The Story of One Song: Dean Martin - "Sway" ("Quien sera")
Содержание
The fact that Latin American music is full of sexuality and passion is an absolute fact. And there's hardly a weirdo who wants to disprove it. And why would they? If you remember the film "Let's Dance", then you probably remember how Jennifer Lopez's character said about passionate Latin American dancing: "it's a vertical expression of horizontal desire"... Today we will remember one of the most gorgeous hits with familiar hot motifs, namely the song "Sway".
History of Creation
Well let's start with the fact that the original title of this song was "Quien sera". Curiously enough, written by the Mexican composer known as Pablo Beltran Ruiz, this song launched his musical career! And what a start... It took only a year to become the leader of the Anglo-Saxon world! And here it is unfair not to emphasise the works of Dean Martin... What only our hero (whose real name, by the way, is Dino Paul Crocetti) did not do before that: he sold illegal alcoholic products, and boxed in the ring, and even worked as a croupier in a casino... Probably, it would have gone on like that for a long time... But one day Dino realised that he wanted to connect his life with the stage!
It is worth noting that Paul Crocetti (aka Martin) proved himself in the world of show business as a versatile personality - he was not only a talented performer, but also a successful comedian and a natural actor!
To this day Martin's performance is considered canonical... However... the singer himself, not without his usual cynicism, always said: "... When performing love songs, first of all I try not for the ladies, but for their companions... After all, it is they who will pay!".
As for the English version called "Sway", it was not translated, but literally written from scratch by the poet Norman Gimbel! By the way: Gimbel's creative bank was rich in film tracks... In the early 80's the poet even won an Oscar for the best soundtrack! However, it is "Sway" that has always been and remains to this day his biggest achievement!
A curious fact: while in "Quien sera" the protagonist is still looking for his other half, in "Sway" he has not only found her, and dares to ask her to dance...
Although the original version of the hit was in the mambo style, it has been replayed in a variety of genres - though with careful preservation of Latin American motifs...
Popular covers
Just how many covers were subsequently recorded of "Sway"... Some of the best are considered to be the late Michael Buble and Pussycat Dolls versions.
Michael Buble:
Pussycat Dolls:
"Sway" was played literally in all languages of the world: Japanese, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Icelandic and, of course, Russian!
Surely many people remember the song "Who Are You?" by Klavdia Shulzhenko. Its meaning is very similar to the original, except that it is more tender and shy... The most curious thing is that Shulzhenko sang on behalf of a man!
Also, "Sway" inspired Alexander Zatsepin to write the legendary "Volcano of Passion"!
Dean Martin:
"Italians are an incredibly talented people! Run through today's artists and you'll see for yourself that 90 % of them are from Italy... And the secret of their success is simple: Italians sing with their hearts, not their throats..."
