My song today is ‘Spanish Harlem’, This song was recorded by Ben E. King in 1960 for ‘Atco Records’. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and was produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
The song was King's first hit away from ‘The Drifters’, a group he had led for several years. With an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drumbeats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus, it climbed the ‘Billboard’ charts, eventually peaking at Number 15 (R&B) and Number 10 (Pop). It was ranked at Number 358 on Rolling Stone’s list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’. King's version was not a hit in the United Kingdom.
The version which Aretha Franklin released a cover of in 1971 outperformed the original in the charts, in which Franklin changed the lyrics slightly: from "A red rose up in Spanish Harlem" to "There's a rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem. A rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem.” Her version went to Number 1 on the ‘US Soul Chart’ for three weeks and Number 2 on the ‘Pop Chart’ for two weeks. Aretha Franklin's version earned a Gold Single for sales of over one million.
This song has been covered by numerous artists like Jay and the Americans: Cliff Richard: Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass: The Mamas and The Papas: Chet Atkins: Long John Baldry: Trini Lopez: Andy Williams: Led Zepplin, and Neil Diamond among many others.
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While I have never been to Spain, or personally had the pleasure of closely knowing a Spanish woman, it has always remained a great country in my mind. Any introduction to the many cultural assets that Spain has produced over the centuries, will include the important thinkers, artists, authors, and champions in most sporting fields.
Never having once been to Spain, the Spain I’ve known has been discovered in books, paintings, wars and the arena of politics and sport. I have long held artistic appreciation of their great artists, Pablo Picasso, Goya and Velaquez, but have never quite been crazy about the works of Salvador Dali. I will never forget being enthralled in the reading of ‘Don Quixote’ or reading Ernest Hemingway’s account of the ‘Spanish Civil War’ in his novel, ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. Show me the golfer who can possibly forget the marvellous wins of Seve Ballesteros on the links, or the tennis fan who can but marvel at the grace and swiftness of Rafael Nadal on the tennis courts of the world.
As a lifelong student of British, European and American History and an avid reader of the history of these great countries, I present you a brief and potted history of this wonderful Mediterranean country.
1492 marks the beginning of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ when Spain started expanding into the ‘New World’. The Kingdoms of Spain were united under Habsburg rule in 1516, unifying the ‘Crown of Castile’, the ‘Crown of Aragon’ and smaller kingdoms under one rule. During this period, Spain was involved in all major European wars, including the ‘Italian Wars’, the ‘Eighty Year’ War’, the ‘Thirty Year’s War’ and the ‘Franco-Spanish War’.
Until the 1650s, Habsburg Spain was among the most powerful states in the world. Over the following century, its power diminished, and it was not until 1931 when a democratic republic was proclaimed. Six years later, the country descended into the ‘Spanish Civil War’ between the Republican and National factions. The rebel victory in the conflict installed a dictatorship led by Francisco Franco, that lasted until 1975. The first post-war decade was particularly violent, autocratic, and repressive both in a political, cultural, social, and economic sense. The country experienced rapid economic growth during the 1960s and early 1970s. Only with the death of Franco in 1975 did Spain return to the monarchy; this time headed by Juan Carlos, and to democracy.
With a fresh Constitution voted in 1978, Spain entered the ‘European Economic Community’ in 1986 (transformed into the ‘European Union’ with the Maastricht Treaty of 1992), and the ‘Eurozone’ in 1999.
As great explorers in its past, one of the most popular of Spanish quotations is
‘Nunca serás capaz de cruzar el océano hasta que pierdas de vista la costa’. In English, this translates to: “You can never cross the ocean until you possess the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Love and peace Bill xxx