Obscure Lyric Versions of Instrumental Hits

Here's a "Top Twelve" of songs that probably would not have been hits if only a singer's version was available.

Face it, not every set of words is wonderful, and when a lyricist is actually and intentionally hacking into a song that was an instrumental hit, the result is bound to be second rate.

This may be why Dean Martin's overbaked crooning style worked so well...his boozy sense of the ridiculous forced him to sing with barely concealed smirky disdain for the lyrics...such banal ones as "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" or "That's Amore." And here, it's "Poor People of Paris," which would've driven Dino to drink if he wasn't already half-bagged before he got to the studio.

Other winning tunes that were losers in lyric form: "Theme from a Summer Place" and "Sleepwalk" both evoking images that make words unnecessary. Adding explanation to "Spanish Flea" or "Bonanza" is just pointless. "Never on Sunday" is borderline grating even without lyrics, along with "In the Mood," which Peter Sellers loathed (and so it was played at his funeral).

Most of these tunes you'll recognize instantly and agree, "Why add lyrics?" But the answer might be...just for the challenge of it. It's a challenge for a lyricist to even attempt to match wits and words with a powerful melody, and a challenge for a singer to make that song his own. That might explain Sammy Davis Jr's "You Can Count On Me," which takes the music from the crime series "Hawaii 5-0" and makes it into another type of crime.

Bonanza, In the Mood, Spanish Flea, Sleepwalk, Theme from a Summer Place, Apache, Music to Watch Girls By, Poor People of Paris, Hawaii 5-0, Never on Sunday, Blue Tango and Telstar...
Don't Sing and it'll be a Hit! Sing it...and lose!