green Eyes" is a popular song, originally written in Spanish under the title "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez. The English translation was made by Eddie Rivera and Eddie Woods in 1929.... " |
Adolfo Utrera, Nilo Ménendez, Eddie Rivera, Eddie Woods | 2.38 | - |