Bongo Cha Cha Cha

"Bongo Cha Cha Cha"
Single by Caterina Valente
from the album Miss Personality
Language	Italian
B-side	"Guardando il cielo"
Released	1959 (1959)
Recorded	1959
Genre	Cha cha cha Latin pop
Length	2:47
Label	Decca Records
Composer(s)	Ernst Bader Ralf Arnie Werner Müller
Lyricist(s)	Giuseppe Perotti
Caterina Valente singles chronology
"Un treno nel blu" (1959) "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" (1959) "Till" (1959)
Audio sample
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"Bongo Cha Cha Cha" is a 1959 song by French-Italian singer Caterina Valente, originally included a German-language EP and best known in its Italian version, which was published as a single in 1959. The song became a big international hit, being translated into several languages including Spanish, French, English,^{[ citation needed ]} Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian. It saw a resurgence in popularity after being featured in the 2019 film Spider-Man: Far from Home and going viral on TikTok in 2021.

Original version

Background

"Bongo Cha Cha Cha" was written by Ernst Bader, Ralf Arnie and Werner Müller, with the German version originally conducted by Müller and performed by Valente and her brother Silvio Francesco (as the duo Caterina und Silvio) in the Paul Martin movie Du bist wunderbar . Soon set to Italian lyrics by Giuseppe Perotti (under the pseudonym Pinchi), the song is one of the first examples of German- and Italian-language cha cha cha, a Latin American dance of Cuban origins successfully imported also in Europe since the 1950s. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

By 1959, Valente had signed a recording contract with Decca Records, thanks to the success achieved internationally and in particular in the United States, ^[3] where her singles had reached the top ten and her television appearances were warmly received by the public. ^[5] The release of "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" was also a great success and was included in the Miss Personality album (titled Personalità in Italy), released in 1960. The single has been published in many countries including Germany, Yugoslavia, Australia, United States and Greece. ^[6]

A Serbo-Croatian cover of the song was recorded by Ljiljana Petrović in 1962, and a Bulgarian one by Raina Deneva in 1964. ^[7]

Revival

In 2013, "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" was included on the soundtrack to the French film Elle s'en va (On My Way), directed by Emmanuelle Bercot and starring Catherine Deneuve. ^[8]

In 2019, "Bongo Cha Cha Cha", in its Italian version, was included on the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Far from Home , directed by Jon Watts, in the segment when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his schoolmates land in Venice, Italy. The song went viral, gaining renewed popularity. In 2021, the song went viral again via the social media platform TikTok, thanks to its use for a trend that has collected over 250 million views, started from Latin countries and South America, and later in Italy and Germany. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

"Bongo Cha Cha Cha" was sampled in the 2021 single "Na chile" by GeeGun featuring Egor Kreed, The Limba, Blago White, OG Buda, Timati, Soda Luv and Guf. ^[7] In 2022, it was used in a Mecca Bingo advertisement. ^[13]

Track listings

7" single "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" (Italy, 1959)

A. "Bongo Cha Cha Cha"

(Ernst Bader, Ralf Arnie, Werner Müller and Giuseppe Perotti)

B. "Guardando il cielo"

(Ernst Bader, Ralf Arnie, Werner Müller and Giuseppe Perotti)

Decca Records 45-C 16535

Goodboys version

"Bongo Cha Cha Cha"
Single by Goodboys
Language	Italian
Released	21 May 2021 (2021-05-21)
Recorded	2021
Genre	Cha cha cha Latin pop house
Length	1:53
Label	Atlantic Records UK
Composer(s)	Ernst Bader Ralf Arnie Werner Müller
Lyricist(s)	Giuseppe Perotti
Producer(s)	Adrià Alemany García Goodboys
Goodboys singles chronology
"Goodbye" (2020) "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" (2021) "Black & Blue" (2022)
Music video
"Bongo Cha Cha Cha" on YouTube

