Mocedades - Eres Tú" (1973)

Mocedades is a Spanish singing group from the Basque Country, probably best known for representing Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with the song "Eres Tú"

In the year 1967 in the Spanish city of Bilbao, eight Basque students decided to form a musical group to be known as Voces y Guitarras ("Voices and Guitars"), citing folk and spiritual music and The Beatles as influences. This group of siblings Amaya Uranga, Estibaliz Uranga, Izaskun Uranga, Roberto Uranga, brothers Rafael Blanco and Sergio Blanco, José Ipiña and Francisco "Paco" Panera spent a year performing around their hometown before sending a demo cassette to producer Juan Carlos Calderón in Madrid. He took an immediate interest in the group and renamed them Mocedades (from the Spanish word mocedad, which means youth).

In 1970, both Ipiña (for military service) and Panera (to become a professor at a local university) left Mocedades. Javier Garay who had previously belonged to Voces y Guitarras rejoined the group in 1970 after serving in the Spanish military in Africa. Estibaliz Uranga and the Blanco brothers followed in 1971, and in 1972 Ipiña returned and Carlos Zubiaga (from Los Mitos) joined. It was with this configuration of six (three Uranga siblings, Zubiaga, Garay and Ipiña) that Mocedades achieved its greatest successes.

The group was now on its way to making a remarkable string of hits, most notably "Eres Tú " ("You are..."), runner up in 1973 and the next year a massive hit in Europe and the United States of America. "Eres Tú" became one of the only 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, the song is an airplay favorite today on Adult Standards and Easy Listening radio. The B-side of the single was the English language version of the song ("Touch the Wind"), but radio stations preferred to play the original A-side version. There were also several cover versions of the tune in both English and Spanish, only one of which ("Touch the Wind" as done in English by Eydie Gorme), charted, becoming a minor Adult Contemporary hit. The song was re-released in English as "Touch The Wind" in later years. It was subsequently released in German (Das Bist Du, or "You Are That"), French (C'est Pour Toi, or "It Is For You"), Italian (Viva Noi, or "Long Live Us"), and Basque (Zu Zara, or "You are"). The song was the only U.S. Billboard hit for Mocedades; a follow-up, "Dime Señor" ("Tell Me, Lord", with its English version, "I Ask The Lord" on its B-side), flopped.

The 1973 Eurovision Song Contest was marked by a scandal, with charges that "Eres Tú" was plagiarized and merely a rewrite of the Yugoslav entry from the 1966 contest ("Brez Besed", sung by Berta Ambrož). Nevertheless, "Eres Tú" was not disqualified, possibly for political reasons, as Francisco Franco's Spain was considered more a part of the European mainstream than Tito's Yugoslavia. After winning second place in the contest, the song went on to become a huge international hit.

However, many more hits followed in Latin America and Spain, most notably "Tómame o Déjame" ("Take Me or Leave Me"), "El Vendedor" ("The Peddler"), "La Otra España" ("The Other Spain") and "Me Siento Seguro" ("I Feel Sure"). In 1980 Mocedades signed up to CBS Records, now Sony, and recorded more songs for the Spanish-speaking market, including "Ay Amor!" ("Oh Love") and "Amor de Hombre" ("Love of Man"), which was the first Mocedades track to enter English-speaking charts since the smash hit "Eres Tú".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mocedades
• Eres
• Tú
• 1973
• Spanish
• TheBacmaster
• Music
• Videos

[MrJamesSantiago]

Tommy Boy! lol love it

[palmeradragoon]

eres tu...y solo tu,que bella cancion

[faymx47]

Im so glad this song is on youtube. This song came out when I was eleven years old and I never forgot it. Its beautiful.

[inconu311]

hermosa cancion !

[raineterno]

Not my personal favorite, but catchy.Enjoy it with good humor.

[dios160]

Esta canción le gustaba mucho a mi madre. Te la dedico madre hermosa.

Q.E.P.D.

[muvg813]

el amor mas graqnde de mi vida l.g.r.por tu gran sonrisa toda esta eres tu

[jamesdhuff]

Heard this on an AM radio station for a couple years, then finally got the name of the song and group. This is just one fabulous rendition even if I don't understand one word of Spanish. Great posting! Thanks!

[rk44fla44]

This is one song that sounds new every time I hear it.

[JubalCalif]

Heavens to Murgatroid! Never knew ANYTHING about this awesome song or the group before now. MANY thanks for the fascinating background info you shared! KUDOS!!! And may you have a very happy & prosperous New Year! :)