45 RPMs 60: Frank Sinatra ~ Strangers in the Night

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Frank Sinatra ~ Strangers in the Night
45 rpm record, front cover

 

    

Strangers in the Night is a song composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Actually, there are considerable legal issues as to WHO really wrote it, Avo Uvezian, Ivo Robić or Philippe-Gérard (link below). Kaempfert originally used it under the title Beddy Bye as part of the instrumental score for the movie A Man Could Get Killed. The song was made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra. It was initially offered to Melina Mercouri but she thought a man's vocal would better suit the melody and therefore declined to sing it.     

 

Strangers in the Night was recorded on April 11, 1966, one month before the rest of the vinyl LP with the same title (link below). Glen Campbell played rhythm guitar and Hal Blaine was on drums with his backup group, The Wrecking Crew; Don Randi, Al De Lory, Carol Kaye, Bill Pitman, Tommy Tedesco, Irving Rubins, Roy Caton, Jay Migliori, Hal Blaine, Steve Douglas, and Ray Pohlman. According to Blaine, he reused the drum beat from Be My Baby by the Ronettes in a slower, softer arrangement.   

The Wrecking Crew - Gold Star Studios - 1960's
 photographer unknown

 

One of the most memorable and recognizable features of the song is Sinatra's scat improvisation of the melody (on take two) with the syllables "doo-be-doo-be-doo" as the song fades to the end. In 1968, CBS television executive Fred Silverman was inspired by the scat while listening to the tune on a red-eye flight to a development meeting for a Saturday morning cartoon show and decided to rename the dog character to "Scooby-Doo".          

 

Actually, Sinatra despised the song, calling it at one time "a piece of shit" and "the worst fucking song that I have ever heard." He was not afraid to voice his disapproval of singing it live. In spite of his contempt for the song, for the first time in 11 years he had a #1 hit, and it remained on the charts for 15 weeks.               

 

 

Frank Sinatra ~ Strangers in the Night
45 rpm record, side 1  

photo by Styrous®

 

The "B" side has a great song, Oh, You Crazy Moon, that is really nice. Chet Baker does a cover of it that is slower than Sinatra's with some nice trumpet work by him (link below).

     

Frank Sinatra ~ Oh, You Crazy Moon
45 rpm record, side 2

photo by Styrous®

        

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Strangers In The Night
Arranged By – Ernie Freeman
Producer – Jimmy Bowen
Written by Kaempfert*, Singleton*, Snyder*
Arranged By – Ernie Freeman
Producer – Jimmy Bowen - 2:35

Side 2:

B - Oh, You Crazy Moon
Arranged By – Nelson Riddle
Producer – Sonny Burke
Written by Burke-Van Heusen* - 3:12

Companies, etc.

    Published By – Champion Music Corp.
    Published By – Brown Music Co.
    Published By – M. Witmark & Sons
    Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria

Notes:

Strangers In The Night (From The Universal-International Film "A Man Could Get Killed")
Published By – Champion Music Corp. / Brown Music Co.

Oh, You Crazy Moon - Published By – M. Witmark & Sons ASCAP
From the Reprise Album F/FS 1018 Moonlight Sinatra

Barcode and Other Identifiers        

        

    Matrix / Runout (Label Side A): J4195
    Matrix / Runout (Label Side B): H3900
    Rights Society: BMI
    Rights Society: ASCAP
    Matrix / Runout (Side A (etched)): S J4195-2 #0470
    Matrix / Runout (Side B (etched)): S H 3900 #0470

        

Frank Sinatra – Strangers In The Night / Oh, You Crazy Moon
Label: Reprise Records – 0470
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, Santa Maria Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1966
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Easy Listening, Swing, Vocal        

        

        

Viewfinder links:       

         

Chet Baker         

Hal Blaine           

Glen Campbell         

Klaus Doldinger          

Steve Douglas        

Bert Kaempfert         

Carol Kaye       
Melina Mercouri         

Ray Pohlman          

Don Randi       

The Ronettes         

Frank Sinatra         

Tommy Tedesco    
     
Net links:       

