In a Little Spanish Town

"In a Little Spanish Town" is a popular song published in 1926. The music was written by Mabel Wayne, and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young.

With Jack Fulton's vocals, the song was a 1926 hit for Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra as his recording topped the U.S. charts for eight weeks.^[1]

The song had continuing popularity for several decades and was covered in later recordings. Virginia O'Brien's recording (a zany version apparently taken from a live radio broadcast) can be found on a 1984 AEI LP, "Virginia O'Brien Salutes the Great MGM Musicals." Bing Crosby covered it as a cha-cha, which can be found on the recording "Big Hits and Highlights of 1956, vol. 7," apparently produced by Blue Orchid in 2008. Herb Alpert recorded the tune for his 1967 album, Sounds Like....

A similar melody to "In a Little Spanish Town" was used for "Why" written by Bob Marcucci (words) and Peter de Angelis and was a huge hit for Frankie Avalon in the USA and Anthony Newley in the UK in 1959. Copyright cases were launched on both sides of the Atlantic but neither succeeded. The English High Court said that there was a degree of similarity but no infringement of copyright because the plaintiffs could not prove that there was a conscious or subconscious act of copying.

References

1. CD liner notes: Chart-Toppers of the Twenties, 1998 ASV Ltd.