Black is black
Black Is Black by the Spanish rock group Los Bravos was the summer hit of 1966, which became a million seller and is one of the evergreens of pop music . He is considered one of the first representatives of Europop .
History of origin
The former Electrola producer Nils Nobach brought Michael Kogel (alias Michael Kennedy) together with the Spanish band “Los Sonor” in 1966, which was then looking for a singer. In Germany, Kogel had already sung about some unsuccessful singles produced by Nobach with beat groups he led. With the French music producer Alain Milhaud, the "Wild" (so the German translation), renamed "Los Bravos", traveled to London in April 1966 in search of suitable song material and a record label. The first ever composition by the Tony Hayes / Steve Wadey / Michelle Grainger team was found under the title Black Is Black . Co-composers Hayes and Wadey owned a recording studio in the village of Hoo near Rochester (Kent) , where a demo recording of the title was made. It was their first song that other British bands had previously rejected.
The song was produced in April 1966 by Ivor Raymonde in London together with Alain Milhaud. For union reasons only Kogel was allowed to sing, British session musicians played, allegedly also Jimmy Page , which the session catalog about his work does not confirm. Since Kogel's voice was very similar to Gene Pitney 's, rumors later arose that Pitney had sung instead of Kogel. Characteristic is the bass driving the song, which gives the title the sound of blue-eyed soul .
Release, success and cover versions
The single Black Is Black / I Want a Name was released in Great Britain on June 17, 1966 (Decca F # 22419) and sold over a million times, also thanks to the intense airplay by the pirate station Radio Caroline . It stormed the international charts . She was ranked first for 6 weeks in Spain in October 1966, second in Great Britain in July 1966 (for 13 weeks), third in the Netherlands in August 1966, third in Australia (Goset) in October 1966, fourth in the USA (Billboard) August 1966, Germany ranked fourth in September 1966 or Canada ranked sixth in August 1966.
The French hit idol Johnny Hallyday hurried with its cover version under the literally translated title Noir c'est noir , which was published on October 19, 1966 with text by Georges Aber, after Hallyday had survived a suicide attempt on September 10, 1966. Later versions are from 1977, each of La Belle Epoque and Baccara . La Belle Epoque thus took first place in Australia in October 1978. In May 1995, Rick Springfield brought out another version. The title received a BMI award .
Individual evidence
- ↑ session catalog Jimmy Page In: en.citizendium.org. (English).
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 225.