"Conga" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Miami Sound Machine | ||||
from the album Primitive Love | ||||
B-side | "Mucho Money" | |||
Released | September 9, 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Enrique E. Garcia | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Miami Sound Machine singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio sample | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Gloria Estefan,Miami Sound Machine - Conga" on YouTube |
"Conga" is a song by American band Miami Sound Machine,led by Gloria Estefan,released as the first single from their second English-language album, Primitive Love . The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique Garcia. The song first appeared on August 31,1985,as part of the album. The single was released in Australia on September 9,1985. [1]
"Conga" became a worldwide success and is recognized as the Miami Sound Machine and Gloria Estefan's signature song. The single reached the top 10 in various countries,including the United States,where it was the band's first charting single on the Billboard Hot 100,and the Netherlands.
According to Gloria Estefan in an interview in the Netherlands television show RTL Late Night, [2] Conga was written after the band had performed "Dr. Beat" in a club called Cartouche in Utrecht,the Netherlands. "Conga" is written in the key of E minor. [3]
In 2001,"Conga" was re-recorded as a new remix titled "Y-Tu-Conga". [4] It includes additional lyrics taken from "Dr. Beat" and "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You". It was released on Estefan's fourth compilation album and released as a promo single in Spain.
A version of "Conga" arranged with Brazilian rhythms and instrumentation and renamed "Samba" is included in Estefan's 2020 album Brazil305 . [5] A remix of "Conga" featuring Leslie Grace and Meek Mill was released in 2021 as a Bacardi sponsored and Boi-1da produced single. [6] [7]
The single was released in 1985 and became a worldwide hit,reaching number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and winning the Grand Prize at the 15th annual "Tokyo Music Festival" in Japan. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA in the U.S. for shipments of 500,000 copies. [8] However,it wasn't a hit in the United Kingdom,failing to chart on the top 75.
In Billboard magazine's year-end chart in 1986,"Conga" finished at number 40. [9]
The video is set in the fictional Miami night club "Copacabana",hosting a reception for an unspecified ambassador. The classical pianist serenading the crowd proves to be a complete bore,and the MC hastily asks Gloria and the Miami Sound Machine to perform "Conga" in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the reception. Even though Gloria protests that this is not an appropriate setting for the sexually charged song,she performs it anyway. Despite the initial shock of his wife,"Conga" becomes a hit with the ambassador and the club as the other attendees break out into a frenzied dance. Clips of the original video feature in the video of Estefan's 2020 reworking of the song,"Samba".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
2. | "Conga" (instrumental version) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
2. | "Conga" (instrumental version) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:14 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
2. | "Conga" (instrumental version) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
2. | "Conga" (instrumental version) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (European remix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:25 |
2. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (European remix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:25 |
2. | "Conga" (instrumental version) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:52 |
3. | "Mucho Money" |
| 4:44 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (European remix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:25 |
2. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Conga" (European remix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 4:25 |
2. | "Conga" (dance mix) | Enrique E. Garcia | 6:00 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [26] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [27] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date |
---|---|
Australia | September 9, 1985 [1] |
United States | October 31, 1985 |
United Kingdom | December 6, 1985 |
Miami Sound Machine was an American Latin pop band of Latin-influenced music that featured the vocals of Cuban-born recording artist Gloria Estefan. Established in 1975 by Emilio Estefan, the band was originally known as the Miami Latin Boys before becoming the Miami Sound Machine in 1977.
Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard. Estefan's record sales exceed 100 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female singers of all time. Many of Estefan's songs became international chart-topping hits, including "1-2-3", "Don't Wanna Lose You", "Coming Out of the Dark", "Turn the Beat Around", and "Heaven's What I Feel". Other hits include "Bad Boy", "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Get On Your Feet", and "You'll Be Mine ".
"Don't Wanna Lose You" is a song by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released on June 21, 1989 as the first single by Epic Records from her debut solo album, Cuts Both Ways (1989). The song is written by Estefan and produced by her husband, Emilio Estefan, Jr. It reached #1 in the US on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100 and was also certified Gold.
"Get on Your Feet" is a song by Cuban-American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released in September 1989 by Epic Records in the US, Japan, and the UK, and in 1990 in Continental Europe as the second single from her debut solo album, Cuts Both Ways (1989). The song was written by John DeFaria, Jorge Casas and Clay Ostwald, and produced by Emilio Estefan, Jr., Casas and Ostwald. A rerecorded version was included on her 2020 album Brazil305.
The album discography of the Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan consists of fourteen studio albums, fourteen compilations, and four EPs. Estefan's career sales is estimated at over 90 million records sold worldwide which made her one of the most successful female Latin crossover artists. According to RIAA, Estefan has sold 15.5 million certified albums in the United States. Hailed as the reigning "Queen of Latin Pop", she has achieved 38 number one hits across all Billboard charts. Billboard listed her as the 23rd Greatest of all-time Latin artist.
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"Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Voice)" is a song by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released as a single from her debut solo album, Cuts Both Ways (1989). It was the second single in the UK, released on September 4, 1989, and throughout Europe in September and October 1989. In the US, it was the fourth single from the album and was released in March 1990.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan, released on October 30, 1992, by Epic Records. The album includes songs with soft rock influenced sounds as well as more upbeat Latin pop works inspired by dance music. The tracks were gathered from various releases over the 1985 to 1992 period.
"Go Away" is a song by Cuban American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released in April 1993 as the fourth and last single worldwide and third to the United States from her fourth solo album and second compilation, Greatest Hits (1992). The song is much in the style of Estefan's earlier songs with the Miami Sound Machine. It was a club hit throughout Europe and America and was featured in the 1993 film Made in America, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson, and its soundtrack. It reached the UK Top 20 and US Dance Chart Top 5.
Primitive Love is the ninth studio album and second English-language record by the Miami Sound Machine, released in August 1985, by Epic Records. The album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
"Dr. Beat" is the first international single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine, led by Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan, on their first English language, but eighth overall, studio album, Eyes of Innocence (1984). The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique "Kiki" Garcia and was released worldwide in 1984, becoming a hit in several Europe countries and propelled the album to success.
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The discography of singles, promo singles, remixes and Latin tracks for Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine consists of 50 singles and 24 promotional singles. Miami Sound Machine began releasing singles in 1977 and continued until 1989, when Estefan began being credited solely as a solo artist. Miami Sound Machine released a number of commercially successful singles through the late 1980s, including "Conga", "Dr. Beat", "Anything for You", and "Bad Boy". Although Miami Sound Machine was no longer featured in the credits of releases from 1989 onwards, they remain Estefan's backing group until this day, though none of the original members remain.
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