I Only Have Eyes for You

"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by thousands of musicians. Successful recordings of the song have been made by Ben Selvin (in 1934), The Flamingos (in 1959), The Lettermen (in 1966) and Art Garfunkel (in 1975), among others.

Notable recordings

Charting versions

The song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934.[1] The orchestras of Eddie Duchin and Anson Weeks also figured in the song's 1934 popularity.

The vocal group The Lettermen released a version in 1966 that charted in the United States and Canada, and reached #4 on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart.

The Flamingos version

"I Only Have Eyes for You"
Single by The Flamingos
from the album Flamingo Serenade
Released 1959
Format 7" single
Genre
Length 3:20
Label End
Writer(s) Harry Warren, Al Dubin

This song was included on The Flamingos' debut album Flamingo Serenade. The version by the Flamingos features a prominent reverb effect, creating a dreamy ambience. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the R&B charts.[2] Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos' version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Art Garfunkel version

"I Only Have Eyes for You"
Single by Art Garfunkel
B-side "Looking For the Right One"
Released 1975
Genre Soft rock
Length 3:30
Writer(s) Harry Warren, Al Dubin
Producer(s) Richard Perry
Art Garfunkel singles chronology
"Second Avenue"
(1974)		 "I Only Have Eyes for You"
(1975)		 "Break Away"
(1975)

A recording of the song by Art Garfunkel was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks.[3] The song was his first hit as a solo artist in the UK. In the US, the song reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the adult contemporary chart.[4] The B-side of the single release was "Looking For the Right One," a song written by Stephen Bishop. Garfunkel performed "I Only Have Eyes for You" on the second episode of Saturday Night Live.

Other recordings

In addition to the above artists, these notable artists have also covered this song:

Live covers

Samples

In film and television

The song was sung in the 1935 film The Woman in Red, produced by Warner Bros., starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gene Raymond. It was also used in the 1950 film Tea for Two, sung by Gordon MacRae.

The Flamingos' version was included on the soundtracks for the 1973 film American Graffiti, 1983 films The Right Stuff and Heart Like a Wheel, the 1991 film My Girl, the 1993 Robert De Niro film A Bronx Tale and the 2003 movie Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Grace (Nicole Kidman) also sings a portion of the song to Charles (Christopher Eccleston) in the 2001 film The Others. The trailer of The Grudge 2 also briefly features the song. In the 2001 sci-fi movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Gigolo Joe, a lover robot, has this song built into him, and he can play it by a tilt of his head. He plays it to seduce women.

On television, it was used as a recurring theme in a Tex Avery-directed Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same title, in a scene in the 1989 episode of The Wonder Years, "How I'm Spending My Summer Vacation", and in a 1998 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer involving two ghosts from the 1950s borrowing its title from the song and features excerpts of it in several scenes. Disney also featured a music video of the song in the special DTV Doggone Valentine set to clips from Lady and the Tramp. Most recently, the song has been used in episodes of the supernatural drama TV series 666 Park Avenue and in 2013 was featured in the series Glee. It was also featured in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Lifesigns".[5] In 2014 this song appeared in the horror movie Annabelle.

Other uses

The song was included in the 1980 revival of the musical 42nd Street.

This song makes an appearance twice in the game The Darkness 2, when Jackie Estacado dances with his love Jenny.

A 35-minute version of the song alternately featuring Beck, Devendra Banhart, No Age, Tilda Swinton, and other artists formed the audio portion of Doug Aitken's installation Song \ 1 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. from March 22 to May 20, 2012.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Billboard magazine
  2. ↑ Jason Ankeny. "The Flamingos | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  3. ↑ "i+only+have+eyes+for+you | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 99.
  5. ↑ Star Trek: Voyager Season 2: Ep.19

Sources

External links

Preceded by
"Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" by Helen Reddy		 Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Art Garfunkel version)
October 11, 1975 		Succeeded by
"Something Better to Do" by Olivia Newton-John
Preceded by
"Hold Me Close" by David Essex		 UK number-one single (Art Garfunkel version)
25 October 1975 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Space Oddity" by David Bowie
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