Song:Black Is Black
Album:The British Invasion: History Of British Rock Vol. 7
Los Bravos lead singer Mike Kogel sounded so much like Gene Pitney that Black Is Black reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. Kogel is from Germany and was lead singer of Mike and the Runaways. The other members of Los Bravos were from a Spanish group called Los Sonor. They were Antonio Martinez on guitar, Manuel Fernandez on organ, Miguel Vincens Danus on bass and Pablo Gomez on drums. Los Bravos signed with the Spanish division of Decca Records and wanted to record in English. Decca sent them to England to work with Philips Records producer Ivor Raymonde. He had success with Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Dave Berry and would go on to produce Dusty Springfield. Black Is Black was the result and was a worldwide hit and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Los Bravos charted one more time in the US but had most of their success in Europe including appearing in films in Spain. This various artists comp is part of a series from Rhino. And though Los Bravos isn't British, Black Is Black is a British production. Antonio Martinez died in 1967 but Los Bravos continued to tour in Europe. They would be considered a one hit wonder here. But it's a memorable song. Here's Los Bravos performing Black Is Black in one of those Spanish films they made in 1967.
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