Which one is your favorite? - XXXIII -

This week's song was written by Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber and was first recorded by Ben E. King at the beginning of the 60s. It climbed the Billboard charts with an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus, and peaked at number 15 for rhythm and blues and number 10 in pop music. It was ranked number 358 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here is the song for this week;

"Spanish Harlem"

Spanish Harlem is a section of New York City with a large Latino population and a rich cultural heritage. This song is about a rose that grows through the concrete in the city, always shaded from the sun. The singer is enchanted by this beautiful flower and dreams of taking it to his garden.

The rose is likely a metaphor for a girl - one who is "soft and sweet and dreaming."

This was one of the first songs written by the legendary producer Phil Spector. He wrote it with Jerry Leiber, the lyricist of the famous songwriting team Leiber and Stoller. Spector learned his craft working with Leiber and Stoller, and quickly made a name for himself as a top producer.

This was the first single Ben E. King released as a solo artist - he left The Drifters after complaining of low wages. The song became the title track of his first solo album, which had a Spanish theme, with songs like "Besame Mucho" and "Perfidia."

King recorded this in the same sessions as "Stand By Me," which would be his next release and biggest hit.

Here are the 5 versions I picked for you;

• Aretha Franklin - "Spanish Harlem"

• Rebecca Pidgeon - "Spanish Harlem"

• Laura Nyro - "Spanish Harlem"

• The Jazz Passengers - "Spanish Harlem"

• Tom Jones - "Spanish Harlem"

Now the floor is yours, go ahead and make your comments (here, Instagram, Facebook wherever you feel like...).

nb. Please note that I intentionally do not include the original versions of the songs as it would be a little unfair to the artists covering the songs, and I am sure that sometimes you will be surprised to see that the songs you thought were the originals are just covers.