The Young New Mexican Puppeteer

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"The Young New Mexican Puppeteer"
Single by Tom Jones
from the album Close Up
B-side "All That I Need Is Some Time"
ReleasedMarch 1972
Label Decca
Songwriter(s) Earl Shuman and Leon Carr
Producer(s) Gordon Mills
Tom Jones UKsingles chronology
"Till"
(1971)
"The Young New Mexican Puppeteer"
(1972)
"Letter to Lucille"
(1973)

"The Young New Mexican Puppeteer" is a song written by Earl Shuman and Leon Carr, [1] and released as a single by Tom Jones. The guitarist on the single is Big Jim Sullivan.

Contents

Song background

The song tells the story of a puppeteer from New Mexico, who uses puppets to encourage social and political change. The melody of the song's chorus is adapted from the score of the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio .

Chart performance

It reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart, [2] and was a minor hit in the US, peaking at #14 on the Easy Listening chart and #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 [3] in May 1972.

Cover versions

German Schlager singer Roberto Blanco released a German version of the song in 1972 with the title Der Puppenspieler von Mexiko. [4] It reached the peak position 49 in the German charts.

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References

  1. "THE YOUNG NEW MEXICAN PUPPETEER - Lyrics - International Lyrics Playground".
  2. "Tom Jones | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 131.
  4. Roberto Blanco - Der Puppenspieler von Mexico , retrieved 2024-10-07