A Love Song Reborn — How Perry Como Turned a Latin Ballad into Gold
By the time Perry Como recorded It’s Impossible in 1970, he was already one of the most familiar and comforting voices in popular music. For years, he had made singing sound effortless, as if the song had simply drifted into the room and he was kind enough to share it. But this hit had an unusual journey. It began far from American pop radio, travelled through the world of Latin songwriting, and landed in Como’s hands at exactly the right moment. The result was one of the biggest late-career triumphs of his long and remarkable career.
From Mexico to the American charts
The original song was not called It’s Impossible
The melody that millions came to know as It’s Impossible started life as Somos Novios, written by the great Mexican songwriter Armando Manzanero. By the late 1960s, Manzanero was already highly respected across the Spanish-speaking world for his elegant, emotionally rich ballads. Somos Novios, whose title translates roughly as “We Are Sweethearts,” was one of his most beloved compositions.
Manzanero had a gift for writing melodies that felt intimate and expansive at the same time. His songs often moved with a graceful, romantic flow, and Somos Novios was a perfect example. It carried the warmth of a bolero but also had the kind of sweeping melodic shape that could cross borders easily. That cross-cultural leap would soon become crucial.
An English lyric opened the door
To bring the song to the English-language pop market, a new lyric was needed. That job fell to Sid Wayne, an American songwriter and lyricist known for his work across pop and television. Rather than creating a literal translation, Wayne wrote a fresh English lyric built around a bold central idea: “It’s impossible.”
That phrase gave the song a dramatic hook. Instead of simply describing romance, the lyric framed love as something so essential that life without it could barely be imagined. It was grand, heartfelt, and perfectly suited to a singer with Perry Como’s smooth authority. The finished English version kept the emotional richness of Manzanero’s melody while giving it a polished pop-ballad identity for mainstream American audiences.
How Perry Como made it his own
A veteran voice meets a contemporary song
By 1970, Perry Como was no newcomer chasing trends. He had been a major star since the 1940s, with hit records, television success, and a reputation for unhurried charm. Yet It’s Impossible did something especially impressive: it made Como sound current without asking him to abandon what made him unique.
That balance mattered. Popular music in 1970 was a crowded and changing field. Rock was dominant, singer-songwriters were emerging as major forces, soul records were reshaping radio, and lush adult pop had to work harder to stand out. Como’s recording succeeded because it did not try to compete on volume or fashion. Instead, it leaned into elegance, melody, and emotional sincerity.
The recording team behind the hit
The single was released on RCA Records, Como’s longtime label, and produced by Chet Atkins, one of the most important figures in American popular music. Atkins is often remembered first as a guitar virtuoso and as a key architect of the Nashville Sound, but he was also a producer of remarkable subtlety. He understood how to frame a vocalist without crowding them, and that skill was vital here.
Under Atkins’ guidance, It’s Impossible was arranged as a sweeping but controlled ballad. The production gave the song plenty of orchestral warmth, yet left room for Como’s voice to remain the emotional centre. Rather than overselling the drama, Como sang with calm conviction. That restraint is part of what makes the record so effective even now. He does not force the song; he lets it bloom.
As with many studio recordings of the period, a number of seasoned session musicians and arrangers helped shape the final sound, even if not every player became widely known to the public. What listeners hear is a finely balanced ensemble performance: soft rhythm, rich strings, tasteful backing, and a lead vocal delivered with the kind of poise that comes only from deep experience.
The climb up the charts
A major hit in a changing market
It’s Impossible became one of Perry Como’s biggest hits of the 1970s. In the United States, it reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, a significant achievement for an established traditional pop singer at a time when the charts were increasingly driven by younger acts and newer styles. Even more fittingly, it performed strongly on the Easy Listening chart, where its sophisticated arrangement and romantic mood found an ideal home.
The song also sold well internationally and reminded audiences around the world that Como’s appeal had not faded. For many listeners, it was both a fresh hit and a reassuring return of a familiar voice. Commercially, it proved that there was still a large audience for beautifully crafted adult pop when the song, singer, and timing aligned.
A Grammy nod and renewed visibility
The success of the single helped bring Como renewed attention during this period of his career. It also earned notable industry recognition, including a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. That nomination reflected more than just sales. It was an acknowledgement that Como had delivered a performance of real finesse, and that the song itself had become one of the standout ballads of the year.
Behind the scenes and memorable details
A song many artists wanted
One of the most interesting things about It’s Impossible is how quickly it attracted other singers. Once the English version broke through, the song became a magnet for interpreters from different corners of popular music. That is often the sign of a truly strong composition: it can survive changes in voice, arrangement, and style while still feeling complete.
But Perry Como’s version remains the benchmark for many listeners. His recording arrived at the moment when the song still felt new, and his voice gave it a tenderness that was hard to match. Other versions might lean more dramatic or more theatrical, but Como’s reading has a welcoming warmth that makes the emotion feel lived-in rather than performed.
Armando Manzanero’s international breakthrough
The success of It’s Impossible also helped introduce Armando Manzanero’s songwriting to a much wider English-speaking audience. That matters because this was not merely a case of an American star borrowing a tune. It was a genuine example of a Latin American songwriter entering the mainstream pop conversation on a global scale.
In later years, Manzanero would be celebrated as one of the giants of romantic songwriting, and the success of this song played a meaningful part in that wider recognition. It showed that a melody rooted in one musical tradition could be translated, adapted, and embraced almost everywhere.
Why the song fit 1970 so well
A bridge between classic pop and modern adult contemporary
The early 1970s were a fascinating moment in popular music. The polished pop vocal tradition of earlier decades had not disappeared, but it was evolving. Listeners still wanted romance and melody, yet production styles were changing, and records were becoming more album-oriented and emotionally direct.
It’s Impossible sits right in that transition. It carries the grace of classic mid-century pop, but it also points toward what would become the adult contemporary format of the 1970s. Its lush arrangement, international roots, and conversational emotional tone made it feel contemporary without sounding fleeting. In that sense, the record was perfectly timed.
It also reflected a broader openness in pop music. Songs were increasingly travelling across borders, and audiences were more willing to embrace material with international origins. Long before “global crossover” became a familiar industry phrase, this song quietly demonstrated how powerful that exchange could be.
The lasting legacy of It’s Impossible
One of Perry Como’s defining later hits
For Perry Como, It’s Impossible remains one of the signature recordings of his later career. It proved that he was not simply a beloved figure from an earlier era, but an artist who could still connect deeply with contemporary audiences. That kind of late-career hit is not easy to achieve, and Como managed it without altering his identity. He succeeded by doing what he always did best: singing with warmth, clarity, and complete ease.
A standard that never really faded
The song has endured because it works on several levels at once. It is a memorable melody, a strong lyric adaptation, a showcase for a master vocalist, and a beautiful example of international songwriting crossing into the mainstream. It has been revisited by many artists over the years, but it still carries the glow of Perry Como’s version most vividly.
“It’s impossible” is one of those titles that sounds absolute, but the song itself is full of tenderness. That contrast is part of its magic.
More than half a century later, the record still feels like an invitation to slow down for three minutes and believe in romance again. In a fast-moving musical era, Perry Como offered a reminder that understatement could still be powerful, and that a beautifully written song could travel a very long way indeed.