There were no less than five hit versions of April in Portugal in 1953, including orchestral recordings by Les Baxter (the most popular), Richard Hayman and Freddy Martin and vocal renditions by Vic Damone and Tony Martin.
The song had begun life in 1947 as a Portuguese song called Coimbra, to which songwriter Jimmy Kennedy later added English lyrics.
Enoch Light recorded April in Portugal for his 1961 Command album Provocative Percussion, Vol. III and again in 1966 for the first release on his Project 3 label, Patterns in Sound, Vol. 1. (For more on Light and his labels Command and Project 3, click HERE and HERE.) Both versions turned up on several Light compilations over the years, with the Project 3 recording included on The Many Moods of Enoch Light, a vinyl box set from the direct mail company Longines Symphonette.
The audio for the track below is sourced from the Longines box.
April in Portugal
Both the Command and Project 3 versions of April in Portugal are available in the U.K. as downloads from iTunes on a compilation called Patterns in Sound. This collection apparently isn't available in North America. However, downloaders in the U.S. and Canada can choose from a wide range of Light's recordings, but not including either version of April in Portugal.
And for those of you who like pretty pictures with your Enoch Light, here's Charlie Barnet's hit Cherokee, taken from Light's 1971 Project 3 LP Big Band Hits of the 30s and 40s.
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