Black Is Black

" Black Is Black" is a song by  rock band  Los Bravos, released in 1966 as the group's debut single for  Decca Records. Produced by  Ivor Raymonde, the song reached number two in the UK, [1] number four in the U.S., [2]  and number one in Canada. [3]  With the song's success, Los Bravos became the first  Spanish rock band to have an international  hit single. [4]  A dance  remix<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:19.1875px;"> of the song was released as a single in 1986.

==Background<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> == <p style="line-height:1.5em;">Four members of Los Bravos—bassist Miguel Vicens Danus, guitarist Tony Martinez, organist Manuel Fernandez, and drummer Pablo Sanllehi—had previously worked together in the Spanish band Los Sonors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-losbravosbio_5-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  Together with German-born singer Michael Kogel, the group set out to achieve success in the European market making English-language pop music.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-losbravosbio_5-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-losbravosbio_5-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5]  "Black Is Black" was released in 1966 as the band's first Decca single.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-losbravosbio_5-3" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[5] ==Reception<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> == <p style="line-height:1.5em;">Lead singer Mike Kogel's vocals sounded so similar to Gene Pitney that many listeners assumed that "Black Is Black" was a Pitney single.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[6] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  In August 1966, the song debuted at number 100 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]  It peaked at number four in October,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  and spent 12 weeks on the chart.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-uschart_2-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]  The song reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rpm_3-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3] and peaked at number two in the UK.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ukchart_1-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1]  The single also sold two million copies in Spain.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, American media conglomerate company Clear Channel Communications distributed the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum to program directors at the more than 1000 radio stations the company owned.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-clearchannel_11-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  The memo contained a list of 162 songs with "questionable lyrics" that the stations should avoid playing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-clearchannel_11-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  "Black Is Black" was among the songs on the list.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-clearchannel_11-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11] ==Other versions<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> == <p style="line-height:1.5em;">A French version of the song, entitled "Noir c'est noir," was recorded by Johnny Hallyday and held the number one spot on France's singles chart for seven weeks in the fall of 1966.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  The song was covered by French vocal trio La Belle Epoque and released as a 1976 single,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  which peaked at number two in the UK,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  and reached number one in Australia the following year.Australian-American singer Rick Springfield performed a version of the song on his 1982 album, Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15]  The track was also recorded in the same year (1976) in France by Cerrone and appeared on the B side of his solo Disco hit 'Love in C Minor'.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16]  In 1986, a dance remix of the original "Black Is Black" by Los Bravos was released as a single.Europop band Joy released their version of the song as a 1987 single. In 1996, the song was covered by the Spanish pop/rock band La Unión on the album Hiperespacio. ==Track listing<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> == ==Chart performance<span class="mw-editsection mw-editsection-expanded" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;direction:ltr;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:-0.25em;margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);"> ==
 * 1) "Black Is Black" (Grainger, Hayes, Wadey) – 2:55
 * 2) "I Want a Name" (Diaz, Raymonde) – 2:38