| "Callow-la-vita" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Raymond Froggatt | ||||
| from the album The Voice and Writing of Raymond Froggatt | ||||
| B-side | "Lost Autumn" | |||
| Released | 19 April 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Raymond Froggatt | |||
| Producer(s) | Terry Kennedy | |||
| Raymond Froggatt singles chronology | ||||
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"Callow-la-vita" is a song by British singer-songwriter Raymond Froggatt recorded and released by his eponymous band as a debut single in April 1968. The record release was overlooked in the UK but was very successful in the Netherlands. The song became a success in the UK after being recorded by the Dave Clark Five, retitled as "The Red Balloon".
In an interview in 1972, Raymond Froggatt said that the song "becoming such a massive hit was one of the worst things that ever happened", as "people still haven't forgotten about it. Now when we play colleges the kids still think we'll be doing that kind of stuff". By 1972, the song had been recorded by sixteen different artists and sold over three million worldwide sales.[1]