I Only Have Eyes For You (1959) – The Flamingos (Al Dubin/Harry Warren)

Reflecting the starry-eyed innocence of the fifties, “I Only Have Eyes For You” embodies the golden era of dreamy doo-wop that wafted from tabletop transistor radios and soda fountain jukeboxes. At the local drive-in, an off-duty soda jerk fixes his gaze upon his “steady,” from whom his attention never strays. He is oblivious to the skies above. A hollowbody guitar gently lays its vibrato’d notes upon a pillow of double bass, as a piano softly plinks out close intervals in triplets. Snappy “doo bop shoo bops” interject. Four-part harmonies, drenched in ethereal reverb, meander in the background. Surprisingly stirring chromatic drops in the vocal melody flourish amid unexpected chord progressions throughout. The dreamy beauty of “I Only Have Eyes” sparks nostalgia for the halcyon years of post-war optimism.

Listen to "I Only Have Eyes For You" and purchase at iTunes Music Store.