"Granada" is a song written in 1932 by Mexican composer Agustín Lara. The song is about the Spanish city of Granada and has become a standard in music repertoire.
The most popular versions are: the original with Spanish lyrics by Lara (often sung operatically); a version with English lyrics by Australian lyricist Dorothy Dodd; and instrumental versions in jazz, pop, easy listening, flamenco or rock styles. Other versions in English also exist (one with lyrics by Al Stewart, and one with lyrics by Robert Musel and Edward Lisbona) but these are less common. An Italian version was written in 1954 by Enzo Luigi Poletto. There are also versions in German and in other languages.
The song has been covered many times. Popular versions include those by Frankie Laine, Jorge Negrete, Mario Lanza and Frank Sinatra. In Italian by Claudio Villa and, in German, by Fritz Wunderlich and Spanish pop-duo Baccara.
The song was much favoured by theatre organists in the UK, because it provided an opportunity for showing off the organ's tuned [harp, glockenspiel, etc.] and non-tuned [castenets, tambourine] percussion.
Because of the flamboyant nature of the tune, and the Spanish lyrics, "Granada" has been accepted by college music courses as an "art song."
Lara's opening lyrics are:
Granada tierra soñada por mí.
Mi cantar se vuelve gitano cuando es para ti.
Dodd's version begins thus:
Granada, I'm falling under your spell,
And if you could speak, what a fascinating tale you would tell.
1944 Carlos Ramirez with Xavier Cugat's Orchestra, from the US film Two Girls and a Sailor (Spanish lyrics). Cugat recorded an instrumental version in 1958.
1949 Mario Lanza
1951 Desi Arnaz
1951 Bing Crosby - English lyrics
1954 Luís Piçarra
1954 Claudio Villa - Italian lyrics
1954 Frankie Laine, US #17 - English lyrics
1954 Tommy Dorsey - big band instrumental
1956 Caterina Valente - in English, French and Spanish
1956 Perez Prado
1956 John Serry, Sr. - accordion with instrumental ensemble (See Squeeze Play)
1958 Percy Faith - easy listening instrumental
1958 The Four Freshmen - Voices In Latin - English lyrics
1958 Jan Peerce
1958 Mario del Monaco - with Studio Orchestra conducted by Ernesto Nicelli (Decca).
1959 Jane Morgan
1959 Alfredo Kraus
1960 Connie Francis - Spanish lyrics
1961 Ben E. King - English lyrics (on the album Spanish Harlem, US #57)
1961 Frank Sinatra, US #64 - English lyrics
1961 Al Martino, - Spanish lyrics
1961 Arthur Lyman - instrumental
1960s Fritz Wunderlich
1962 Hugo Avendano - Spanish lyrics
1962 Grant Green on The Latin Bit - jazz instrumental
1963 The Shadows - Los Shadows
1963 Edmundo Ros – English lyrics
1963 Trini Lopez - English lyrics (Trini Lopez at PJ's)
1963 Peter Nero – piano instrumental
1964 Vikki Carr - Spanish lyrics
1964 Trini Lopez - Spanish lyrics (The Latin Album)
1964 Johnny Mathis - Spanish lyrics (Olé)
1965 Neil Williams - English lyrics (album Romantically Yours CBS BP233180 mono)
1965 Nicolai Gedda
1960s The Tornados - rock instrumental
1960s Violetta Villas - Spanish lyrics, Opera vocalization
1967 Paco de Lucía - flamenco guitar
1969 Hugo Winterhalter - easy listening
1970 Sergio Franchi - Spanish & English lyrics (UA single, and UA album Within Me")
1971 Perla - ParaguayanBrazilian Superstar
1972 Muslim Magomaev
1976 Karel Gott - Czech lyrics
1977 Baccara - disco version, Spanish lyrics
1979 Al Bano - Spanish & English lyrics
1982 John Farnham - English & Spanish lyrics (during a performance on The Don Lane Show)
1989 The Red Army Chorus
1990 José Carreras - Spanish lyrics
1991 Plácido Domingo – Spanish lyrics
1993 Carlos Montoya - flamenco guitar
1997 Gato Barbieri - jazz saxophone
1998 John Farnham & Anthony Warlow - Spanish & English lyrics
2002 Tania Maria – jazz piano
2003 The American Tenors - Spanish lyrics
2003 Russell Watson - Spanish lyrices - from the album "Reprise"
2005 Brad Mehldau Trio - jazz piano
2005 Masafumi Akikawa - Spanish lyrics
2006 Katherine Jenkins - mezzo soprano, English lyrics
2007 True Symphonic Rockestra (James LaBrie, Vladimir Grishko, and Thomas Dewald) - Spanish Lyrics
2007 Mario Frangoulis - Spanish lyrics
2007 Opera Chillout - Vol. 4 - Spanish lyrics
2008 Estudantina Universitária de Coimbra - Spanish lyrics Video on YouTube
2008 The Canadian Tenors - Spanish lyrics
2010 Mark Vincent for his 2010 album Compass (Mark Vincent album)
2011 Joe McElderry - Spanish lyrics
2011 Il Volo - Spanish lyrics
2016 Carlos Marin (Il Divo) - Spanish lyrics
Bryn Terfel – Spanish lyrics
Eydie Gorme
Juan García Esquivel - instrumental
Howard Morrison
Jay and the Americans
Jerry Vale
Juan Diego Flórez - Spanish lyrics
Julian Bream - classical guitar
Luciano Pavarotti – Spanish lyrics
Luciano Pavarotti & Jon Secada – Spanish lyrics
Mantovani - easy listening instrumental
James Last
Ted Heath
Renata Tebaldi - Spanish lyrics
Stan Kenton - big band instrumental
The Ten Tenors - Spanish lyrics
Maurice Andre - Piccolo trumpets
Yoyoy Villame - Parody English and Filipino lyrics (mostly listing weapons, such as granada or grenades, sports, modes of transport, professional titles)
The Ten Sopranos - Spanish lyrics
André Rieu - instrumental
Joselito - Spanish lyrics
