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Pretty Flamingo

"Pretty Flamingo"
Manfred man pretty flamingo.jpg
HMV POP 1523 picture sleeve
Single by Manfred Mann
B-side "You're Standing By"
Released 15 April 1966 (1966-04-15)
Format 7" 45 RPM
Recorded 1966 at EMI Studios in Abbey Road, London, England
Genre Rock
Length 2:31
Label His Master's Voice POP 1523
Writer(s) Mark Barkan
Producer(s) John Burgess
Manfred Mann singles chronology
"If You Gotta Go, Go Now"
(1965)
"Pretty Flamingo"
(1966)
"You Gave Me Somebody to Love"
(1966)

"Pretty Flamingo" is a song written by Mark Barkan, which became a hit in 1966 when Manfred Mann's recording of it was released as a single. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 5 May 1966. Manfred Mann's recording was a minor hit in the United States where it spent eight weeks on Billboard 's Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 29 during the week of August 6, 1966. It was also successful in Ireland, and was number one there for four weeks, keeping the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" at number two.

The speaker describes a woman—whom "all of the guys call [...] 'Flamingo', 'cause her hair glows like the sun and her eyes can light the sky"—for whom the singer has fallen, and his plans to win her affection.

The recording features future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965. The original demo of the song was recorded by noted New York City vocalist Jimmy Radcliffe stylized for The Drifters, but songwriter Mark Barkan was dissatisfied with the overly produced results and had Radcliffe recut the song with a pared-down arrangement.



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Wikipedia

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