In the wake of the TikTok revival, a house version remix of "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" was produced by the British house music group Goodboys, which peaked at number 23 in the Italian charts and number 6 in the Hungarian charts, as well as reaching number 1 in the Hungarian airplay. The song has totalled nearly 100 million streams on Spotify, reaching first place in the Viral Spotify Italia chart in July 2021 and appearing on the Switzerland Spotify chart in August 2021. ^{[3] [14]}

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. Lyrics by Giuseppe Perotti and vocals by Caterina Valente are uncredited. ^[15]

• Goodboys –primary artist, producer
• Ernst Bader  –composer
• Ralf Arnie –composer
• Werner Müller  –composer
• Adrià Alemany García –keyboards, mixing, percussions, producer, programmer
• Ethan Shore –keyboards, percussions, programmer
• Joshua Alexander Grimmett –keyboards, percussions, programmer
• Sam Wills – mastering

Charts and certifications

Chart performance for "Bongo Cha Cha Cha"

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [16]	73
Hungary (Single Top 40) [17]	6
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) [18]	1
Italy (FIMI) [19]	23
Italy Airplay (EarOne) [20]	12

Certifications for "Bongo Cha Cha Cha"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) [21]	Platinum	70,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Caterina Und Silvio – Es War In Portugal Im Mai / Jimmy - Du / Sweet-Sweetheart / Bongo Cha-Cha-Cha". Discogs . Retrieved 3 March 2025.
2. "Caterina und Silvio" (in German). Retrieved 2 March 2025– via Rate Your Music.
3. Uzzo, Cecilia (23 July 2021). "«Bongo Cha Cha Cha», testo e significato del tormentone dell'estate 2021 che ha 62 anni". GQ Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2025.
4. "No, la hit virale 2021 non dice 'Vongola Cha Cha Cha': ecco il vero senso della canzone". Radio DeeJay (in Italian). 1 September 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
5. Donelson, Marcy. "Caterina Valente Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 March 2025.
6. "Caterina Valente - Bongo Cha-Cha-Cha". Discogs .
7. "Bongo Cha-Cha-Cha by Caterina Valente - Samples, Covers and Remixes". WhoSampled . Retrieved 2 March 2025.
8. "Caterina Valente". IMDb .
9. Buratti, Ivan (5 April 2021). "Bongo cha cha cha, il trend virale su TikTok: tutte le curiosità sulla canzone". Webboh (in Italian).
10. Arpino, Ilaria (6 April 2021). "TikTok, 'Bongo cha cha cha' e 'Miraculous' sono le nuove tendenze della settimana". Radio Zeta (in Italian). RTL 102.5.
11. Abbate, Mauro (8 April 2021). "Tutte le curiosità su Bongo Cha Cha Cha, la hit di Caterina Valente virale su TikTok". Notizie Musica.
12. "Testo di Bongo Cha Cha Cha, canzone virale su TikTok". Team World. 20 August 2021.
13. "Mecca Bingo - Let's play". 26 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022– via YouTube.
14. "Bongo Cha Cha Cha". Chartmetric. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
15. "Bongo Cha Cha Cha - Goodboys". AllMusic . Retrieved 2 March 2025.
16. "Bongo Cha Cha Cha — GOODBOYS - WARNER MUSIC". hitparada.ifpicr.cz (in Czech). Česká národní skupina Mezinárodní federace hudebního průmyslu . Retrieved 2 March 2025.
17. "2021/38. heti Single Top 40 slágerlista". slagerlistak.hu (in Hungarian). Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége . Retrieved 2 March 2025.
18. "2021/50. heti Rádiós Top 40 slágerlista". slagerlistak.hu (in Hungarian). Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
19. "Classifiche — Singoli — Classifica settimanale WK 33 (dal 13.08.2021 al 19.08.2021)". fimi.it (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 2 March 2025.
20. "Bongo Cha Cha Cha - Goodboys | Scheda brano". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved 3 March 2025.
21. "Italian single certifications – Goodboys – Bongo Cha Cha Cha" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 2 March 2025.