When a Child Is Born

"When a Child Is Born" is a popular Christmas song. The original melody was "Soleado", a tune from 1974 by Ciro Dammicco (alias Zacar), composer for Italy's Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble, and Dario Baldan Bembo. The tune was based on Damicco's earlier tune "Le rose blu" published in 1972. The English lyrics were written a few years later by Fred Jay (Friedrich Alex Jacobson IPI number 00015195204, who wrote many hits for Boney M such as Rasputin and Ma Baker). They do not make specific mention of Christmas. Fred Jay's lyrics have been sung by many artists, first version by Michael Holm in 1974 but most successfully by Johnny Mathis in 1976, whose version was the Christmas number one of that year in the UK.

Performances

"Soleado" is used in the 1975 Argentinean film Nazareno Cruz y el lobo (The Love of the Wolf) and, credited as "Theme From the Motion Picture 'The Love of the Wolf'" on Mathis's album Johnny Mathis Sings the Movie Greats (CBS).

Johnny Mathis version
"When A Child Is Born"
Single by Johnny Mathis
from the album I Only Have Eyes for You
A-side"When A Child Is Born (Soleado)"
B-side"Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)"
ReleasedNovember 1976
Recorded1976
GenreEasy listening popular Christmas song
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Ciro Dammicco, Dario Baldan Bembo (music)
Producer(s)Jack Gold

The best known version of the song is perhaps the Jack Gold version for Johnny Mathis. Entitled "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" with B-side as "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)." It became Johnny Mathis' sole number one single in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in December 1976, including the coveted Christmas number one slot, and selling 885,000 copies.[1] In the US, it appeared in the Record World survey in both the Christmas seasons of 1976 and 1977, reaching a maximum position of No. 123, and racking up 10 chart weeks. In addition, Mathis re-recorded the song as a duet with Gladys Knight and the Pips. This version reached Record World No. 137 during the Christmas season of 1980, and the UK Singles Chart at No. 79.

Language versions
  • The same melody was used with German lyrics by Michael Holm in "Tränen lügen nicht" (translation: Tears Don't Lie) in 1974. In German, the song is unrelated to Christmas. The singer asks a guy to reconsider breaking up with his girl because her tears don't lie. Holm recorded a new version of "Tränen lugen nicht" for the international market, with new lyrics in English by Fred Jay, "When A Child Is Born". That version was a minor hit in the US, reaching #53 on Billboard's Hot 100,[2] #7 on Billboard's Easy Listening Top 50.[3] The tune was used for Mark 'Oh's 1995 dance hit, also called "Tears Don't Lie".

Hong Kong singer Liza Wang recorded a Cantonese version: Faded Spring, Broken Dream in 1978.

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 334–5. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 391.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 117.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.