Today’s classic song of the day was an instrumental hit for the Ventures but had been performed by numerous artists for several decades prior and several more since. The song is “Perfidia” and, when it was released as a single in 1960, reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Perfidia” is a Spanish-language song written by Mexican composer Alberto Dominguez in 1937. (Milton Leeds later provided the English-language lyrics.) It was a hit in 1940 for Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat and later, in 1947, for the Los Panchos trio.
I fell in love with “Perfidia” when I first heard it in the background of the movie Casablanca, in the flashback scene when Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) are dancing at a Paris nightclub before the Nazis rolled in. It’s a terrific tune and really sets the mood for their burgeoning romance. The unheard lyrics also echo the doomed nature of their love affair:
To you, my heart cries out, Perfidia
For I found you, the love my life
In somebody else’s arms
The Ventures were a guitar-based rock band from Tacoma, Washington. They formed in 1958 and scored several surf music instrumental hits, including “Walk, Don’t Run” and “Hawaii Five-O,” the theme from the popular television series. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Don Wilson (rhythm guitar), Bob Bogle (lead guitar), Nokie Edwards (bass), and Mel Taylor (drums). The band never broke up, with various members leaving and being replaced by younger musicians; yes, there’s still a version of the Ventures (with zero original members) touring today on the oldies circuit.
Many other artists have recorded “Perfidia” over the years, some in English, some in the original Spanish, and some as instrumentals. The best of these include performances by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Mel Tormé, Nat King Cole, Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Los Straitjackets, and Linda Ronstadt, whose Spanish-language version is one of which I’m particularly fond. Enjoy!
