Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs - The Cruel Sea (1965)

(Mike Maxfield)
 Australia

Sole instrumental track on self-titled album by prominent Australian band fronted by star singer-guitarist-songwriter Billy Thorpe, with Vince Maloney on lead guitar.

The inclusion of The Cruel Sea harks back to The Aztecs’ origins as a mainly instrumental band catering to the surf music craze. Billy Thorpe joined them as vocalist just as the Mersey-inspired beat boom was making vocals more essential. In 1964-65 five of their singles charted Top 3 in Australia.

See all Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs tracks featured at this website.

Later versions
I have limited this to versions leading up to The Aztecs in 1965, but there are others right up into the 2000s. See, for example, the list at Second Hand Songs.

The Vigilantes - The Cruel Sea (1965)

(Mike Maxfield)
 New Zealand

B-side on Robbins, an independent Christchurch label of Keith Robbins, owner of Robbins Recordings Studio. On the A-side is Come Tomorrow by Dixon McIvor (1943-2023), lead singer of Christchurch band The Vigilantes.

Further reading: Christchurch music site RockHappenz has copiously illustrated pages on both Dixon McIvor and The Vigilantes.

The Challengers - The Cruel Sea (1964)

(Mike Maxfield)
 USA

Distinctive arrangement on album Go Sidewalk Surfing! by Californian instrumental band specialising in surf music albums including the best-selling Surfbeat (1963).

Further reading: The Wikipedia article on The Challengers is surprisingly detailed.

The Ventures - The Cruel Sea (1964)

(Mike Maxfield)
 USA

B-side on Dolton by America’s most popular guitar instrumental band. The A-side is Walk – Don’t Run ’64 (1964 #8 USA) a reworking of their first and biggest hit (1960 #2 USA). Their second-biggest was yet to come: Hawaii Five-O (1968 #4 USA, charted 1969), their version of the theme from the hit TV show (1968-1980).

The line-up at this time was Don Wilson (rg) and Bob Bogle (bg) (founding members heard on Walk Don’t Run in 1960), plus Gerry McGee (lg) and Mel Taylor (d).

The Phantoms - The Cruel Sea (1964)

(Mike Maxfield)
 Australia

B-side on W&G by Melbourne band. Also on W&G album The Two Sides Of The Phantoms (1964).

The Phantoms were one of many Australasian bands who played instrumentals after the style of The Shadows or The Ventures in the pre-Beatles years of the early 60s. Several of them were collected on the Canetoad album The W&G Instrumental Story (1993).

They also charted in Melbourne with an original instrumental, Stampede (#27 1962).

Mike Brady and Pete Watson, later the M and the P of MPD Ltd, met while playing in The Phantoms. See Little Boy Sad by MPD Ltd.

♫ Listen at YouTube: The Rumble, a fine version of a lesser-known Shadows track written by Ike Isaacs, a good example of The Phantoms’ work.

Further reading: My Bizarro Shadows World Down Under at The Blog.

The Invaders - The Cruel Sea (1964)

(Mike Maxfield)
 New Zealand

In New Zealand this was the A-side of an Invaders single on Zodiac, but in Australia (and in the USA) it was the B-side of She’s A Mod, the classic hit by Ray Columbus And The Invaders.

See also, at this side, histories of Ray Columbus And The Invaders singles She’s A Mod and Till We Kissed.

Les Champions - Cruel Sea (Oublie qu’elle est si belle) (1963)

(Mike Maxfield - Pierre Cour)
 France

EP on Bel Air Cruel Sea, an instrumental track featuring lead guitarist Claude Ciari with strings and orchestral drums. It nevertheless credits lyricist Pierre Cour (see Michel Cogoni’s French vocal version).

Further reading: The band’s history is complicated, but try the detailed page at Guitares et batteries in the original French or in English translation.

There is a band called Les Fantômes in their history, reminding us of Melbourne’s Phantoms, above.

Michel Cogoni - Oublie qu’elle est si belle “Cruel Sea” (1963)

(Mike Maxfield - Pierre Cour)
 France

EP on Philips Oublie Qu’elle Est Si Belle by French singer, journalist and broadcaster Michel Cogoni (1936-1969).

The lyrics (= forget how beautiful she is) are by journalist, actor and prolific lyricist Pierre Cour (1916-1995). He collaborated with composer André Popp on L’amour est bleu, first heard by Vicky Leandros at Eurovision, then as an orchestral hit by Paul Mauriat as Love Is Blue.