Nilo Menéndez Barnet (26 September 1902 – 15 September 1987) was a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n-born naturalized American songwriter. Born in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

in 1902, Menéndez came to the United States in 1924 when he was 22. He wrote his best known song " Aquellos Ojos Verdes" in 1929 and was recorded several times by Latin artists and translated into English in 1931. The song became a major hit when

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

recorded it as "Green Eyes" around 1941.Nilo Menendez, Composer of 'Green Eyes,' Dies at 84
September 25, 1987 "Menendez came to the United States in 1924 and wrote "Green Eyes" ("Aquellos Ojos Verdes") in 1929. Although it had been recorded on other labels, it was not until the Jimmy Dorsey band recorded it in about 1942 that it became a longtime resident of the Hit Parade." Menéndez died in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

in 1987.

References

1902 births 1987 deaths 20th-century composers Cuban emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States {{Cuba-composer-stub