"They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Sting | ||||
from the album ...Nothing Like the Sun | ||||
B-side | "Ellas Danzan Solas" | |||
Released | 9 September 1988 (UK) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1987 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 7:16 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gordon Sumner | |||
Producer(s) | Gordon Sumner | |||
Sting singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Sting - They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" on YouTube |
"They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo)" is a protest song composed by English musician Sting and published first on his 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun ; the song was the fifth and final single released from the album. The song is a metaphor referring to mourning Chilean women (arpilleristas) who dance the Cueca, the national dance of Chile, alone with photographs of their disappeared loved ones in their hands.
Sting was accompanied by Eric Clapton, Fareed Haque and Mark Knopfler on guitar, by Branford Marsalis on the saxophone, and with Rubén Blades providing additional Spanish vocals.
Sting explained his song as a symbolic gesture of protest against the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet whose regime killed thousands of people between 1973 and 1990. This song was recorded in both English (with some spoken Spanish words by the Panamanian salsa singer, Rubén Blades) and Spanish (with additional lyrics by Roberto Livi). This latter version was titled "Ellas Danzan Solas" and was released on the 1988 EP Nada como el sol . [2]
Cash Box said that the song is "one of Sting's most powerful tunes, a tribute to the Chilean women who stand in mourning and protest for their missing sons and husbands." [3]
There are several live versions of this song, most notable from the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute (1988), from an Amnesty International concert (1988) in Buenos Aires with Peter Gabriel and the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. On October 13, 1990, Sting played the song at Estadio Nacional in Santiago de Chile (with artists including Jackson Browne, Branford Marsalis, Luz Casal, Sinéad O'Connor, Peter Gabriel, Vinnie Colaiuta and New Kids on the Block).
Jose Feliciano and the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra Project (Instrumental Version) (1988) from the album Jose Feliciano and Vienna Symphony Orchestra, [4] Richie Havens (1994) from the album Cuts to the Chase, [5] Bob Belden Ensemble (Instrumental Version) (1989) from the album Straight to My Heart: The Music of Sting, [6] Mark Hall from the album Acoustic Moods of Sting, [7] the London Symphony Orchestra (1994) from the album Performs the Music of Sting, [8] Lynn McDonald (2007) from the album It's High Time, [9] Holly Near & Mercedes Sosa (English/Spanish Version) (1990) from the album Singer in the Storm, [10] Mariano Yanani (2005) from the album Babies go Sting, [11] Joan Baez (Spanish Version) (1989) from the album Diamonds & Rust in the Bullring, [12] and Birgitte Grimstad (Danish version) (1996) from the album Ord over grind, 51 Beste 1966-1994. [13]
Chart (1988–1989) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [14] | 35 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [15] | 66 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [16] | 29 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [17] | 27 |
UK Singles (OCC) [18] | 94 |
José Montserrate Feliciano García is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "Feliz Navidad". Music genres he explores consist of fusion of many styles, such as Latin, blues, jazz, soul and rock music, created primarily with the help of his signature acoustic guitar sound.
Chilean music refers to all kinds of music developed in Chile, or by Chileans in other countries, from the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to the modern day. It also includes the native pre-Columbian music from what is today Chilean territory.
Kenneth David Kirkland was an American pianist and keyboardist.
Cueca is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially declared as such by the Pinochet dictatorship on September 18, 1979.
... Nothing Like the Sun is the second solo studio album by English musician Sting. The album was originally released on 5 October 1987 on A&M (worldwide) as a double LP and single CD. The album explores the genres of pop rock, soft rock, jazz, reggae, world, acoustic rock, dance-rock, and funk rock. The songs were recorded in March–August 1987 during sessions that took place at AIR Studios, in Montserrat, assisted by record producers Hugh Padgham, Bryan Loren, and Neil Dorfsman. It features a number of high-profile guest guitarists, including former Police member Andy Summers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Hiram Bullock, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Sting's early work.
"Englishman in New York" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sting, from his second studio album ...Nothing Like the Sun, released in October 1987. Branford Marsalis played soprano saxophone on the track, while the drums were played by Manu Katché and the percussion by Mino Cinélu.
Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is the twenty-eighth official album release for English musician Elton John, released in 1987. It is a live album recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" is a 1955 popular song composed by David Mann, with lyrics by Bob Hilliard. It was introduced as the title track of Frank Sinatra's 1955 album In the Wee Small Hours.
Nada Como el Sol is an extended play by English musician Sting, containing five songs from his second solo album Nothing Like the Sun sung in Spanish and Portuguese and published in 1988. It therefore contains four versions sung in Spanish of the following songs Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix titled here Mariposa Libre, We'll Be Together whose title becomes Si estamos juntos, They Dance Alone translates to Ellas danzan solas and finally Fragile retitled Fragilidad, this same song performed also in Portuguese becomes Frágil. The same musicians as on the original English versions can be found on this EP.
Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 is the first greatest hits album by English musician Sting. Released in 1994, it features hit singles from his first four studio albums The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985), ...Nothing Like the Sun (1987), The Soul Cages (1991), and Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), plus two new tracks. A companion music video compilation was released on LaserDisc and VHS.
Dream Keeper is an album by bassist Charlie Haden that was recorded in 1990 and released by Blue Note Records. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance and was voted "Jazz album of the year" in Down Beat magazine's 1991 critics' poll. Haden, Carla Bley and Ray Anderson also placed first in that year's Acoustic Bass, Composer and Trombone poll categories, respectively.
"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" is the first single by English musician Sting from his solo debut album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985). It is also the opening track of the album, and is featured on Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984–1994 as well as The Very Best of Sting & The Police.
"We'll Be Together" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Sting. It was released in 1987 as the lead single from his second solo studio album, ...Nothing Like the Sun.
"When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" is a song written by Sting that was first released by English rock band the Police on their 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta. Along with another song from Zenyatta Mondatta, "Voices Inside My Head", the song reached No. 3 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart in 1981. In 2000, a remix version credited to Different Gear versus the Police reached No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 7 on the Billboard Dance chart, and No. 94 in the Netherlands. On radio stations, the song is often played directly after "Driven to Tears".
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995 he led the Tonight Show Band.
"Driven to Tears" is a song written by Sting and first released by The Police on their 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta. Although not released as a single, the song reached #35 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The political overtones of the song represent the beginning of the political activism that would recur throughout much of Sting's and the Police's subsequent music. On classic rock radio stations, the song is usually followed immediately by “When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around”.
Sting ... Live in Berlin is a live album and concert film by Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. It was recorded and filmed on 21 September 2010 at the O2 World in Berlin. The concert features live versions of Sting's songs from The Police as well as his solo song catalogue. The length of the full concert is around 135 minutes, but to get all the songs both the DVD and CD have to be purchased.
Trio Jeepy is a jazz album featuring saxophonist Branford Marsalis leading a trio that included notable bassist Milt Hinton. It was recorded January 3–4, 1988 at Astoria Studios in New York, New York. It peaked at number 3 on the Top Jazz Albums chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group.
Violeta Zúñiga was a Chilean human rights activist who was part of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos during the Military Dictatorship of Chile (1973-1990) until her death. She was also a member of the folk dance group, "Cueca sola", in which she participated more than a hundred times as a dancer, commemorating those who disappeared in Chile.
Art of Time Ensemble is a Toronto-based musical collective of leading Canadian musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical music.