Los Bravos: Black is Black (1966)

 |   |  <1 min read

Los Bravos: Black is Black (1966)

People speak casually about the global village as if it had been invented by the internet, but how is this for an implosion of cultures?

This song was written by a couple of British guys, was recorded by a Spanish group who had hooked in a German singer, the song was sung in English and went into the charts in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand -- as well as various European countries.

And the reason it has appeared here now is because I heard the other day in my supermarket.

Written and sung in the Beat group style of the era, it was a minor classic and -- rather surprisingly -- not the last we heard of Los Bravos who could have been a one-hit wonder as so many were.

They were a two-and-a-bit hit wonder with their follow-up I Don't Care, then reaching the lower rungs of attention with Bring A Little Lovin' (which, with horns, sounded more like Edison Lighthouse than their original guitar/organ-based sound).

They didn't last long -- although two years was a long time in the Sixties for some bands -- and the reason they make it out of the vaults is this deserves to be better than the background noise while you are buying veggies.

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Lula Reed: I'll Drown in my Tears (1952)

Lula Reed: I'll Drown in my Tears (1952)

Although Ray Charles took a version of this soul classic to the top of the charts in 1956, this earlier version by Lula Reed (1921-2008) is the one to return to. A sassy and soulful r'n'b... > Read more

Stan Freberg: The Old Payola Roll Blues (1960)

Stan Freberg: The Old Payola Roll Blues (1960)

While British commentators congratulate their culture on its history of comedy and satire (Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, David Frost, Peter Cook, Monty Python et al) they conspiciously fail to... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Tinsley Ellis: Winning Hand (Alligator/Southbound)

Tinsley Ellis: Winning Hand (Alligator/Southbound)

The remarkable thing about Chicago's Alligator label – and singer-guitarist Ellis who started his career on it three decades ago – is just how consistent the quality of their... > Read more

Stephan Micus: Panagia (ECM/Ode)

Stephan Micus: Panagia (ECM/Ode)

In a previous profile of the German-born musician Stephan Micus (here), I noted that his musical journey has run parallel to a deeply spiritual one and this album -- his 20th for ECM, settings of... > Read more