Элоиза: История одной песни (1968)

1968 single by Barry Ryan

"Eloise" is a song first released in 1968 on the MGM label. It was sung by Barry Ryan, and written by his twin brother Paul Ryan. Running for over five minutes, it features strong orchestration, melodramatic vocals, and a brief slow interlude. It sold three million copies worldwide, and reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart as published by Record Retailer, but hit No. 1 in the NME and Melody Maker charts. It topped the chart in 17 countries, the Netherlands and Australia. The single was released as "Barry Ryan with the Majority". The Majority were a pop band, who for a period, were the backing band for Ryan and who, after renaming to Majority One, had some success in Europe. Ryan also released an Italian language version of the song, "Eloise (Versione Italiana)", in 1968.

After not being able to cope with the success of some of his hits as a duo with Barry, Paul decided to take a step away from the limelight and to concentrate on songwriting. "Eloise" was the second song he wrote and was influenced by Richard Harris's arrangement of "MacArthur Park" after listening to a rough mix of it at a party at Harris's house. After listening to it, Paul locked himself away and wrote "Eloise" in three days. The song was then recorded at IBC Studios at the end of a recording session with their mother Marion and they had only two takes to do it due to the length of the song. The session musicians included Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, both of whom went on to form Led Zeppelin, and Glenn Ross Campbell. Everyone then wanted to go to the mixing desk to listen to the result because it was so unusual and they said it was going to be a big hit.

Spanish musician Tino Casal recorded a techno pop version in 1987 for his album Lágrimas de Cocodrilo and it was released as the first single from the album in 1988. "Eloise" was one of his biggest hits, managing to be number one for several weeks in Spain and reaching number one on Los 40 Principales in June 1988 After a long convalescence after having suffered necrosis in both legs due to a badly treated sprain resorting to self medication, Casal's friend, the announcer and producer Julián Ruiz, suggested that he record "Eloise" to return to the stage. Over time this song has become a classic of Spanish pop and one of Casal's most remembered songs. The vocals for this song took a week to record in Studio 1 of Abbey Road with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Powell. as well as the costumes for the recording of the videoclip, an aquamarine blue sequin suit. After the success of the song, Tino Casal recorded an extended version of the song at the Eurosonic Studio.