Nino Tempo & April Stevens and Later Versions
The second most popular version, which hit number one on the U.S. pop charts (the 100th song to do so) in November 1963 and also won that year's Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Record, was recorded by Nino Tempo & April Stevens (who were brother and sister). It was #1 on the Hot 100 the week before John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This version of the song is notable for April Stevens' speaking the lyrics in a low and sweet voice during the second half of the song while her brother sings. According to the Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson, when the duo first recorded the song as a demo, Tempo forgot the words, and Stevens spoke the lyrics to the song to remind him. The record's producers thought Stevens' spoken interludes were "cute" and should be included on the finished product, but according to Stevens, her brother was not as easily convinced: "He didn't want anyone talking while he was singing!" The 45 rpm recording of the song by Tempo and Stevens is notorious for sounding unclear, perhaps due to improper processing or duplicating during manufacture.
The Nino Tempo/April Stevens version was intended to be the flipside of a song called "I've Been Carrying A Torch For You So Long That It Burned A Great Big Hole In My Heart". However, radio stations preferred "Deep Purple". "I've Been Carrying A Torch..." held the distinction of being the longest title (contains 67 letters and/or numbers) of a flipside of a Billboard number one record, according to Bronson. The flip of Prince's 1984 #1 hit "When Doves Cry", titled "17 Days (the rain will come down, then U will have 2 choose, if U believe, look 2 the dawn and U shall never lose)", is now the longest titled such flipside, with 85 letters and/or numbers.
Another brother-and-sister team, Donny and Marie Osmond, revived "Deep Purple" in March 1976 and took it into the Top 20, peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Marie intoning the balmy lyrics during the break, as April Stevens had done in the Nino Tempo/April Stevens version. As an interesting aside, the song that succeeded the Tempo/Stevens version of "Deep Purple" at number one on the Billboard chart, "I'm Leaving It Up To You" by Dale & Grace, was also a hit over a decade later in a cover version by Donny & Marie (in 1974).
In 1978 The Beach Boys recorded a version for their (still unreleased) album Adult Child. This recording, along with the rest of the album, has been circulating amongst collectors for many years.
Eileen Brennan and Peter Falk sing it in duet in the film "The Cheap Detective" (1978).
A recording by Vic Damone featured in the film "Donnie Brasco" (1997).
Read more about this topic: Deep Purple (song)
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