Music to Watch Girls By

Crewe first heard the song performed in a jingle demo for a Diet Pepsi commercial, and according to Greg Adams, writing for All Music Guide, the song "exemplified the groovy state of instrumental music at that time."[2] In Bob Crewe's version, a trumpet plays the whole verse, the first time around, sounding like Herb Alpert's Tijuana brass style. The second time the verse is played, a half step up in tone from G minor to A-flat minor, a tenor saxophone plays a jazzier version, accompanied by strings, surf-style guitar (reminiscent of 1960s spy films) and a harpsichord, that play a counter-melody. The trumpets finish up the refrain, and all of the parts are played, repeating the first part in the coda, before the fade.

The "big-band, horn driven"[3] recording went to #15 on the pop chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart.[4]

• A vocal recording from 1967 by Andy Williams, featuring lyrics written by Tony Velona, went to #34 in the United States,[1] and after it was used in a Fiat advertisement in the UK in 1999, the re-released single reached the top ten.[5]
• A version by Al Hirt reached #31 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #119 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.[6]
• A French-language version, "Le jeu du téléphone", was recorded in 1967 by Lucky Blondo, which was covered by Natacha Snitkine and also Ginette Lemieux (under the mononym Caroline).
• A version of this song, entitled "Music to Watch Space Girls By" was included on the 1967 album Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space.
• Another French-language version, "Ça s’est arrangé", from 1967 by Jean-Paul Keller was featured in the film A Simple Favor from 2018.
• The Higsons covered the vocal version in 1984; this was released on a single and the album The Curse of the Higsons.
• Other instrumental versions of the song were recorded by Billy Vaughn, Chet Atkins and Walter Wanderley.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics