It's Impossible

"Somos Novios (It's Impossible)" is a song written by the premier Mexican bolero composer Armando Manzanero in 1970. The song was translated into English immediately by Sid Wayne and first recorded by Perry Como the same year under the title It's Impossible.[1] It is one of the most popular boleros of all time. Besides Como, it has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, Jerry Vale, Dennis Brown, and Andrea Bocelli. Tejano group Mazz recorded this as part of a meledy entitled "Canciones De Amor" which was on the album Para Nuestra Gente.

The original version of the song was written by French musician Jack Dieval with French lyrics by Michel Rivegauche in 1960, under the title "J'ai le mal de toi", but it was probably not recorded (the song was written for the national elimination contests of France for the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest, and it was not making through the selection). The first evident recording is that of Colette Deréal from 1965 under the same title. The song later became "Parlez-moi de lui" (sung for example by Dalida), and then the English lyrics was born by Al Stillman in 1965, called "The Way of Love", covered by many artists including Kathy Kirby, Cher and Shirley Bassey.[2]

The Perry Como version would be one of his most influential records, and in February 1971, it became his first song to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in more than 12 years, peaking at number ten. The song's peak on the Hot 100 chart came just weeks after concluding a four-week run atop the Billboard Easy Listening chart.[3] On the UK Singles Chart, the single reached number four in 1971. This version was recorded in 2009 by P V Tanner who as a teenager used to run home from school to watch Perry Como perform on his own TV Show and then sing in the bath along to his records. He Dedicates this song to the great man himself.