"Moon Over Naples" is a 1965 instrumental composed and recorded by German bandleader

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born ; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-kno ...

. The instrumental version reached No. 6 on ''Billboard'''s

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. It won a BMI Award in 1968. Vocal versions of the song have been recorded as "Spanish Eyes" with lyrics by Eddie Snyder and Charles Singleton. The most notable of these was released by

Al Martino Jasper Cini (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009), known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and standards singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one o ...

, which topped ''Billboard''s

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary music, adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on ...

for 4 weeks in 1966. It is one of the most recorded songs with over 500 versions released in various languages.

Background

"Moon Over Naples" was composed by

. It was the first track on his album, ''The Magic Music of Far Away Places'', for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and released as a single in 1965. In 1968, "Moon Over Naples" earned Kaempfert one of five BMI Awards that year; the other awards were for his compositions "Lady", "Sweet Maria", "

Strangers in the Night "Strangers in the Night" is a song composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Kaempfert originally used it under the title "Beddy Bye" as part of the instrumental score for the movie ''A Man Could Get ...

" and " The World We Knew (Over and Over)" with a posthumous BMI Award given September 16, 2003. Two different sets of lyrics were added to the tune by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. In one, "Moon Over Naples" was written as a Neapolitan song, and this vocal version was recorded by

Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi ( , ; born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA ...

in 1965, but the song did not chart. In another set of lyrics, the composition became a song about a Mexican woman, and the song title was changed to "Spanish Eyes". Both lyricists are credited in these two versions.

Charts

;Moon Over Naples

"Spanish Eyes"

The Austrian singer Freddy Quinn was the first artist who recorded "Spanish Eyes" in 1965 with English lyrics written by Eddie Snyder and Charles Singleton. Quinn was a friend of Kaempfert who was involved in the production of Quinn's hit song "Die Gitarre und das Meer". Quinn's recording of "Spanish Eyes" was released in the United States in 1965 by

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. However, as the single by Quinn was rising in Billboard's regional charts, it was pulled from the market due to a dispute over the rights to the song between Polydor and Kaempfert's label

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

Al Martino version

According to

, Kaempfert was interested for him to record the song, and sent him a copy of the instrumental version of "Moon Over Naples", which Martino thought had the potential to be a hit. However, Martino did not like the lyrics of a vocal version he later heard, and told Kaempfert's publisher so. Singleton and Snyder, the original lyricists, were employed to rewrite the lyrics. Martino, satisfied with the new lyrics, contacted Kaempfert to request that he come and help with the recording in New York because he liked the sound of Kaempfert's recording. Martino recorded the song as "Spanish Eyes", with Kaempfert also playing on the record. "Spanish Eyes" was released in the late 1965 in the United States, and it reached number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 401. and spent four weeks atop the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart in early 1966.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), page 41. This vocal version was also a hit in Europe, where it sold an estimated 800,000 copies in Germany. It appeared on the UK Singles Chart twice, first peaking at number 49 in 1970. Later in 1973, a deejay decided to play the song, and it received a strong response from the audience, and the song was re-released. It reached number five in August 1973.

Charts

Other versions

*As "Spanish Eyes", the song was performed by diverse artists, among them

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942), also known as Mr. Las Vegas, is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the United States from the mid-to-late 20th century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

(in his 1967 album, ''

Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released h ...

''), Earl Grant (on his ''Spanish Eyes'' album on August 1, 1967) and

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

. *A cover by

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

and

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in 1988. * Engelbert Humperdinck recorded the song for his 1968 album ''A Man Without Love''. In 2013, vocal group

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...

recorded the song together with Humperdinck. Produced by Alberto Quintero, it was included in the album ''Engelbert Calling'' released on September 30, 2014.

Other language versions

Ivo Robić Ivo Robić (28 January 1923 – 9 March 2000) was a Croatian singer-songwriter. Domestic career Robić began his career as a soloist with the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, while studying at the same time in Zagreb. He performed during World War II o ...

recorded a German version titled "Rot ist der Wein", which reached No. 14 on the West German chart in 1966. Robić also recorded a version in Serbo-Croat. * The song has been recorded in French as "Tes yeux" ( Luis Mariano), "Tous ces voyages" ( Lucky Blondo), and "Vivre au soleil" (

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( ; born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer and politician. Over the span of her career, she has released an estimated 450 albums in at least thirteen languages, including Greek language, Greek, French language, French, ...

). It was recorded as "Occhi spagnoli" in Italian, and "Spanska Ögon" in Swedish.

References

External links

Moon over Naples
original Kaempfert recording, via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Moon Over Naples Songs about Naples 1965 singles 1988 singles Songs with music by Bert Kaempfert Songs written by Eddie Snyder Songs written by Charles Singleton (songwriter) Al Martino songs Willie Nelson songs Julio Iglesias songs Charlie Rich songs Little Willie Littlefield songs Andy Williams songs Columbia Records singles 1960s instrumentals Schlager songs 1965 songs

Background

Charts

"Spanish Eyes"

Al Martino version

Charts

Other versions

Other language versions

See also

References

External links