"Amapola" was first recorded instrumentally by Cuban Orquesta Francesa de A. Moreno for Columbia in February 1923.
[10] This version was remembered by American soldiers in World War II and sung with irony as they fought in France and saw the poppies of Flanders Fields.
[11] Another English-language version for the American market was recorded by Spike Jones and his City Slickers in the characteristic comic style of his band.
Since its debut "Amapola" has been a favorite recording of opera tenors including Tito Schipa (1926), Nino Martini (1941),[12] Jan Peerce (1950), Alfredo Kraus (1959) and Luigi Alva (1963).
An orchestral version of "Amapola" directed by Ennio Morricone served as a leitmotif in the 1984 gangster film Once Upon a Time in America.