La Bamba (song)
La Bamba is the title of a Mexican folk song that was first successfully taken up in pop music by Ritchie Valens in 1958 and has since been available in numerous cover versions .
History of origin
On the night of May 17-18, 1683, the Dutch pirate Laurens (Lorenz) de Graaf visited the Mexican city of Veracruz , gathered the villagers in the church and plundered and sacked the place. This incident was reported to Madrid by the surviving Spanish administration on June 18, 1683. Later, the residents rebuilt the city and prepared for possible further raids. The word "bamba" comes from the Spanish term "bambaria", which can be translated as an attempt to prevent something in the future that has already happened once. “Arriba, arriba” means “faster, faster” and is intended to call on the city government to accelerate preparations against future attacks, but can also be interpreted as a request to speed up the dance.
Some researchers assume that the song even has African roots because many Mexican slaves came from Angola / Cameroon , where the MBamba tribe live on the Bamba River . In this context, “bambarria” is interpreted as the revolt of the slaves against the Spaniards. There is evidence that they have danced to the song since 1816.
The Spanish lyrics explain that the La Bamba dance requires a little grace (“una poca de gracia”) for both dancers, and the narrator makes it clear that he is not a mere sailor but a captain (“Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán ”). The dance style "bambolear" can be translated as "swing back and forth". From bambolear Also the word derives Bambolero / Bambolera from. Colloquially, a Bambolero is a person who likes to brag. Both allow conclusions to be drawn about the narrator. In Mexican, the song is a " son ", a musical form in 6/4 time that can be found in 7 regions. As “son jarocho” (“ jarocho ” indicates an origin from the city of Veracruz or its immediate surroundings), La Bamba exceptionally has a 4/4 time. Musically, the song is based on a very simple harmonic ostinato (a short chord progression that is continuously repeated): tonic , subdominant , dominant , e.g. B. |: D, G, A: |. In the old version there are three stanzas plus three choruses.
Originated as a folk song, it turned into a wedding song in Veracruz. Originally written in the Mexican Son Jarocho music style, it is traditionally played with one or two arpas jarochas ( harps ), violin, Jarana Jarocha, and guitar accompaniment.
Music recordings
The oldest known record comes from Andres Huesca Y Su Trio Huracan under the title El Jarabe Veracruzano (The Wedding in Veracruz) from 1908. El Jarocho (Alvaro Hernández Ortiz; vocals and guitar) recorded it around 1929 (Mexican Victor 76102) ; the catalog chronology, however, suggests 1939. Then a recording of the Los Tres Vaqueros has come down to us (RCA 7249; 1945).
On March 6, 1956, La Bamba was first created in a US recording studio with Harry Belafonte under the title Bam Bam Bamba for the LP Very Best of Harry Belafonte . The folk guitarist William Clauson, who provided the template for the Belafonte version in 1953, is named as the editor . Clauson traveled extensively through Mexico and there he came into contact with the original version.
Ritchie Valens had heard La Bamba at a Clauson concert and recorded the song on September 23, 1958 at the Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles , produced by Bob Keane. As accompaniment seemed Ernie Freeman (piano), Rene Hall (Danelektrobass), Buddy Clark (bass), Carol Kaye (rhythm guitar) and Earl Palmer (drums) with. With Carol Kaye and Earl Palmer, two later members of the famous session musician The Wrecking Crew met here . Valens plays the intro - guitar riff and the guitar solo in the instrumental part. The singer, with Mexican roots, initially did not want the traditional song to be arranged with rock & roll elements, but agreed and sang it in poor Spanish. Clauson is also named here as the processor. La Bamba appeared as the B-side of the ballad Donna on October 18, 1958 (Del-Fi 4110). While the ballad reached number 2 on the US hit parade , the B-side still came in at number 22.
Adaptation
The rhythm and blues song Twist and Shout has adapted passages from La Bamba . It was composed in 1960 by Bert Berns (under the pseudonym Bert Russell ) and Bill Medley (from the duo The Righteous Brothers ). Berns and Medley had combined two sounds, namely elements from Shout (an original composition of the Isley Brothers in August 1959) and Twist -Passagen, both by La Bamba - adaptation linked. From Twist and Shout produced two million seller , namely (published June 1962) by the Isley Brothers and the Beatles (March 1964).
More cover versions and statistics
Over 150 versions exist worldwide. For example Los Machucambos in 1960 . The tokens reached a middle chart position with La Bamba (June 1962), a typical Mexican folklore interpretation came out in 1963 by the group Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán . Trini Lopez included him on his live LP At PJ’s (released June 5, 1963; ranked 2 in the LP charts). It was followed by Neil Diamond (LP Feel of Neil Diamond ; September 1966), the Sandpipers (June 1967) or James Last (LP This is James Last ; April 1967, GB-6). The real biography of Ritchie Valens was filmed under the film title La Bamba ; the US premiere of La Bamba took place on July 24, 1987. Los Lobos presented a cover version that became the first number one hit version of La Bamba in the United States after its release in June 1987 . It also reached the top position in the respective charts in 27 other countries and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. La Bamba is one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century by National Public Radio and received a BMI award .
Old version with three stanzas
One of the old folk song text versions known today in Mexico and currently still sung reads:
Para bailar la bamba, para bailar la bamba se necesita una poca de gracia, una poca de gracia y otra cosita.
Ay arriba, arriba, arriba, arriba, arriba iré.
Yo no soy marinero, yo no soy marinero, por ti seré, por ti seré, por ti seré.
(( Refrain )) Bailar ba bamba, ba ba bamba, ba ba bamba, la bamba.
En mi casa me dicen, en mi casa me dicen: "El inocente", porque tengo chamacas, porque tengo chamacas de quince al veinte.
Ay arriba, arriba, - arriba, arriba, arriba iré.
((Refrain))
Para llegar al cielo, para llegar al cielo se necesita una poca de gracia, una poca de gracia y otra cosita.
Ay arriba, arriba, Ay arriba, arriba, arriba iré.
Yo no soy Marinero, soy capitan, soy capitan, soy capitan, por ti seré, por ti seré.
((Refrain))
literature
- Hermes Rafael: Origen e Historia del Mariachi. Katún, Mexico, D. F., 1982
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ David F. Marley, Pirates of The Americas , Volume 1, 2010, p. 381
- ↑ What's The Song About? La Bamba
- ^ Bobby Vaughn, Africa and Aboriginal Tuesdays: Mexico in the Context of the Transatlantic Slave Trade , May 17, 2005
- ^ John Todd Jr., La Bamba: Canción de Veracruz , 2007
- ↑ Martha Poblett Miranda / Anna Laura Delgado, Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz , 2nd edition 1992, p. 209
- ↑ MexConnect of January 1, 2006: Janice Carraher, La Bamba Explained: The Music of Veracruz
- ↑ Kai Sichtermann , Kultsongs & Evergreens , 2010, p. 26
- ^ David F. Lonergan, Hit Records: 1950-1975 , 2005, p. 123
- ↑ Tim Riley, Lennon: The Man, The Myth, The Music , 2011, p. 208
- ^ A nightclub in West Hollywood
- ↑ Maria Herrera Sobek, Celebrating Latino Folklore , 2012, p. 651
- ^ NPR Music