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From: wrlord
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  • What really makes this cool is that this performance was before Elvis on Ed Sullivan and you could deem it racy for the time when Desi takes off his tie. Remember, when Elvis performed the cameras would not show him moving his hips. I bet a million women who watched this back in the prudish 1950's were creaming in their panties, lol.

  • Desi was a cool mofo, nuff said.

  • Ricky went hard in the paint. Babalu would be pleased

  • I WANT HIS BAND !

  • Wish I could travel back in time to run my fingers through that hair... yum yum.

  • if justin bieber sees this he would shit himself

  • His hair

  • This guy was tremendous. His father was the Mayor of Santiago de Cuba....My grandfather used to work with him.

  • A la memoria de Desiderio Arnaz ..... ...

  • Swag all day !

  • Desi Arnaz was the man!

  • Ricky Ricardo go hard. Desi Arnez

  • I love this song and Desi was hot in his time

  • bad ass video

  • the Baby Babalu video is cute w/Little Ricky

  • Desi was pretty hot

  • Oh lay oh lay oh lay....yeah yeah yeah,,,,arriba con la conga...ARRIBA CON LA CONGA!!!!

  • @MrsWillShakes The show was pretty good with Lucy as the funny one and Ricky as the straight man. It is real classic style comedy and worth buying the dvd set of the show.

  • I can do that if you five me 40 pixie sticks!

  • @MrsWillShakes I am the same way!

  • If you want to hear Desi's other songs listen to "The Swing Years" Saturday nights on KUOW. It's a radio station in Seattle but you can listen on the internet. She plays Desi fairly often including stuff you didn't hear on I <3 Lucy, and you can email requests.

  • who would win in a Cuban bad-ass fight ... Ricky Ricardo or Tony Montana?

  • @tsartodd Pfft! Eassssy! Ricky!

  • Desi's best performance on I Love Lucy by far... this is legendary!!

  • i wonder how his hands looked when he got old

  • The Babalu song was done as a promise to the Santaria goddess Babalu, one of the Yorisha. Babalu is the: name of the yorisha of skin illnesses, venereal illness and

    others. Mayenye is another of the deity name (some say is a woman spirit)

    The song is the description of a sacrifice to Babalu in order to get a new

    girlfriend ("negra" is the friendly name for the Cuban girls). If only the uptight censors of the day knew that he was doing a Pagan ritual with that song.

  • @raptorcat61 Hate to disappoint you, but Santaria and Paganism have nothing to do with each other. That said, this truly is ritualistic in nature. You can tell he's totally entranced in the music. Kinda scary actually...

  • @PalCatIN So then, let's say that you are correct. What did the African slaves practice before they were made slaves to Christian lords? I have my information from local Vodun and Santaria practitioners, locally, in Miami. They both tell similar stories of how the religions came about. Vodun is found in French and english cultures and Santaria in Spanish. Not that they are identical, just as no two Wiccan paths are identical, but they share historical commonalities.

  • @raptorcat61 OK, historical commonalities, I'll give you, but that's where the commonality stops. My main point is it would be a Santaria or Voodoo ritual, not a Pagan one.

  • @PalCatIN But that IS the point. Vodun and Santaria are both hybrids of Paganism and Christianity, often using Christian saints in place of other spirits that would normally have been used in the original African Pagan religions.

    Remember that Paganism covers the whole gamut of native religions that precede Judaism and Christianity. Even the Greek/Roman/Egyptian religions were Pagan as well. The fact that Vodun is practiced is a prop to the slaves that kept their religion even as slaves.

  • @PalCatIN In Vodun, they use the African and island spirit names because they could get away with it, but for Santaria, they could not because the slaveholders were Spanish Christians that would not otherwise stand for it or be fooled by it.

  • @PalCatIN Sorry. Forgot to mention that I agree about the ecstatic state that he looks to be in on that clip..

  • @PalCatIN 'Pagan' in this sense just means pre-Christian. And yes, you can tell he is in THE ZONE.

  • Feliz centenario Lucy I love Lucy

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  • Santa Maria, El Gran Conguerro !!!!!!!

  • Yo quiero pedir que mi negra me quiera!, que tenga dinero y no se mueeeera!.

  • whats your name?? RICARRRDO....RRICKY RICARRRDO...

  • From a patrician Cuban family who was chased off the island in one of many gov't upheavals, he reinvented himself, totally bluffed Cugat into lending him a few musicians, and ended up doing two shows at per night in Manhattan with a Broadway starring role between shows... all the while teaching Anglos to get off their asses and join in a riotous congo line. He was the hot ticket in town when Lucy first laid eyes upon him...

  • @kissolife yes Kiss, so many think Lucy was the brains. I dare say Desi saw her coming his way as well. They made an excellent pair. His business sense set Hollywood on their ears. Thinking this poor Cuban man what does he know, sure let him have the rights....not knowing every sip of rum set his family up for generations, without the t.v. money. But television just made sure that legacy lives on, and on. I bet so many execs haven't kicked themselves like that again..bravo Desi & Lucy...

