Doo Wop Groups

The golden oldie “I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos is elegant and sophisticated. The Flamingos were an R&B, doo wop group originally from Chicago that formed in the early 1950’s by cousins Zeke and Jake Carey.  They  had a number of group names and group member changes over the years. They appeared in the Alan Freed’s  movies Rock, Rock,Rock in 1956 and Go, Johnny, Go! in 1959.  They’re best known for their cover of the pop and jazz standard “I Only Have Eyes for You.” The song had been written in 1934 by Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubinfor the file Dames that introduced Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler.  The version by The Flamingos went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart in 1959. Record producer and entrepreneur George Goldner wanted to record and album with The Flamingos doing standards. Hence, the album Flamingo Serenade. Goldner had a good echo chamber and money to spend on instrumentation. The members on the album were Tommy Hunt, Nate Nelson, Zeke Carey, Jake Carey, Terry Johnson, and Paul Wilson. They were great performers and were also known for their choreography.

The song appears in many films, including American Graffiti, The Right Stuff, A Bronx Tale, and Something’s Gotta Give. It has appeared on TV as well, in “The Wonder Years,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Glee.”

Here are the lyrics to “I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos:

“My love must be a kind of blind love
I can’t see anyone but you

Are the stars out tonight?
I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright
I only have eyes for you, dear

The moon may be high
But I can’t see a thing in the sky
I only have eyes for you

I don’t know if we’re in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue

You are here and so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you”

If you are interested in an album of music from The Flamingos, please click on the photo below:

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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