For the most part, my favorite guilty pleasure movies are those that MGM made in the 60’s: Where the Boys Are (1960), Joy in the Morning (1965) and my all time favorite, Come Fly With Me (1963). So it seemed natural that I would enjoy Made in Paris (1966), a movie that centers around Ann-Margret going to Paris as a fashion buyer and winds up falling in love with Louis Jourdan (see the trailer here).
I was wrong. I barely made it through the first 30 minutes and it’s my theory, that if you’re paying more attention to something trite, like filing your fingernails or staring at the ceiling and thinking about what you’re going to have for breakfast, then it’s time to switch dvd’s.
However, one good thing did come out of watching Made in Paris and that was hearing the theme song which ran over the opening credits. The second I heard it, I ran to my computer and tried to find an MP3 of the song. When I finally found it, I put it on repeat and fell in love. Penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, “Made in Paris” is two minutes of fantastic sixties mod pop, backed by a splendid orchestral arrangement. Trini Lopez handles the vocals and in a year, he’d go on to star in another MGM movie with a much better plot, The Dirty Dozen. Here, he’s urging us to “find your dream, find your love!” Like most Bacharach/David songs, the lyrics are sugary enough to give anyone diabetes. But it’s the song itself that’s fantastic. The best part of “Made in Paris” comes right in the middle, where the melody soars and kicks into high gear before moving back into the chorus. It’s an ecstatic musical moment, the kind that makes me want to don a pair of white go-go boots, pull on a sheath dress, tease up my hair and do the pony. I love sixties music!
When “Made in Paris” was released in January of 1966, it was somewhat out of step with the times: Simon and Garfunkel had just released “The Sound of Silence”, while The Beatles had back-to-back hits with “We Can Work It Out” and one of my favorites, “Day Tripper. On the Billboard charts, “Made in Paris” came in at #113–it’s polished orchestral pop sound was pretty much out of vogue by then, unable to compete with the new folksy sound and electric rock. Today, it’s still a fairly obscure song, regulated to spots on Bacharach compilation cd’s and rare showings of Made in Paris which pop up on TCM every now and then. It’s a great song though and never fails to cheer me up whenever I’m feeling a bit down.
Download: “Made In Paris” by Trini Lopez (2.7 MB)
Do not direct-link download; page will open in new window and download it from there.
hey, this link doesn’t seem to work…
Thanks a lot.
I’ve downloaded ALL of your MP3s so far!
Anders, the link seems to be working now. I think sendspace was down for awhile.
Akira, I’m glad you’re enjoying the mp3’s. At least someone is downloading them!
“Made in Paris” is really cool mp3 🙂