199 Goodbye Al Martino - Spanish Eyes

Chart  entered : 22  August  1970

Chart  peak : 49  (  5  on  reissue  in  1973 )

So  now  the  original  chart  champ  bows  out. Al  had  looked  to  have  shot  his  bolt  in  1955  when  his  version  of  "The  Man  From  Laramie"  was  trounced  by  Jimmy  Young's  but  two  very  minor  hits  in  1960  and  1963  extended  his  run  ( and  get  him  over  the  line  for  here ). The  seven  years  that  then  elapsed  to  this  one  were  possibly  a  ( soon-to-be-broken ) record   at  the  time. In  the  American  charts  it  was  a  different  story  and  he  had  hits  throughout  the  sixties  although  they  were  getting  smaller  towards  the  end  of  the  decade.

"Spanish  Eyes"  was  actually  released  in  1966  and  was  a  number  15  hit  in  the  US at  the  time  . Why  it  took  five  years  to  cross  the  ocean  I  don't  know . Perhaps  exposure  to  Deep  Purple  and  the  even  more  terrifying  hairies  who  come  up  next  sent  mums  and  grans  to  the  shops  for  something  reassuring.  I  suspect  its  resurgence  in  1973  might  have  had  something  to  do  with  him  appearing  in  The  Godfather.  It's  a  poignant  one  for  me  because  when  it  appeared  in  the  charts  in  '73  my  mum  took  pains  to  explain  to  me  how  dead  people  could  have  hit  records. I  don't  know  who  she  was  confusing  him  with  because,  not  only  was  Al  very  much  not  dead  at  the  time,  he  actually  outlasted  her  by  seven  and  a  half  years.

The  song  started  out  as  an  instrumental  by  easy-listening  colossus  Bert  Kaempfert   called  "Moon  Over  Naples". The  English  lyrics  Al  used  were  written  by  Eddie  Snyder. It  became  an  easy-listening  standard  at  once ;  Andy  Williams, Elvis  ( sad to  say )  and  Engelbert  recorded  it  shortly afterwards.  Al  acknowledges  the  passage  of  time  with  a  mid-Sixties  pop  production  and Kaempfert's  mild  melody  allows  him  little  scope  for  the  semi-operatic  bawling  that  makes  his  debut  hit  so  indigestible.It  says  nothing  about  1970  except  the  point  made  earlier   but  it  was  a  graceful  way  to  go.

Al   followed  it  up  with  the  single  "I  Love  You  And  You  Love  Me"  in   November  1973  which  sounds  very  similar, just  slowed  down  a  bit . Then  in  April  1974  it  was  a  version  of  The  Carpenters' "I Won't  Last  A  Day  Without  You" , a  song  which  does  lend  itself  to  an  older  person's  interpretation  and  Al  does  it full  justice. after  a  re-release  of  "Here  In  My  Heart" . In  1975  he   covered  the  1964  Eurovision  winner  Gigliola  Cinquenti's  "To The  Door  Of  The  Sun"  half  in  English  , half  in  Italian  giving  him  his  biggest  hit  in  the  US  for years. I  find  it  quite  bizarre; Peter  Matz's arrangement  with  its  ominous  bassline  during  the  verses  sounds  like  a  Bond  theme  up  to  the   chorus  when  it  descends  into  the  usual  corn.

It  was  followed  up  by  an  horrendous  version  of  "Volare"  which  grafts  the  song  on  to  a  backing  track  that  sounds  very  similar  to  The  Hustle.  Al's  clueless  vocal  sounds  like  he  can't  believe  what  he's  doing  either.  It's  hard  to  credit  that  this  atrocity  was  a  hit  everywhere  but  here  including  getting  to  number  one  in  Italy  and  Belgium. " Sing  My  Love  Song"  the  following  year  was  a  cover  of  a  Dutch  Euro-hit  by  the  instantly  forgettable  Jackpot. Al  merely  substitutes  his  manly  tones  for  the  wimpy  original. Both  versions  sound  like  a  bad  Abba  rip-off.

In  1978  he  released  "The  Next  Hundred  Years " which  is  just  terrible; Al  sounds  like  Ron  Atkinson  tackling  a  song  the  Dooleys  would  have  rejected  as  too  saccharin. It's  staggering  that  it  got  to  49  in  the  US, his  last  hit  there. It  seems  as  though  his  last  vinyl  single  was  "Now  That  I've  Found  You" in  April  1979,  an   MOR  ballad  of  no  great  distinction   but  relatively  painless.

In   1982  he  stopped  recording  for  over  a  decade  after  the  release  of  the  album "All  Of  Me"  and  disappeared  into  private  life  until  called  back  for  a  brief  appearance  in  the  much-loved  Godfather  3.  In  1993  he  went  into  partnership  with  Dieter  Bohlen  of  eighties  Euro-horrors  Modern  Talking  for  the  album  "The Voice  To  Your  Heart"  which  could  very  well  be  the  worst  record  ever  made. "Lady  Rosalita"  sounds  like  they  exhumed  David  Whitfield  for  a  karaoke  session  with  Stock  Aitken  and  Waterman. If  that  sounds  like  your  bag  check  it  out.

There's  not  much  more  to  add. He  made  a  couple  more  acting  appearances  in  1997  and  2006. He  released  a  creaky  covers  album  "Come  Share  The  Wine"  in 2006. He  looked   in  good  shape  in  TV  appearances  and  sounded  in  decent  voice  promoting  it  at  79  but  three  years  later  he  died  at  home  in  California.