Eres tú


"Eres tú" is a popular Spanish language song written in 1973 by Juan Carlos Calderón and performed by the Spanish band Mocedades, with Amaya Uranga performing the lead vocal.
It was chosen as Spain's entry in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. After reaching second place in the contest, it was released as a single.
This song also has an English version entitled "Touch the Wind" with lyrics by Mike Hawker.
This song also has an Indonesian version entitled "Hatiku" with gospel lyrics used in Catholic mass.

Eurovision

The 1973 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place on 7 April 1973 and was held at Luxembourg, the capital of Luxembourg. The song was performed seventh on the night, following Monaco's Marie with "Un train qui part" and preceding Switzerland's Patrick Juvet with "Je vais me marier, Marie". Composer Juan Carlos Calderón himself conducted the live orchestra. At the close of voting, the song had received 125 points, placing 2nd in a field of 17, after Luxembourg's own Anne-Marie David with "Tu te reconnaîtras" with 129 points. The United Kingdom's Cliff Richard with "Power to All Our Friends" finished third with 123 points. "Eres tú" was succeeded as Spanish representative at the 1974 Contest by Peret with "Canta y sé feliz".

Worldwide success

In 1974, "Eres tú" became one of the few Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and also reaching the top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the United States, it is still heard on Adult Standards and Easy Listening radio. The B-side of the single was the English-language version entitled "Touch the Wind", which featured a completely different set of lyrics, rather than a translation of the original Spanish lyrics. Radio stations generally preferred to play the original A-side version. There were also several covers of the tune in both English and Spanish, only one of which, charted, becoming a minor Adult Contemporary hit.
With "Eres tú", Mocedades are one of the five musical acts from Spain to have scored a top ten hit in the United States, and the only to have a top ten hit sung entirely in Spanish. The song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015, "Eres tú" ranked #47 on Billboard's 50 Greatest Latin Songs of All Time.
The success of "Eres tú" was not limited to just pop or Spanish music radio. In 1976, a guitar instrumental by country singer Sonny James reached #67 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1977, Tex-Mex country singer Johnny Rodriguez – who had earlier success with mixing English and Spanish lyrics in his songs – recorded a cover version and released it to country radio. The song peaked at #25 in the fall of 1977 on the Hot Country Singles chart.

Plagiarism controversy

One of the biggest Eurovision scandals, the song has the identical refrain melody as the Slovenian-language song "Brez besed" performed by Berta Ambrož and representing Yugoslavia at Eurovision Song Contest 1966. "Brez besed" was written by composer Mojmir Sepe and lyricist Elza Budau, both Slovenians. However, the original authors never officially complained or filed a lawsuit against self proclaimed author Juan Carlos Calderón, as that wasn't common practise at the time.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In other languages

By Mocedades