"Music to Watch Girls By"

If ever there was a slice of musical heaven writ 'specially for mine own ears, it is The Bob Crewe Generation's "Music to Watch Girls By." And if there ever was a song into which I would want to climb into and crawl around within (and stay), it is "Music to Watch Girls By." Sounding suspiciously like Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass or Henry Mancini at moments, it's so beautifully rooted in 1960s-era lounge culture I can barely stand it.

"Music to Watch Girls By" was the first Top 40 hit by Bob Crewe using his own name, recorded by his group The Bob Crewe Generation. Crewe first heard the song performed in a "jingle demo" for a Diet Pepsi commercial.

The "big-band, horn driven" recording went to #15. According to Greg Adams, writing for All Music Guide, the song "exemplified the groovy state of instrumental music at that time."

Other instrumental versions of the song were recorded by Billy Vaughn, Chet Atkins and Al Hirt. The version by Andy Williams went to #34 in the United States, and after it was used in a Fiat ad in the UK, the re-released single reached the top ten.(source for song info.)