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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.
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.
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).
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.
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
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
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
YouTube links:
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
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:
YouTube links:
Frank Sinatra ~
Styrous® ~ Sunday, April 11, 2021
