Incendiary Mambo Rhythms: The Story of "Papa Loves Mambo" and "Mambo Italiano"
Содержание
Mambo is a famous, and very passionate dance that originated in Cuba... By 1940, the fashion for it had already taken over first America and then the whole world.....
Today we propose to recall the history of two wonderful songs dedicated to this dance, namely: "Papa Loves Mambo" and "Mambo Italiano"!
Perry Como - "Papa Loves Mambo" (1954).
The story of this song dates back to 1954. It was then that Bix Reicher showed composer Al Hoffman the sketches about "Daddy and Mamba", and he immediately caught fire... It's not surprising, considering that at that time there was a real "mambo mania"! A song with such a message automatically became a resounding number one hit.....
The RCA Victor label soon recognised the song as a potential hit and offered it to Perry Como, who by then was widely known not only as a singer but also as a showman! And, it should be noted, the label's employees were not wrong: Como performed the song in his ironic manner and it became a popular hit, reaching number 4 in the American chart.
Despite its wild popularity in the West, in the Soviet Union the song about "Daddy and Mamba" remained in the shadows for a long time... It was only decades later that people started talking about it.
With the advent of the new century, "Papa Loves Mambo" was not forgotten, but on the contrary... For example, the composition can be heard in the film "Ocean's 11 Friends". And in 2004 it accompanied the Nike advert, which, by the way, was timed to the football championship!
Rosemary Clooney - "Mambo Italiano" (1955).
As for this song, its history is rather convoluted.....
The English-language Wikipedia lists Italian composer Renato Corozone as the author of "Mambo Italiano". Renato was very popular in his home country in the 1950s! He is also known as one of the first composers of Italian rock and roll!
As for "Mambo Italiano", the song turned out to be quite funny and even ironic... As the hero of the song says: "If you want to be a trendy cool guy, forget about tarantella and mozzarella - dance Italian mambo!".
But back to our confusion. In the English-language Wikipedia the author is listed as Corozone, while on the page of the song itself it is Bob Merrill! And this Merrill is not just listed as the author, but even tells the story of how he was inspired in an Italian restaurant and started to write the lyrics of the future hit right on a napkin! And compared to Carosone's version, his introduction before the rousing chorus is more measured....
In fact, it was in this form that the song was first performed by singer Rosemary Clooney. "Mambo Italiano" topped the UK chart and also entered the US Top Ten!
Interesting fact: initially American radio DJs considered the song ambiguous and unacceptable for airplay... It was only after a Catholic priest and professors of Romance languages "gave the okay" that the track got on the radio!
