Written by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

“Some Enchanted Evening,” from the 1949 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical “South Pacific,” was a Broadway tune that became an evergreen thanks to dozens of interpretations by various recording stars. “Some Enchanted Evening” was considered one of the most successful tunes ever to come from a musical.

The year of its Broadway debut, “Some Enchanted Evening” was immediately covered by several stars including Perry Como (1912-2001), Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) and Bing Crosby (1903-1977). To point out the huge appeal of this composition, all these versions and several others by lesser-known singers went high on the 1949 charts.

Through the years, “Some Enchanted Evening” was also sung by many contemporary names including Art Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and the incomparable Barbra Streisand. With David Foster at the helm, Ms. Steisand’s added “Some Enchanted Evening” to her 1993 album, Back To Broadway, as the opening track. The Back To Broadway version of “Some Enchanted Evening” sported a magnificent arrangement by Foster and Johnny Mandel (1925-2020) who also crafted a truly outstanding orchestration for the piece. Ms. Streisand’s performance was nothing short of sublime with her silky voice caressing the listeners’ ears while Foster’s production was the usual state-of-the-art affair. In 1994, Foster, who produced the bulk of Back To Broadway, was nominated with Mandel for their instrumental arrangement of “Some Enchanted Evening.” They lost to another Foster arrangement of Celine Dion’s, “When I Fall In Love.” The Hitman even got a third nod that year for “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals” for his work on Whitney Houston’s (1963-2012) “I Have Nothing.” Both of these gems were co-arranged by Foster with Jeremy Lubbock (1931-2021). Back To Broadway skyrocketed to the top of the worldwide charts including the Billboard Top 200 and was soon certified double platinum. Back To Broadway was nominated at the 1994 Grammys as “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.” That year, Foster swept the Grammys, winning four awards out of seven nominations including “Producer Of The Year.”

Listen

• Lead Vocals: Barbra Streisand
• Synthesizer: Mark Portmann & Ian Underwood
• Synthesizer Overdubs: Simon Franglen

• Arranged by Johnny Mandel & David Foster
• Orchestrated by Johnny Mandel
• Conducted by Eddie Karam
• Produced by David Foster

Lyrics

Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger

You may see a stranger across a crowded room
And somehow you know
You know even then
That somewhere you’ll see him
Again and again

Some enchanted evening
Someone may be laughing
You may hear him laughing across a crowded room
And night after night
As strange as it seems
The sound of his laughter
Will sing in your dreams

Who can explain it?
Who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons
Wise men never try

Some enchanted evening
When you find your true love
Across a crowded room
Then fly to his side
And make him your own
For all through your life you
May dream all alone

Once you have found him
Never let him go
Once you have found him
Never let him go!