"Para Vigo me voy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra | ||||
B-side | "A Street in Old Seville" | |||
Released | 1936 | |||
Recorded | December 13, 1935 | |||
Genre | Ballroom conga | |||
Label | Victor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ernesto Lecuona | |||
Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
|
"Para Vigo me voy" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Lecuona Cuban Boys | ||||
B-side | "Patica y Mondonguito" | |||
Released | 1937 | |||
Recorded | May 31, 1937 | |||
Genre | Ballroom conga | |||
Label | Columbia Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Ernesto Lecuona | |||
Lecuona Cuban Boys singles chronology | ||||
|
"Para Vigo me voy", known in English as "Say Si Si", is a popular song written in 1935 by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona with lyrics by Francia Luban (original Spanish version) and Al Stillman (translated English version). Early bands to record the song include Xavier Cugat's orchestra (1935) and Lecuona Cuban Boys (1937). The song was copyrighted in the United States in 1940. [1] It became a hit in the US when it was recorded by The Andrews Sisters and Glenn Miller in 1940, and The Mills Brothers in 1953.
Releases including "Para Vigo me voy" often label the song as a "conga", or occasionally a "rumba". Thus, it is considered an early example of a "salon conga" or "ballroom conga", [2] in the same vein as the famous "ballroom rumbas" such as "The Peanut Vendor" ("El manisero"). According to musicologist Alberto Pérez Perazzo, "Para Vigo me voy" is one of the first popular songs with a true conga rhythm. [3]
One of the earliest recordings of "Para Vigo me voy" was made by Xavier Cugat and his orchestra featuring vocalist Desi Arnaz in December 1935 for Victor. Cugat re-recorded the song in 1945. [4] In 1937, Lecuona Cuban Boys, the ballroom rhumba band established by Ernesto Lecuona himself, recorded the song for Columbia with a 1936 recording of "Patica y Mondonguito" as the B-side. [5]
Popular American artists who have recorded the song include The Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, and The Mills Brothers. Besides, the song appeared in various films including It Comes Up Love (sung by Gloria Jean and The Guadalajara Trio, accompanied by Leon Belasco and his orchestra).
The Andrews Sisters' version (on Decca Records label 3013), recorded February 7, 1940 and released in February 1940) [6] [7] was the most popular version. It entered the US Billboard charts on March 30, 1940, reaching a peak position of #4. [8] [9] This version was also re-released under Decca label 25098 in 1948 after it was included in the movie When My Baby Smiles at Me [10]
The Glenn Miller version, with vocals by Marion Hutton (on Bluebird Records label 10622 [11] ), was recorded on January 26, 1940 and also released in 1940. It reached #15 on the Billboard charts. [8]
The Mills Brothers' recording (on Decca Records, label 28670 [12] ) was recorded on February 24, 1953. [13] [14] It was released in May 1953 and reached #12 on the Billboard charts. [8] In 1985, the Art of Noise sampled the beginning of this recording for "Legs".
