April in Portugal (song)

"April in Portugal" is a popular song, also named "The Whisp'ring Serenade." The music was written by Raul Ferrão with Portuguese lyrics by José Galhardo as a fado named "Coimbra", about the city of that name in 1947. English lyrics written by Jimmy Kennedy were set to the music, though many of the most popular versions of the song were instrumentals. It is one of the signature songs of Portuguese singer and fadista Amália Rodrigues. It was also recorded in French by the tenor Luís Piçarra.

"April in Portugal"
Song
English title"The Whisp'ring Serenade", "Coimbra"
Written1947
GenreFado
Songwriter(s)Composer:Raul Ferrão
Lyricist: Jose Galhardo (Portuguese), Jimmy Kennedy (English)

Charting versions

Charting versions were recorded by the Les Baxter orchestra, by the Richard Hayman orchestra, by the Freddy Martin orchestra, and by Vic Damone:

  • The Les Baxter recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2374. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on March 28, 1953, and lasted 22 weeks on the chart, peaking at #2.[1]
  • The Richard Hayman recording was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70114. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on April 25, 1953, and lasted 11 weeks on the chart, peaking at #12.[1]
  • The Freddy Martin recording was released by RCA Victor as catalog number 20-5052. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on May 9, 1953, and lasted 3 weeks on the chart, peaking at #15.[1]
  • The Vic Damone recording was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70128. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on May 30, 1953, and lasted 3 weeks on the chart, peaking at #16.[1]

On Cash Box magazine's chart, where all versions were combined, the song reached a peak position of #2.

Other contemporary versions

Other versions recorded include those by:

Other recorded versions

The song has also been recorded by:

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
  2. RCA Victor Records in the 20-5000 to 20-5499 series
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