"My Kind of Girl" is a 1961 song originally released by

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

. Monro's version reached number 5 on the UK's ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The title ...

'' chart, while a version by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

reached number 35 the following year.

Original version

"My Kind of Girl" was first released by

, and was written by

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films ''Do ...

. In February 1961, the British music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' reported that Monro had won

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's ''A Song for Britain'' with "My Kind of Girl"; however, according to his daughter Michele's autobiography ''Matt Monro: The Singer's Singer'', Monro came second in this, although the song would later win an

Ivor Novello award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for "The Most Performed Work of the Year". Shortly after the result was announced, Monro,

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

and

Johnnie Spence Johnnie Spence, born John Spence Abrahams (4 February 1936 – 15 August 1977),Johnnie Spence
, ...

sped into the studio to record the song but had to record the song's B-side, "This Time", beforehand since Spence had left it until late to hand Vic Fraser the score for the record and the copyist had not finished copying the parts for the orchestra.Monro, Michele (2012)
Matt Monro: The Singer's Singer
',

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

. pp. 224-225. Retrieved 13 March 2018. The song spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 18, making Monro the first British artist to reach the US top 20 since

Laurie London Laurie London (born 19 January 1944) is an English singer, who achieved fame as a boy singer of the 1950s, for both his gospel and novelty songs recording in both English and German. He is best known for his hit single of the spiritual song "He's ...

did so with " He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)" in 1958. The song also spent 12 weeks on the UK's ''Record Retailer'' chart, reaching No. 5 and becoming Monro's second entry on that chart, while reaching No. 6 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. The song was ranked No. 84 on ''

''s end of year " Hot 100 for 1961 - Top Sides of the Year".

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and fr ...

, who took Monro's first entry on to the American charts, nearly recorded this record as the follow-up but decided not to use a second one of Monro's records. Both records were awarded a gold disc. "My Kind of Girl" also lent its name to an album of the same name, also released in 1961.

Cover versions

covered the song for his 1962 album '' Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First''. This version was released as a single, and spent six weeks on the UK's ''Record Retailer'' chart, reaching No. 35. To commemorate what would have been Sinatra's hundredth birthday,

The Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

compiled a list of the top forty highest selling records by Sinatra; "My Kind of Girl" came in at number 38.

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

sang the song on his show "

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...

". He also included the song as part of his set at the Lake Tahoe performance on July 27, 1962 in California.

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

released a version of the song on his 1964 album '' Sammy Davis Jr. Salutes the Stars of the London Palladium''.

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

, Tom Jones,

John Gary John Gary (born John Gary Strader; November 29, 1932 – January 4, 1998) was an American singer, recording artist, television host, and performer on the musical stage. Early life From Watertown, New York, Gary started singing at the age of 5. ...

and

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. In the fal ...

also recorded the song.

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

sang a cover as background music to the advert for his fragrance, "By Invitation". Bublé's version appeared on his 2016 album '' Nobody but Me''.

References

{{authority control 1961 songs 1961 singles Matt Monro songs Frank Sinatra songs Nat King Cole songs Ivor Novello Award winners Songs written by Leslie Bricusse