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1966 single by Manfred Mann

"Pretty Flamingo" is a song written by Mark Barkan, which became a hit in 1966 when Manfred Mann`s recording of it was released as a single. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart on 5 May 1966.[3][2] Manfred Mann`s recording was a minor hit in the United States where it spent eight weeks on Billboard`s Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 29 during the week of August 6, 1966.[4] It was also successful in Ireland, and was number one there for four weeks, keeping the Rolling Stones` "Paint It Black" at number two.

Song profile

The speaker describes a woman—whom "all of the guys call [...] `Flamingo`, `cause her hair glows like the sun and her eyes can light the sky"—for whom the singer has fallen, and his plans to win her affection. Mark Barkan`s daughter said that it was based on a girl who lived above a parking lot in his neighborhood: Barkan and his friends used to call out to her.[5]

The recording featured future Cream bassist Jack Bruce, who briefly joined the band in 1965.[2] The recording was engineered by Geoff Emerick, then only 20 years old, who became far better known for his work with the Beatles. The original demo of the song was recorded by the American, New York City based vocalist Jimmy Radcliffe, stylized for The Drifters, but songwriter Mark Barkan was dissatisfied with the overly produced results and had Radcliffe recut the song with a pared-down arrangement.[citation needed]

After Barkan`s death in 2020, Paul Jones of Manfred Mann said: "I`m a little bit ashamed to admit that not only did I never meet him, but I never even got in touch to say thank you for the song. But I would like to thank him posthumously.[6]

Cash Box described the song as an "easy-going, teen-angled item about a rather fickle young gal".[7] In their review of Tommy Vann`s earlier single release of the song, they described it as a "romantic ode all about a fella who aspires to one day snare a real special gal".[8]

Charts