"Ciao Baby" is a song written by

Larry Weiss Laurence D. "Larry" Weiss (born March 25, 1941) is an American songwriter and musician. He wrote "Rhinestone Cowboy", a US no.1 hit for Glen Campbell in 1975; and co-wrote "Bend Me, Shape Me", "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and several other international ...

and

Scott English Sheldon David "Scott" English (January 10, 1937 – November 16, 2018) was an American songwriter, arranger and record producer. He is best known as the co-writer of "Brandy" which he wrote with Richard Kerr. This song became a No. 1 hit fo ...

, and recorded by several artists. It was most successful in Australia and New Zealand, where a prominent local artist in each country released a hit version.

Toys version

The original release of "Ciao Baby" was on a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by American female vocal group

the Toys The Toys were an American pop girl group from Jamaica, New York, which was formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1968. Their most successful recording was "A Lover's Concerto" (1965), which sold more than two million copies and reached the number-tw ...

in February 1967, followed soon after on singles by

the Montanas The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock musical ensemble, band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States. The group formed in 1964 ...

and by

Lynne Randell Lynne Randell (born Lynne Randall, 14 December 1949 – 8 June 2007) was an English Australian pop singer. For three years in the mid-1960s, she was Australia's most popular female performer and had hits with "Heart" and "Goin' Out of My Head" in ...

, both in March 1967.

Montanas version

The release by English band

was produced by the notable British composer, arranger and producer

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

. According to British music magazine ''Record Mirror'', 10,000 copies of the single sold in the United Kingdom, not enough to register on the unofficial British charts then in use. It was heard on Radio London, a

pirate radio station Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

where it was highlighted as a "climber" or predicted hit by disc jockey

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. It appeared once on Radio London's playlist chart The Fab 40, at number 31 on 19 March 1967, alongside the original version by the Toys. The Montanas' version fared better in Australia, where it co-charted with Lynne Randell's version in three capital cities.

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

reissued the song in April 1969 with a different

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

Lynne Randell version

was an Australian singer, but the song was recorded in New York, produced by Ted Cooper and arranged and conducted by notable American producer-arranger-conductor

Herb Bernstein Herb Bernstein is an American record producer, composer, arranger, and conductor. Professional life Herb Bernstein arranged and produced records in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s for Laura Nyro, John Denver, Joel Grey, The Four Seasons, Bob Dylan, ...

. It was released in the United States on an Epic single in March 1967. The Australian release on CBS in April was a Top 10 single in the country overall. See: Lynne Randell:Charted Singles

Craig Scott version

In 1971, a local version by Craig Scott charted at number 4 in New Zealand.Charts compiled by Dean Scapolo in ''New Zealand Music Charts 1966 to 1996: Singles'' (1997), Wellington, IPL Books, pp 225-6

Other versions

*The Eternal Flame (USA, not the Dutch hard rock band) *Ray Rivera And Orchestra *Group Check *Lena Junoff *Nola York * Gunter Gabriel *

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

Catherine McKinnon Catherine McKinnon (born May 14, 1944) is a Canadian actress and folk/pop singer. Early life and education Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, McKinnon began as a child performer, making her debut radio broadcast at age eight and her television ...

*Lello Tartarino *Alfredo Malabello *

Emma Birdsall Emma Birdsall (born 21 January 1992) is an Australian singer-songwriter from Sydney. She was a participant in the first season of ''The Voice'', and placed in the top 16. Since then she has signed with Island Records Australia under the Univers ...

in ''Love Child''

References

{{reflist, 30em 1967 songs 1967 singles Songs written by Scott English Songs written by Larry Weiss