According to the Diaz Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection at the Florida International University Libraries, the following artists have recorded "Para Vigo me voy":
Johnny Rodríguez (1936),
Lorenzo Pego y su Orquesta (1936),
Manuel Escalona (1936),
Orquesta Obregón (1936),
Leo Reisman (1937),
Francisco Lomuto (1937),
Marimba Panamericana (1937),
Nilo Menéndez (1938),
Henry King (1938),
Diosa Costello (1940),
Marcos Rosales (1940),
Noro Morales (1945),
Frank Damirón (1948),
Miguelito Valdés (1950),
Tony-Armand (1952),
Pearl Bailey (1954),
Billo's Caracas Boys (1954),
Varela Varelita y su Orquesta de Jazz (1954),
Humberto Suárez (1955),
Julio Gutiérrez & Cuarteto Faxas (1956),
Oquesta Havana Casino (1956),
Félix Guerrero (1956),
Dan Davis (1956),
Lawrence Welk (1957),
Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney with Billy May's orchestra for the album Fancy Meeting You Here (1958),
Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana (1959),
Toni Arden (1959),
Orquesta D'Artega (1960),
Chapuseaux y Damirón, Chucho Rodríguez, Antonio Matas, Chamaco García, Ñico Membiela, Huberal Herrera, René Cóspito, Everardo Ordaz, Hugo Avendaño, Juan Bruno Tarraza (1964),
Bing Crosby for his album Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version) (1968)
César Morales (1968),
Mariano Mercerón (1975),
Alfredo Sadel (1978),
Los Guaracheros de Oriente (1980),
Carlos Nuñez Muñoz & La Vieja Trova Santiaguera (1996),
Alfredo Kraus (1996),
Compay Segundo (1998),
Bebo Valdés (2000), as the last track of El Arte del Sabor (in a medley with "Adiós Panamá", also by Lecuona). [15]
Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacionalizada", which shortly after was absorbed by EGREM.
Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Although taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba in both its music and its dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word (rhumba) to distinguish between them.
Orquesta típica, or simply a típica, is a Latin American term for a band which plays popular music. The details vary from country to country. The term tends to be used for groups of medium size in some well-defined instrumental set-up.
"Amapola" is a 1920 song by Spanish American composer José María Lacalle García, who also wrote the original lyrics in Spanish. Alternative Spanish lyrics were written by Argentine lyricist Luis Roldán in 1924. French lyrics were written by Louis Sauvat and Robert Champfleury. After the death of Lacalle in 1937, English language lyrics were written by Albert Gamse. In the 1930s, the song became a standard of the rhumba repertoire, later crossing over into pop music charts.
"Quiéreme mucho" is a criolla-bolero composed in 1911 by Gonzalo Roig with lyrics by Ramón Gollury and Agustín Rodríguez. The song was inspired by Roig's wife, Blanca Becerra, and premiered in Havana in 1911 without much success. In 1917, it was included in the sainete El servicio militar obligatorio and performed by Becerra and Rafael Llorens to critical acclaim. Roig published and sold the rights to the song in 1921, and the first recording was made in the United States by singer Tito Schipa in 1923. The English version, "Yours", was published in 1931 in the United States. It featured lyrics in English written by Albert Gamse and Jack Sherr. Both versions have been extensively recorded and arranged by different musicians, becoming Latin music standards.
Miguelito Valdés, also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of cubanismo.
Rafael Muñoz Medina was a Puerto Rican double bassist and big band director. His repertoire consistent mainly of guarachas, congas and boleros. He was a prolific bandleader from 1929 until his retirement in the 1950s. His hits include "Sandunguera", "El hueso de María", "La conga del 39" and "Ojos malvados". The primary lead vocalists of his orchestra were José Luis Moneró, Félix Castrillón and his son Raffi Muñoz. Other singers that performed with his band were Tony Sánchez and Irma Morillo.
The Orquesta Hermanos Palau was one of the most renowned dance bands in Cuba during the early 1930s and late 1940s, following the tradition of local jazz bands started by the Jazz Band Sagua in 1914. These orchestras emerged as an influential sign of the American music in Cuba, to achieving a bridge between popular music genres and the characteristic sound of American jazz big bands.
"La engañadora" is a song written by violinist Enrique Jorrín and first recorded by Orquesta América in March 1953. Shortly after its release it became Panart's biggest-selling single. It is widely considered the first cha-cha-cha and one of the most influential Cuban songs.
The discography of Arsenio Rodríguez consists of numerous singles released between 1940 and 1956 by Victor, as well as LPs released between 1957 and 1970 by various labels. In addition, there are noncommercial recordings archived at the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies Archive, Smithsonian Institution.
