Spanish Flea

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Herb Alpert, center, 1974

Spanish Flea is a pop song composed by Julius Wechter in the 1960s and later provided with lyrics by his wife Cissy Wechter. The song became known as the instrumental version of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass with Herb Alpert on trumpet , which was released on the record label A&M Records , which he co-founded, in late 1965.

Origin and use

Julius Wechter wrote Spanish Flea for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and also played marimbas on the song himself . In 1971 Wechter recorded his own version of the song with his "Baja Marimba Band", which was also released on his LP As Time Goes By by A&M.

Spanish Flea was the theme tune for a long time as the Bachelor's Theme in the long-running US couple hookup show The Dating Game .

In addition, Spanish Flea was used several times as a background or theme melody, for example the day before Julius Wechter's death (February 1, 1999) in the Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday and in 1987 in the action comedy Beverly Hills Cop II .

Chart placements

In 1966 the version by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass reached number 26 in Germany, number 3 in Great Britain and number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Cover versions

  • In 1971 Wechter recorded his own version of the song with his "Baja Marimba Band", which was also released on his LP As Time Goes By by A&M.
  • Allan Sherman covered the song in 1967 on his album Togetherness as a parody with his own lyrics from the perspective of a dog flea.
  • Other performers who covered the song as an instrumental were Duke Ellington and The Hawaiians (1968).

literature

swell

  1. ↑ juliusendung.com, tribute page (engl.)
  2. ^ A b Joel Whitburn: The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits . 7th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8230-7690-3 , p. 29.
  3. ↑ Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit-Bilanz, Deutsche Chart Singles 1956-1980 . Taurus-Press, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 15.
  4. ↑ Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass in the British charts
  5. ↑ coverinfo.de, search mask: "Spanish Flea"

Web links