You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (April 2022)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at [[:es:Black Is Black]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Black Is Black}} to the talk page.
"Black Is Black" is a song by the Spanish rock bandLos Bravos,released in 1966 as the group's debut single for Decca Records. Produced by Ivor Raymonde,it reached number two in the UK,[2] number four in the US,[3] and number one in Canada.[4] With the recording's success,Los Bravos became the first Spanish rock band to have an international hit single.[5] A dance remix was released as a single in 1986.
Four members of Los Bravos —bassist Miguel Vicens Danus,guitarist Tony Martinez,organist Manuel Fernández,and drummer Pablo Sanllehi —had previously worked together in the Spanish band Los Sonors.[6] Together with German-born singer Michael Kogel (aliases:Mike Kennedy,Mike Keller),the group set out to achieve success in the European market making English-languagepop music.[6] After signing with the Spanish division of Decca Records,the band went to England to work with Ivor Raymonde,a British producer,arranger,conductor,and composer,who had been involved in making UK hit songs with such artists as Marty Wilde,Billy Fury,and Dave Berry.[6] "Black Is Black" was released in 1966 as the band's first Decca single.[6]
According to the liner notes of Black Is Black:The Anthology 1966–1969 (2017),the song features the band members in "largely token roles behind Kogel's lead vocal",as well as contributions from session musicians Vic Flick and John McLaughlin.[7]
Reception
As lead singer Kogel was not a native English speaker (he had to have the lyrics written out phonetically),his vocals had unusual intonations. By coincidence,his vocal style sounded similar to that of Gene Pitney,so much so that many listeners assumed that "Black Is Black" was actually a Pitney single.[8][9]
In August 1966,the song debuted at number 100 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[10] It peaked at number four in October,[11] and spent 12 weeks on the chart.[3] It reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart,and peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The single also sold two million copies in Spain.[12]
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Joel Whitburn's Hot Dance/Disco 1974–2003. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, United States: Billboard/Record Research. p.32. ISBN0-89820-156-X.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
