The Way It Used to Be (Engelbert Humperdinck song)

"The Way It Used to Be"
Single by Engelbert Humperdinck
from the album Engelbert
B-side"A Good Thing Going"
Released1969
GenreTraditional pop
Length3:09
LabelDecca (UK)
Parrot (US)
Songwriter(s)Music: Corrado Conti & Franco Cassano
English lyrics: Roger Cook & Roger Greenaway
Italian lyrics: Gianni Argenio
Producer(s)Peter Sullivan
Engelbert Humperdinck singles chronology
"Les Bicyclettes de Belsize"
(1968) 		"The Way It Used to Be"
(1969) 		"I'm a Better Man (For Having Loved You)"
(1969)

"The Way It Used to Be" is a song recorded by Engelbert Humperdinck, which was released on the album Engelbert and as a single in 1969.[1][2] It is an English language adaptation of the Italian language song "Melodia",[3] which was originally released by Isabella Iannetti in 1968.[4][2]

The song was a top ten hit in multiple countries, and spent 14 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 3,[5] while reaching No. 1 in Flanders[2] and Singapore,[6] No. 3 in Malaysia,[6] No. 5 in Yugoslavia,[7] No. 6 on the Irish Singles Chart,[8] No. 7 on Norway's VG-lista,[9] No. 7 in Wallonia,[10] and No. 9 in South Africa.[11] The song was a hit in other nations as well.

In the United States, the song spent 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 42,[12] while reaching No. 4 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[13][14] The song was ranked No. 26 on Billboard's year-end ranking of 1969's "Top Easy Listening Singles".[15]

Chart performance

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Canada - RPM 100[16] 18
Canada - RPM Adult contemporary[17] 4
Flanders[2] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 6
Malaysia (Radio Malaysia)[6] 3
Netherlands (Parool Top 20)[18] 19
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[19] 21
New Zealand Listener[20] 18
Norway (VG-lista)[9] 7
Singapore (Radio Singapore)[6] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[11] 9
UK Singles Chart[5] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 42
US Billboard Easy Listening[14] 4
US Cash Box Top 100[21] 26
US Record World 100 Top Pops[22] 24
US Record World Top Non-Rock[23] 4
US Record World Juke Box Top 25[24] 8
Wallonia[10] 7
Yugoslavia (Novi Džuboks)[7] 5

Other versions

  • An instrumental version was released by Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra, on his 1969 album Traces of Love.[25]
  • Fredi released a Finnish language adaptation titled "Se päivä tulee kerran" in 1969, which reached No. 2 in Finland.[26]
  • Jimmy Fontana released a version of "Melodia" in 1969, which bubbled under the top 50 in Wallonia.[27]
  • Milyo Naryo released a Tagalog language adaptation titled "Naka-Table Na Kita".

References

  1. ^ "Engelbert – Engelbert Humperdinck". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Engelbert Humperdinck - The Way it Used to Be, Ultratop. Accessed July 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard, April 19, 1969. p. 26. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  4. ^ Isabella Iannetti - Melodia, norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Engelbert Humperdinck - Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Hits of the World", Billboard, April 26, 1969. p. 64. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Hits of the World", Billboard, July 5, 1969. p. 77. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Way it Used to Be". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Engelbert Humperdinck - The Way It Used to Be, norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Engelbert Humperdinck - The Way It Used to Be, Ultratop. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Hits of the World", Billboard, April 5, 1969. p. 64. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Hot 100 - Engelbert Humperdinck The Way It Used to Be Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  13. ^ Adult Contemporary - Engelbert Humperdinck The Way It Used to Be Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, April 26, 1969. p. 50. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  15. ^ "Top Records of 1969", Billboard, December 27, 1969. p. 17. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  16. ^ "RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, No. 9, April 28, 1969. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "Young Adult", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, No. 9, April 28, 1969. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  18. ^ Engelbert Humperdinck - The Way it Used to Be, Dutch Charts. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  19. ^ Engelbert Humperdinck - The Way It Used to Be, Media Markt Top 40. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  20. ^ NZ Listener chart summary, Flavour of New Zealand. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  21. ^ "Cash Box Top 100", Cash Box, May 3, 1969. p. 4. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  22. ^ "100 Top Pops", Record World, Vol. 23, No. 1141, Special Section. April 26, 1969. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  23. ^ "Top Non-Rock", Record World, Vol. 23, No. 1141, Special Section. April 26, 1969. p. 20. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  24. ^ "Juke Box Top 25", Record World, April 12, 1969. p. 18. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  25. ^ "Traces of Love – Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  26. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, June 21, 1969. p. 94. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  27. ^ Jimmy Fontana - Melodia, Ultratop. Retrieved March 27, 2018.