Lady of Spain (song)

"Lady of Spain" is a popular song written in 1931 by Tolchard Evans with lyrics by Erell Reaves. The accordion version was by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell, retaining Reaves' lyrics.

The song is often played on the accordion. Starting in 1947, Dick Contino popularized the song in a Horace Heidt–Philip Morris series of talent contests. This was the theme song of Myron Floren, the accordionist on The Lawrence Welk Show.

The earliest recordings of this song are sung by Al Bowlly, recorded in 1931 (the year the song was written). He made recordings with Ray Noble's and Roy Fox's orchestras. A recording by Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra was made at Manhattan Center, New York City, on July 18, 1952. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4953 (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10362.

The song has also been covered by Bing Crosby and as a guitar instrumental with Les Paul on Capitol Records.

Accordionist and composer William Schimmel performs his own concert version (Reality) of Lady of Spain with a series of far-fetched variations on his solo CD: Lady of Spain and other Realities (Newport Classic Records)

The song was also featured in the TV version of Jeeves and Wooster as one of the few songs that the band that some of the members of the Drones Club actually know. They went on to perform this in several locations as black faced minstrels; in one scene, Hugh Laurie (as Bertie Wooster, hiding from the father of an erstwhile fiancé), performed as their vocalist.

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