In A Little Spanish Town
Encyclopedia
"In a Little Spanish Town" is a popular
song
published in 1926. The music
was written
by Mabel Wayne
, and the lyrics
by Sam M. Lewis
& Joe Young
.
With Jack Fulton's vocals
, the song was a 1926 hit
for Paul Whiteman
& his Orchestra as his recording
topped the U.S.
charts
for eight weeks.
The song had continuing popularity for several decades and was covered in later recordings.
Virginia O'Brien's recording (a zany version apparently taken from a live radio broadcast) can be found on a 1984 AEI LP, "Viriginia O'Brien Salutes the Great MGM Musicals."
Bing Crosby covered it as a cha-cha, which can be found on the recording "Big Hits and Highlights of 1956, vol. 7," apparently produced by Blue Orchid in 2008. Herb Alpert
recorded the tune for his 1967 album
, Sounds Like...
.
A similar melody to "In a Little Spanish Town" was used for "Why" written by Bob Marcucci (words) and Peter de Angelis and was a huge hit for Frankie Avalon in the USA and Anthony Newly in the UK in 1959. Copyright cases were launched on both sides of the Atlantic but neither succeeded. The English High Court said that there was a degree of similarity but no infringement of copyright because the plaintiffs could not prove that there was a conscious or subconscious act of copying.
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
published in 1926. The music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Mabel Wayne
Mabel Wayne
Mabel Wayne was an American songwriter. She is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where she is credited as being the first woman composer to publish a hit song....
, and the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
by Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
& Joe Young
Joe Young
Joe Young was a lyricist. He was born in New York. Young was most active from 1911 through the late-1930s, beginning his career working as a singer and songplugger for various music publishers. During World War I, he entertained the U.S...
.
With Jack Fulton's vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, the song was a 1926 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
& his Orchestra as his recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
topped the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
for eight weeks.
The song had continuing popularity for several decades and was covered in later recordings.
Virginia O'Brien's recording (a zany version apparently taken from a live radio broadcast) can be found on a 1984 AEI LP, "Viriginia O'Brien Salutes the Great MGM Musicals."
Bing Crosby covered it as a cha-cha, which can be found on the recording "Big Hits and Highlights of 1956, vol. 7," apparently produced by Blue Orchid in 2008. Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
recorded the tune for his 1967 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Sounds Like...
Sounds Like...
Sounds Like... Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass is the eighth album released by the popular 1960s instrumental group. The album had its first CD release in 2006 on the Shout!Factory label....
.
A similar melody to "In a Little Spanish Town" was used for "Why" written by Bob Marcucci (words) and Peter de Angelis and was a huge hit for Frankie Avalon in the USA and Anthony Newly in the UK in 1959. Copyright cases were launched on both sides of the Atlantic but neither succeeded. The English High Court said that there was a degree of similarity but no infringement of copyright because the plaintiffs could not prove that there was a conscious or subconscious act of copying.