"Bruca maniguá" is an afro-son composed by Arsenio Rodríguez in 1937. It was first recorded by Orquesta Casino de la Playa featuring Miguelito Valdés on vocals in June 1937. Ever since it has become a Cuban son standard, with famous versions by Abelardo Barroso, Sierra Maestra, Buena Vista Social Club and Ibrahim Ferrer. The song, which has been called "a landmark in the development of Cuban popular music" by Ned Sublette, was Arsenio Rodríguez's first hit and an example of his Afro-Cuban style of son within the afrocubanismo movement.
Puchito Records was Cuba's second independent record label. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Gorís, became instant hits.
Enrique Raúl Planas Fernández was a popular Cuban singer and songwriter. He performed and recorded with many bands and musicians, including Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana, Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz, Conjunto Rumbavana, Conjunto Chappottín, Charanga Rubalcaba, Rubén González, and the Afro-Cuban All Stars.
Juana Coralia López Valdés was a Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer. Between 1940 and 1956 she directed her own charanga danzonera, being the first woman to direct any such orchestra in Cuba. During her career she composed many popular danzones such as "Llegó Manolo", "El bajo que come chivo", "Los jóvenes del agua fria" and the famous "Isora Club", which became a standard in the Latin music repertoire.
Dominica Verges González was a Cuban singer, famous for her interpretation of danzones. She started her career at a very young age singing in her family's son septet, which she left to settle in Havana in 1935. There she performed with several female orchestras such as Anacaona and Orquesta Ilusión, before joining Alfaro Pérez's Orquesta Siglo XX in 1938. With the Siglo XX Verges became a popular danzón singer, making several recordings in the 1940s. She also sang with Justa García's quartet, Orquesta Almendra and the Charanga Típica Cubana, among other groups, before retiring in 1982.
"Suavecito" is a Cuban son written by Ignacio Piñeiro and first recorded by his Septeto Nacional in 1929. It is a standard of the son repertoire and one of the biggest hits by the Septeto Nacional. It has been covered by numerous artists including Cuarteto Machín, Celia Cruz, Orquesta Aragón and Sierra Maestra.
"Juventud del Pueblo Nuevo", or simply "Pueblo Nuevo", is a danzón composed by Cuban bassist Israel López "Cachao". It is one of his many compositions dedicated to a Cuban venue where he frequently played as part of the charanga Arcaño y sus Maravillas. It has become a standard of the genre, being regularly performed by danzón orchestras over the years.
Arcaño y sus Maravillas was a Cuban charanga founded in 1937 by flautist Antonio Arcaño. Until its dissolution in 1958, it was one of the most popular and prolific danzón orchestras in Cuba, particularly due to the development of the danzón-mambo by its two main composers and musicians: Orestes López and his brother Israel López "Cachao" (bass). Such upbeat version of the danzón served as a precursor of the mambo popularized by Pérez Prado, as well as the chachachá created by Enrique Jorrín, a violinist who started his career in the Maravillas. Other important musicians in the Maravillas were pianist Jesús López, timbalero Ulpiano Díaz, violinist Félix Reina and flautist Eulogio Ortiz.
"Mi saoco" is a son montuno written and performed by Cuban singer Benny Moré. It was recorded in February 1955 and released as a single by RCA Victor later that year. Moré's recording featured his Banda Gigante with Eduardo Cabrera "Cabrerita" on piano and a large horn section featuring Santiago Peñalver on saxophone. The song became a staple of Moré's live repertoire, and one of his performances was filmed for television and later shown on BBC Arena in 1984 and 1986. That performance features Generoso Jiménez on trombone, who joined the Banda Gigante in April 1955, after the original studio recording.
Cuban Dance Party is a 1959 album by Bebo Valdés and his orchestra. It is an entirely instrumental album, including big band renditions of chachachás, mambos, afros, etc. It was released in the United States by Everest Records in stereo, which makes the sound quality particularly good compared to other Cuban albums of the time. It features Humberto Suárez, long-time pianist of the Orquesta Cosmopolita, on organ on two tracks.
9780634099786.