"Soleado" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: "Sunny") is a mainly instrumental piece of music composed by Ciro Dammicco under the alias "Zacar", based on his earlier composition "Le rose blu" (1972). The song was recorded in 1974 by Dammico's band, the

Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble was an Italian pop group formed in 1974. Their first single " Soleado", a semi-instrumental track written by lead singer Ciro Dammicco and Dario Baldan Bembo, sold over five million copies in Europe, giving the band inte ...

, and presented at that year's edition of

Festivalbar The Festivalbar () was an Italian singing competition that took place in the most important Italian squares during summer, such as the Piazza del Duomo, Catania or Piazza Bra, Verona. The first edition took place in 1964 and was broadcast by ...

. It became an instant hit, selling over five million copies in Europe.

Cover versions

Following the success of ''Soleado'', many artists went on to cover the song adding lyrics. In 1974 Spanish actor and singer Manolo Otero recited a poem, ''Todo el tiempo del mundo'' (All the Time in the World), with the tune in the background. The first version with proper lyrics was ''Tränen lügen nicht'' (Tears don't lie) by

Michael Holm Michael Holm (born Lothar Walter; on 29 July 1943) is a German singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is primarily known as a singer of Schlager music. Although his first appearance in the hit parade was in 1962 ("Lauter schöne ...

in 1974, which topped the charts in Germany and became a Top 10 hit in Austria and Switzerland. Holm also recorded an English version of the song, ''When a child is born'', which was number 53 on the Billboard chart. In 1975, Neşe Karaböcek included a cover in Turkish named ''Gözyaşları Yalan Söylemez'' (Tears Don't Lie) on her album ''Deli Gibi Sevdim''.

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

recorded a version in French, ''On ne vit pas sans se dire adieu'' (We do not live without saying goodbye). The second English lyric version ''There comes the day'' was recorded and released on single by

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

. The Czech singer Karel Gott released a version called ''Měl jsem rád a mám'' (I loved and I still do).

's version with English lyrics, ''When a Child Is Born'', was also recorded by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

, and was the Christmas number one hit in the UK in 1976. Also in Britain that same year St Andrew's Chorale released a non-lyriced version under the title Cloud 99 on

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 ...

, which reached number 31 in the UK charts. In addition that year, the Slovak singer

Karol Konárik Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India ** Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town * Karol Bagh, neighbourhood of Central Delhi, Delhi, India ** ...

recorded a version called ''Rozchod'' (Farewell) with lyrics by Ľuboš Zeman. In Hungary Cserháti Zsuzsa did a cover of the song in 1978 entitled "Édes kisfiam" (My sweet little son). Mari Trini recorded a Spanish version, ''Te amaré, te amo y te querré'' (I will love you, I love you and I will) in 1981. The Polish pop band

Bayer Full Bayer Full is one of the most popular disco polo bands from Poland. It was founded in 1984 by . As of 2013, they have sold 16.5 million records since their inception. Meaning of the name The name of the group is slang expression and could be tra ...

recorded the song as ''Blondyneczka'' (Little Blonde One) in 1992. In 2008 the Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese performed a version of the song with the lyrics "Buon anno nuovo" ( Happy New Year) during a New Year's Eve concert. In 1994, German disc jockey Mark 'Oh scored a hit in the German charts with a dance rendition of Holm's version.

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizin ...

Santo & Johnny Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descent from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) and Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941). They are known best for their instrum ...

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

and other artists recorded instrumental versions.

References

Santo & Johnny songs 1974 songs 1974 debut singles Number-one singles in Italy Rock instrumentals Easy listening songs {{1970s-song-stub