A Media Luz

"Tell Me Marianne" is a 1947 English lyric adaptation of "". Originally a 1924

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

Edgardo Donato Edgardo Donato (; April 14, 1897 – February 15, 1963) was a tango composer and orchestra leader, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, raised from a young age and musically trained in Montevideo, Uruguay. External links *Donato notes at Totango.net

which became a standard, the English lyrics and verse melody were written by
Bob Musel Robert Saul Musel (13 August 1909 – 8 September 1999), sometimes credited as Bob Musel, was an American journalist and lyricist, who was based in London for much of his life. As well as covering European stories for the United Press news a ...
. It spent a week at number 1 on the British sheet music charts in June 1947. The melody was also adapted by
Dorcas Cochran Dorcas Cochran (c. 1903 – July 6, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. She is also referenced by her married name, Dorcas Cochran Jewell. Biography As a lyricist, her best-known song was "Again," which had multiple recorded vers ...
as "When I Look Into Your Eyes", a 1952 song recorded by
Champ Butler Champ Clark Butler (December 21, 1926 – March 8, 1992) was an American popular music singer who had several ''Billboard'' singles chart hits in the 1950s, and recorded primarily for Columbia Records.Original data: Social Security Application ...
.

Background
For the original 1924 version of "A media luz" (translated as "In the Dimmed Light"), the Spanish lyrics were written by ; it is considered to be a representative popular tango of that decade. "Tell Me Marianne" was published in 1947, with the sheet music cover describing it as "an adaptation of the world-famous melody 'A media luz.

Chart performance
"Tell Me Marianne" first entered the sheet music charts for the week ending 26 April 1947. It dropped out the following week, and re-entered on 10 May, before reaching number 1 for a week on 26 June. It spent a total of 17 weeks on the chart. No recordings of the song entered the US ''Billboard''
Best Sellers in Stores The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in ...
chart.

Recordings
When "Tell Me Marianne" first entered the charts in April 1947, two older recordings of "A media luz" were still available, by
Victor Silvester Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 190014 August 1978) was an English dancer, writer, musician and bandleader from the British dance band era. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first hal ...
and his Ballroom Orchestra (1941) and
Stanley Black Stanley Black OBE (14 June 1913 – 27 November 2002) was an English bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores, recording prolifically for the Decca label (including their subsidiaries ''Lond ...
and his Orchestra (1946). When "Tell Me Marianne" reached the top of the sheet music charts in June, there were two versions of "Tell Me Marianne" available, both of which were issued that month. These were by vocalist Monte Rey, and
Mantovani Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' stat ...
and his Orchestra (with vocals by Val Merrall). The following month saw versions released by
Joe Loss Sir Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss (22 June 1909 – 6 June 1990) was a British dance band leader and musician who founded his own eponymous orchestra. Life Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israe ...
and his Orchestra (vocals by Don Rivers), and Rita Williams. A non-vocal version by Loss was subsequently issued in 1950. In the early 1950s, Mantovani recorded "A media luz" as an instrumental for ''An Album of Favourite Tangos''. It was released as a single in America in 1953. A version of the song by
Jean Sablon Jean Sablon (Nogent-sur-Marne 25 March 1906 – Cannes 24 February 1994) was a French singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He was one of the first French singers to immerse himself in jazz. The man behind several songs by big French and Amer ...
with
Toots Camarata Salvador "Tutti" Camarata (May 11, 1913 – April 13, 2005) was an American composer, arranger, trumpeter, and record producer. Also known as "Toots" Camarata. Early life and career Camarata, born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, United States, and s ...
and his Orchestra was released in America in September 1948 by
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
.

References
{{Reflist 1947 songs Tangos 1924 songs