         

Authorship disputes        

Strangers in the Night lyrics        

        
     
YouTube links:      
         

Frank Sinatra ~      

                Oh, You Crazy Moon        

                Strangers in the Night                 

        
        
         

        

        

Styrous® ~ Sunday, April 11, 2021    

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John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)       

Simon & Garfunkel -   

      Bridge Over Troubled Water     

      Sounds of Silence    

Frank Sinatra ~    

      Strangers In the Night    

      Strangers in the Night 45 rpm      

     

      

      

     

      

     

      

Hal Blaine      

date & photographer unknown     

     

      

     

      

     

      

     

      

     

 

 

 

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101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 13: Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence

Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence

album cover detail
cover photo by Guy Webster

detail photo by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling. This is an entry about one of them that was for sale on eBay (see link below for others). I have the vinyl LP version as well. Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence
reel-to-reel box cover front
cover photo by Guy Webster
photo of box by Styrous®

I remember I was in my mid 20's when I heard the first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., by Simon & Garfunkel. The song I liked the most from that album was, The Sound of Silence. I recall thinking, what an incredible feat to relate such an intensely emotional appraisal of the state of our world at that time, yet still remain quietly beautiful. I was even more delighted by their follow up album, Sounds of Silence, because the title song had been reworked. It was done without the knowledge or consent by neither Simon nor Garfunkel. They had broken up as a duo. When the two found the song was a top 40 hit, they reunited to go on to record three more albums after Silence before breaking up again. Although the new version sounded better than the acoustic version, I still liked the quiet declaration of the acoustic one. Near the bottom of this post there are links to the two versions on YouTube so you can hear them for yourself, if you'd like.

 Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence
reel-to-reel box cover back
photo by Styrous®

Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence 
reel-to-reel box cover back detail

detail photo by Styrous®

 Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence
reel-to-reel
photo by Styrous®

Simon & Garfunkel ~ Sounds of Silence
reel-to-reel label detail

detail photo by Styrous®

 Tracklist:

All songs written and composed by Paul Simon except where noted.    

Side one    
   
1. The Sound of Silence – 3:08
    Recorded: March 10, 1964 and June 15, 1965
2. Leaves That Are Green – 2:23
    Recorded: December 13, 1965
3. Blessed – 3:16
    Recorded: December 21, 1965
4. Kathy's Song – 3:21
    Recorded: December 21, 1965
5. Somewhere They Can't Find Me – 2:37
    Recorded: April 5, 1965
6. Anji (Davey Graham) – 2:17
    Recorded: December 13, 1965

Side two    
   
1. Richard Cory – 2:57
    Recorded: December 14, 1965
2. A Most Peculiar Man – 2:34
    Recorded: December 22, 1965
3. April Come She Will – 1:51
    Recorded: December 21, 1965
4. We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' – 2:00
    Recorded: April 5, 1965
5. I Am a Rock – 2:50
    Recorded: December 14, 1965


Personnel:

Paul Simon: lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel: lead vocals
Fred Carter, Jr.: guitar
Larry Knechtel: keyboards
Joe South: guitar
Hal Blaine: drums

Sounds of Silence was recorded in December 1965 at CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and Los Angeles, California. It was released in January 1966. The album was produced by Bob Johnston.

Music links:

The Sound of Silence (1964 original version) on YouTube
The Sound of Silence (1966 version) on YouTube

Simon & Garfunkel discography


reel-to-reel listings on eBay

more reel-to-reel tapes on the Styrous® Viewfinder:
                                             reel-to-reel tape archive

 Styrous® ~ October 26, 2013

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101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 12: Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water

reel-to-reel tape box front

cover photo by Peter Powell
cover design by Tony Lane

photo of tape box front by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling. This is an entry about one of them that was for sale on eBay (see link below for others). I have the vinyl LP version as well. Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

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To me, this is the best of the five albums recorded by the two musicians. So many of the songs are truly "classics" and brilliantly written. The title song is beautiful, even reverent. It conveys the feeling of elation at having surmounted difficult times or situations; it gives hope to future times of despair. It inspires.

