It is one of the few musical acts from Spain to have scored a top ten hit in the United States, being the only one sung entirely in Spanish. In 2005, it was one of fourteen songs chosen to compete in Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest placing eleventh. In 2013, it was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2015, "Eres tú" ranked #47 on Billboard's 50 Greatest Latin Songs of All Time.
Mocedades also released the song in English, French, German, Italian, and Basque versions. The song was subsequently covered many times and released by different singers in different languages and genres.
In addition to the Spanish language original version, the group released the song in English as "Touch the Wind" with lyrics by Mike Hawker, French as "C'est pour toi" with lyrics by Michel Delancray [fr] and Mya Simille [fr], German as "Das Bist Du" with lyrics by Fred Jay [de], Italian as "Viva Noi" with lyrics by Paolo Limiti, and Basque as "Zu Zera" with lyrics by Luis Iriondo Etxaniz [eu].[1]
Eurovision
Televisión Española (TVE) internally selected the song as its entrant for the 18th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. For the song to participate in the contest, it was necessary to shorten it so that it fit into three minutes. TVE filmed a video clip with the group singing the song in a studio that was distributed to the other participant broadcasters as established by the contest regulations.[2]
One of the biggest scandals at Eurovision resulted from the perceived similarity between the melody of "Eres tú" and that of Yugoslavia's 1966 entry "Brez besed". However, the authors of "Brez besed" neither officially complained nor filed a lawsuit, as neither was common practise at the time.[4][5][6][7]
Aftermath
Its participation in Eurovision was followed by a global success. In 1974, "Eres tú" became one of the few Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and also reaching the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the United States, it is still heard on Adult Standards and Easy Listening radio. The B-side of the single released in some countries was the English-language version entitled "Touch the Wind", which featured a completely different set of lyrics by Mike Hawker, rather than a translation of the original Spanish lyrics. Radio stations generally preferred to play the original A-side version.[citation needed] There were also several covers of the song in both English and Spanish, only one of which –"Touch the Wind" by Eydie Gorme–, charted, becoming a minor Adult Contemporary hit.
With "Eres tú", Mocedades is one of the five musical acts from Spain to have scored a top ten hit in the United States,[a] and the only to have a top ten hit sung entirely in Spanish.[b] The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.[8] In 2015, "Eres tú" ranked #47 on Billboard's 50 Greatest Latin Songs of All Time.[9]
The success of "Eres tú" was not limited to just pop or Spanish music radio. In 1976, a guitar instrumental by country singer Sonny James reached #67 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1977, Tex-Mex country singer Johnny Rodriguez –who had earlier success with mixing English and Spanish lyrics in his songs– recorded a cover version and released it to country radio. The song peaked at #25 in the fall of 1977 on the Hot Country Singles chart.
"Eres tú" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held on 22 October 2005 in Copenhagen. It was the only Spanish entry featured, as well as one of three entries featured that did not actually win the contest the year it competed.[10] The song was featured with footage of Mocedades' Eurovision performance with Amaya Uranga, Carlos Zubiaga, and José Ipiña appearing live on stage towards the end. The song placed eleventh with 90 point, being eliminated in the first round.[11] On 31 March 2015, "Eres tú" was performed by Rosa López in the contest sixtieth anniversary show Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits.[c][12]
Verda Sümer & İstanbul Gelişim Orkestrası — "Eski dostlar ne oldu" (Turkish)
In other media
The theme from the song's chorus, with new English lyrics, was used by Yamaha Music in Australia for its advertisements during the 1970s and 80s.
A guitar instrumental version of "Eres tú" was used in a Bank of New Zealand television campaign in the 1990s.
In the 1995 movie Tommy Boy, there's a scene in which Chris Farley and David Spade sing the original Spanish version of "Eres tú" while presumably returning to Ohio.
The cast of Dutch series 't Spaanse Schaep [nl], about a Spanish hotel run by 1970s expatriates, performed the song as "Er is toe" ("Dessert is Ready").
In the web series Jake and Amir, Amir sings this song to Jake after getting back from a trip to Mexico.
^Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975. Drift Musik. p. 130. ISBN9163021404.
