1934 versions In addition to the original version by Dick Powell, recordings of the song by
Ben Selvin (vocal by Howard Phillips),
Eddy Duchin (vocal by Lew Sherwood), and
Jane Froman became hits in 1934.
The Flamingos version The Flamingos recorded a
doo-wop adaptation of "I Only Have Eyes for You" at
Bell Sound Studios in New York City in 1959. Their version was commercially successful, peaking at number 11 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 3 on the
Billboard Hot R&B chart. In
Canada it reached number 7. Building on the surprise success of the Flamingos' single "Lovers Never Say Goodbye", which had become a number 52 crossover hit on the Hot 100 in February 1959, "I Only Have Eyes for You" was selected by producer
George Goldner among a group of 33 standards that the Flamingos might record for the album
Flamingo Serenade. The Flamingos recorded a dozen songs from Goldner's list, but "I Only Have Eyes for You" proved difficult. Flamingos high tenor
Terry "Buzzy" Johnson, who was also the group's arranger, was advised by lead tenor Nate Nelson to do something exotic with the refrain: "Go way out on it! Make it Russian, like '
Song of the Volga Boatman'". The solution came to Johnson while he was sleeping, and he quickly called the group to his room at around 4 am to have them rehearse the new version, complete with doo-wop backing vocals and harmonies. In the studio, Johnson directed the session musicians to play piano, guitar and gentle
brush-driven drums in a stretched-out triplet rhythm, emphasizing the
third of the chord in the guitar and the
fifth in the piano. This created a floating
counter-melody to the vocal harmonies. Heavy
reverberation was added to the vocals at the
mastering stage, under the direction of Goldner. peaking at number eleven in July. The
Billboard Year-End chart ranked it as the 73rd biggest hit of 1959
. Rolling Stone magazine placed the Flamingos' version of "I Only Have Eyes for You" at number 158 on their 2011 list of the "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2003, it was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2009, Johnson said the song was making even more money for him at the time than when the Flamingos were together.
The Lettermen version A 1966 recording by
the Lettermen went to number 4 on the US
Easy Listening chart and number 72 on Hot 100.
Jerry Butler version In 1972,
Jerry Butler's version on
Mercury records spent eight weeks on the Billboard R&B chart, reaching a positional high of number 20. It also charted in the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 85.
Art Garfunkel version A recording of the song by
Art Garfunkel was a number-one hit on the
UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks, In the US, the song reached number 18 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the
Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song also reached number one on the
RPM middle-of-the-road chart and number eight on the top singles chart. Garfunkel performed "I Only Have Eyes for You" on the
second episode of
Saturday Night Live. ==Album appearances==