| Music to Watch Girls By | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Bob Crewe Generation |
| Album: | Music to Watch Girls By |
| B-Side: | Girls On the Rocks |
| Released: | December 1966 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Label: | DynoVoice Records |
| Producer: | Bob Crewe |
| Prev Title: | The Whiffenpoof Song |
| Prev Year: | 1960 |
| Next Title: | After the Ball |
| Next Year: | 1967 |
"Music to Watch Girls By" was the first Top 40 hit by Bob Crewe using his own name, recorded by his group The Bob Crewe Generation.[1] The music was composed by Sidney "Sid" Ramin.
Crewe first heard the song performed in a jingle demo for a Diet Pepsi commercial, and according to Greg Adams, writing for All Music Guide, the song "exemplified the groovy state of instrumental music at that time."[1] In Bob Crewe's version, a trumpet plays the whole verse, the first time around, sounding like Herb Alpert's Tijuana brass style. The second time the verse is played, a half step up in tone from G minor to A-flat minor, a tenor saxophone plays a jazzier version, accompanied by strings, surf-style guitar (reminiscent of 1960s spy films) and a harpsichord, that play a counter-melody. The trumpets finish up the refrain, and all of the parts are played, repeating the first part in the coda, before the fade.
The "big-band, horn driven"[2] recording went to #15 on the pop chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart.
| Chart (1967) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Easy Listening[3] | 2 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 15 |
| Music to Watch Girls By | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Andy Williams |
| Album: | Born Free |
| B-Side: | The Face I Love |
| Released: | March 1967 |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Composer: | Sid Ramin |
| Lyricist: | Tony Velona[5] |
| Producer: | Nick De Caro |
| Prev Title: | In the Arms of Love |
| Prev Year: | 1966 |
| Next Title: | More and More |
| Next Year: | 1967 |
A vocal recording from 1967 by Andy Williams, featuring lyrics written by Tony Velona, went to #34 in the United States. This version was later used in a Fiat advertisement in the UK in 1999, with the re-released single reaching the top ten in that country.[6] This same version was also used in Samsung's commercial for the D820 cell phone in 2005.
| Chart (1967) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 33 | |
| US Billboard Easy Listening[7] | 2 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 34 |
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 202.
. Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 258.
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 913.