The Shadow of Paris

[Mancini]

I was wondering if this song is available on any CDs? It's insanely catchy... ;D

I know the score to A Shot in the Dark isn't available, but I'm desperately looking for this song on one compilation or another...

[Clouseau]

well i know there's a version of the song on the Ultimate Pink Panther CD, but like It Had Better Be Tonight, it's not the version featured in the film, which is disappointing... i, too, have been looking for this song for some time to no avail...

here's a little bit about it i found on ]TVGuide.com:

Question: There's a song playing at the very beginning of the Pink Panther sequel A Shot in the Dark; the lyrics are along the lines of "why must we meet in the shadows of Paris..." What is this song, who's singing it in the film and has any other artist done it? — John

Flickchick: I don't know whether you have any idea what a can of worms this question is; I certainly didn't when I started researching it. First, the easy part: The song is "Shadows of Paris;" the music is by Henry Mancini (who also wrote the famous "Pink Panther" theme" and the words are by prolific lyricist Robert Wells. The chorus is "Why must we meet/In the shadows of Paris/Where hardly a star/Seems to shine/Why can't we meet/In the sunlight of Paris/Where Paris can see/You are mine." The movie's credits don't list the singer, and serious Henry Mancini buffs seem to be debating this very question heatedly; none has come up with a definitive answer. There was no Shot in the Dark soundtrack album, but "Shadows of Paris" is available on a couple of different Mancini collections in a version by "Henry Manicni and his Orchestra and Chorus," not the version that's heard in A Shot in the Dark. The consensus seems to be that the studio singer who did the lead vocal for the film version probably had a contractual conflict that prevented her from reprising it on any of Mancini's albums. So who was she? A lot of Mancini fans seem to think the singer may have been Fran Jeffries, a popular lounge/cabaret singer who never quite became a star but played Vegas regularly, toured with Sammy Davis Jr., posed twice for Playboy (in 1971 and 1982) and made a handful of movies, including The Pink Panther (1964). The Mancini/Johnny Mercer collaboration "It Had Better Be Tonight," which Jeffries sang on The Pink Panther soundtrack, got some airplay. As recently as 2000, Jeffries released an album, "All the Love," on Varese Records; neither "Shadows of Paris" nor "It Had Better Be Tonight" is on it. The bottom line is, the identity of the singer on the Shot in the Dark soundtrack is a mystery.

As to covers of Shadows of Paris, the only ones I've been able to find have been instrumentals, including jazz organist Shirley Scott's cover, on the 1963 album "For Members Only" (which also contains a cover of "A Shot in the Dark") and longtime Elvis Costello collaborator Steve Nieve's 1995 cover on the import "Keyboard Jungle.

[brandon]

I always thought it was a dude singing "Shadows of Paris".

[Clouseau]

Feb 9, 2008 2:16:19 GMT brandon said:

I always thought it was a dude singing "Shadows of Paris".

seriously? that seems so odd, to think that anyone would think that... how long has it been since you've watched ASITD?!

[yannickthejoker]

Feb 9, 2008 2:16:19 GMT brandon said:

I always thought it was a dude singing "Shadows of Paris".

I do agree that it's not a normal voice for a woman to have (at least not the way she used it in this song) but I never really thought it was a man.

[pinkadilly]

Feb 9, 2008 2:16:19 GMT brandon said:

I always thought it was a dude singing "Shadows of Paris".

so does that mean in stead of Fran Jeffries, you thought the song was sung by Frank Jeffries?? LOL!

;D

[Dreyfus]

I'm sure the version on the Ultimate Pink Panther CD is sung by a guy. If it is a woman, then wow, I'm shocked.

[pinkadilly]

Feb 9, 2008 19:42:30 GMT Dreyfus said:

I'm sure the version on the Ultimate Pink Panther CD is sung by a guy. If it is a woman, then wow, I'm shocked.

i dont have the cd, but i thought i heard that version was sung by a choir of men. is that not right?

[in-the-pink]

I can't believe anyone could mistake Fran Jeffries' voice for a man's voice! I think her voice is both lovely and distinctly feminine!

[brandon]

Well, you have admit, the singing voice sounds nothing like it does in "The Pink Panther" when she's singing It Had Better Be Tonight.

[Charla Dreyfus]

I've always loved "Shadows of Paris", but I have to admit that I too thought a man was singing it, and was kind of shocked to learn otherwise. However, it has been quite some time since I last watched A Shot in the Dark. I'll have to get it out again and listen more carefully...

[thecolonel93]

The version on ULTIMATE PINK PANTHER is performed by Henry Mancini Orchestra and Chorus. It was the B-side to the 45 RPM single of "A Shot in the Dark." You do hear male voices on this recording. The one in the film (believed to be Fran Jeffries) is not the same version.