Eres Tu-Part One: The Guitars of Sonny James

Hi Friends:

Growing up in North Georgia, my older sister would listen to a country music station, WDOD, out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The announcer who did the mid-day shift was Jerry Rivers. If you remember the station’s ID jingle … “WDOD … On the banks of the Tennessee …” At the end of his daily shift, he would play this song, as he would voice-over his “thank yous” and “goodbyes.”

I never forgot this beautiful, haunting instrumental, with the background chorus. So, years later, I used this same instrumental to voice-over my own signoff. It was perfect to speak over, it was instantly recognizable, and it had a great “cold” ending.

The song “Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)” was originally a hit for the Spanish vocal group Mocedades in 1974, and was recorded in 1975 as part an easy listening guitar instrumental album by country music legend Sonny James, entitled “The Guitars of Sonny James.”

A few words about the great Sonny James (May 1, 1928 – February 22, 2016):
As singer, song-writer, and musician, Sonny James’ biggest hit was “Young Love,” which made it to the top of both country and pop music charts in January to February 1957. He was known as “the Southern Gentleman, and he had 72 country and pop-charted records from 1953 to 1983, including a 5-year streak of 16 straight Billboard #1 singles among his total of 26 #1 hits. Twenty-one of his albums reached the country top ten from 1964 to 1976. In 1957, Sonny James became the first country music recording artist to appear on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Sonny James was given a star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame” in 1961. In 1967, he co-hosted the first Country Music Association Awards Show (with Bobbi Gentry), and was himself inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

In February 1971, James was the first country music artist whose music went into space; he made a special music recording for the crew of Apollo 14. They later presented him with one of the small American flags that they had carried to the Moon.

On the “Guitars of Sonny James” album, notice that track B4 is “Paper Roses.” In 1973, Sonny James helped launch the solo career of Marie Osmond, by producing and arranging her first three albums, including her smash hit, “Paper Roses.”

This was the best recording I could find to share.
Enjoy “The Guitars of Sonny James” with “Eres Tu:”