Puppet on a string - Al Hirt

Back in the Sixties and Seventies, trumpet players had a good time. They had an instrument that was very popular with casual record buyers and instrumental versions of big hits were all the rage. Bert Kaempfert made a nice living releasing album upon album with such tracks. Lesser gods like Piet Knarren and Eddie Calvert didn't have any money problems either.

I must confess I'd never heard of Al Hirt before, but it turns out he did very well for himself too. He received 21 Grammy nominations during his lifetime, including winning the Grammy award in 1964 for his version of 'Java'. This single features his version of the Eurovision classic 'Puppet on a string', and of course I bought it. It was only 1 euro after all.

My collection: 7" single no. 7611
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Puppet on a string' / 'Big honey'