El Condor Pasa was a real eye-opener for me. I had only been familiar with the song from a recording of Peruvian music performed on the Peruvian flute. I remember when I heard it for the first time, I was astounded! It was the second time I'd heard a traditional work of music reworked to fit modern taste  (see: Van Cliburn & Sputnik), although it did not rock out (it retains it's original ethnic sound) it was extremely well done.

The Boxer held special significance for me. My father had fought in the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competitions in Chicago in the '30's before I was born. He was 4' 11', so he was in the bantam weight division (actually, he was a feisty bantam his entire life). The song mirrors the history of my father's early life; his coming to America as a poor boy to seek his fortune, his loneliness, his fears and his poverty. It magnificently evokes the intense feeling of a boxer being alone with two other men, one fiercely determined to physically defeat him, in the boxing ring. It is quietly reminiscent of a long ago time with occasional, sensational moments of drama with incredible, quiet and echoey 'shots' (?), perhaps representing the punches of the boxers. Boxer and Condor will always be my favorite cuts from the album and the two of them on my all-time greats list.

Cecilia! What can I say of Cecilia? It is so joyously happy. It wonderfully communicates the feeling of utter joy after having done something wrong and losing the one you love, then to have it reversed and having the loved one return. It's bouncy beat and hand clapping makes it impossible for you not to get up and dance; I never get tired of listening to it.

Near the bottom of this post there are links to the songs mentioned on YouTube so you can hear them for yourself, if you'd like.  

There is a joke about Art Garfunkel's "moustache" on the album cover photograph by Peter Powell (a word of warning, one of the comments on the blog is PG rated).  The moustache link.

Simon & Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water

reel-to-reel tape box front detail
cover design by Tony Lane

cover photo by Peter Powell

detail photo by Styrous®

Simon & Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water

reel-to-reel tape box back

cover design by Tony Lane

back cover photo by Abbot Mills

photo of tape box back by Styrous®
   

photo by Abbot Mills

detail photo by Styrous®

detail of photo by Abbot Mills

detail photo by Styrous®

songs and credits

photo by Styrous®

The interior of the box for the reel-to-reel has the lyrics and liner notes on a paper attached to each side of the interior of the box.

lyrics and liner notes on both sides of the interior of the box.
photo by Styrous®

lyrics detail photo by Styrous®

lyrics & liner notes
detail photo by Styrous®

reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®

 reel-to-reel label detail
detail photo by Styrous®

 Tracklist:

All songs written and composed by Paul Simon except where noted.   

Side one   
  
1. Bridge over Troubled Water - 4:52
2. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) 
             (Daniel Alomía Robles, English lyrics by Paul Simon, 
                     arranged by Jorge Milchberg) - 3:06
3. Cecilia - 2:55
4. Keep the Customer Satisfied - 2:33
5. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright - 3:41

Side two   
  
6. The Boxer - 5:08
7. Baby Driver - 3:14
8. The Only Living Boy in New York - 3:58
9. Why Don't You Write Me - 2:45
10. Bye Bye Love (live recording from Ames, Iowa) 
                  (Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) - 2:55
11. Song for the Asking - 1:49

Personnel:

Paul Simon – lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel – lead vocals
Los Incas – Peruvian instruments
Joe Osborn – bass guitar
Larry Knechtel – piano
Fred Carter, Jr. – guitar
Peter Drake – Dobro, pedal steel guitar
Hal Blaine – drums
Jimmie Haskell and Ernie Freeman – strings
John Faddis, Randy Brecker, Lew Soloff & Alan Rubin  - brass

Music links:

The Boxer on YouTube

Cecelia on YouTube

Bridge over Troubled Water on YouTube

El Condor Pasa on YouTube

Simon & Garfunkel discography

The moustache link

Other reel-to-reel listings on eBay

more reel-to-reel tapes on the Styrous® Viewfinder:
                                             reel-to-reel tape archive

 

 Styrous® ~ October 26, 2013

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