Frenesi
Frenesí in the version by Artie Shaw from 1940 is the title of an instrumental recording and, as a multi- million seller, one of the most successful titles of the swing era and Artie Shaw's most successful title.
History of origin
The original Frenesí (Spanish for “frenzy”) comes from the Mexican composer Alberto Domínguez Borrás from 1939, who also wrote Perfidia (Spanish for “meanness”) in the same year . Both compositions were picked up by American swing bands. In the same year 1939 "Frenesí" was interpreted for the first time by the Mexican Lupita Palomera.
Clarinetist Artie Shaw had just left his band and went on vacation to Mexico in November 1939. In Acapulco he discovered the song Frenesí when a mariachi band played it, and brought it to the USA, where an English text by the still unknown Ray Charles and Sidney Keith Russell was added.
Publication and Success
Back in Hollywood, Artie Shaw put together his orchestra, enlarged to 32 musicians, mostly from studio musicians, which was one of the most successful swing bands of the time. Arranged by the Afro-American oboist William Grant Still , Frenesi was certainly not one of the hot jazz that Artie Shaw was used to. Although it is not a jazz recording in the strict sense, it has some interesting solos (especially Mannie Klein (trumpet) and Jack Cave (French horn)).
On March 3, 1940, the single Frenesi / Adios, Mariquita Linda (Victor # 26542) was released that same month. After the title appeared on the pop charts on July 27, 1940, it climbed to number one on December 21, 1940, where it stayed for 13 weeks. In terms of length of stay in first place, the title is Shaw's most successful song. It sold a total of three million copies, making it not only Shaw's top-selling title, but also the first ever million-dollar seller by a Mexican author.
Cover versions
A total of 71 titles are registered with the ASCAP for Dominguez , Frenesi has been covered eight times according to Shaw's version. A version of this by Glenn Miller was published in February 1941 . There is also a German version of Vico Torriani & Die Sunnies & Das Cornet Trio from 1959 under the title Blue Night in Mexico (German text by Ralph Siegel ; Decca # 18974), which however did not make it into the German charts. In 1960, Pérez Prado turned this into a mambo in his unmistakable style, and there are also versions by Bobby Rydell (1962), Julie London (1963) and Linda Ronstadt (1992).
Individual evidence
- ^ David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song , 2003, p. 252
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 32