  • Though this doesn't hold a candle to Miguelito Valdes' version, you still gotta love Desi Arnaz. Read his autobiography. Great stuff.

  • I missed the days watching I Love Lucy every night. There's no comparison to the trashy, no talent shows of today.

  • Yes, my sisters and I love I love Lucy. I am 16, so is my twin (obviously) and my sister is Tori. Our fave shows from our childhood were I Love Lucy, And yGriffith, Red Skelton, and Gomer Pyle. Ha. Kids these days.

  • ¡Maferefún Babalú Ayé!

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  • Fuck that would hurt my hands... ricky you got some splaining' to do!!!

  • the much talented and handsome Desi Arnaz , my favorite episode

  • 9 people need to have their head be the conga drum.

  • when i was like 4 or 5 i wanted Ricky Ricardo to be my boyfriend! LOL too bad Desi died like 3 years before i was born :( lol he made me proud to be a latina from a young age! he deserves more recognition. Lucy brought the comedy and Desi brought the flavor and the beats!!! perfect tv show! will never be anything like it! :)

  • ……. Genuine Voudon in action … Priceless .……

  • 9 people don't love lucy.

  • im 23 now. I grew up watching i love lucy and Desi. I think after watching this that i was subconsciously influenced by him to be a musician lol.

  • man Desi was such a talented guy

  • Everything went better than expected.

    

  • Pssst... He was also an accomplished actor, both small screen and large. :)

  • miguelito valdez version much better.

  • Dynamite.

  • THATS MOTHA FUCKING BOSS!!!

  • Hey, do you think you can add his performance of "Jezebel"? I really like that song.

  • wow desi, i love you LOL you were so freaking good at what you did,

  • Fun fact: Desi is invoking and welcoming Babalu-Aye, the Orisha (god) of healing and fortitude in Santeria. Watch how wild eyed he gets as he gets to the climax when Babalu supposedly arrives.

  • @darkfiresl2 - Yes - I believe a lot of Cubans are familiar with that concept. So sad he allows

    his roving eye to ruin his marriage. Sad when they divorced.

  • @poeavor That people like you are walking around in the world with horrible taste and ideas is horrifying. Arnaz was a tour de force in both music and television, and anyone who disputes that should be erased from the gene pool.

  • @MrDaltonJr I recently read Lucy's autobiography and although I was happy that I learned about how Desi changed the television industry, I was sad that I didn't know about it until now (I am 25). He deserves a LOT of credit.

  • Hard to believe they have all passed away. I watch them everyday on tv.

  • @grammy70: I'm lucky. Desi and Lucy were in my generation so I can enjoy both them and the contemporary stuff you enjoy, too. There's always been good music, and I expect there always will be.

  • ahahah

  • Great video. Thanks for the upload. I love this rhythm.

  • i like how his hair gets more and more messed up as he goes. great performance.

  • Desi was aware of the caracter he played on Lucy. He played it perfectly. Plus he was a badass latin musician. I used to watch reruns of it every day after school in the '70s. I later became a successful bass player, and I am sure this was an influence.

  • Haha, I like the title.

  • my cats name was Babalu :)

  • haha garfiel toca esta cancion en un episodio hahaha xD

  • Ay ay ay ay ay 

  • What energy !!!

  • He is the Cuban Elvis!!!! ahh, by the way, I love this song and sing it because I like its rhythm, I think the song is so popular nowadays that it is not sung for religious reasons

  • Maybe my next husband will be a latin man:)

  • What many people don't know is that he produced the "I Love Lucy." He was the first person who put an audience inside the studio. Both he and Lucy had done the Ricardos as sketches live and he knew that Lucy always performed better with a live audience...hence an audience inside the studio.

    He also had the idea to film the show. If he hadn't we wouldn't be enjoying the show more than 50 years later. Desilu Productions also brought us Star Trek. It went to Paramount after their divorce.

  • @tescgovdocs They were running an "I Love Lucy" marathon on one of the cable channels last week...it might still be on.

    At the end of the song, you can hear a very loud "yeah" from Bill Frawley (Fred Mertz).

  • you guys do know this was done in the blessings of cuban culture and religion Santeria. right..?

  • No matter how much talent a person has (and Arnaz had plenty) you simply could not be married to Lucille Ball and be anything but "supporting cast".

  • Damn this guy was fantastic! I always adored him any way. Thanks for posting this!

  • OMG, I love these comments!!! Too funny!

  • " go ricky slap the bitch" 

  • Like Miguelito Valdes ,who first recorded it in 1939 with Casino de la Playa,nobody has sung it.

  • @gomerijos Desi and Miguelito were good friends by all accounts. The song was actually written by a woman, Margarita Lecuona, but I can't find that she ever recorded it.

  • @battenwood Margarita Lecuona's fathe was a cousin of Ernesto Lecuona.She was born in 1910 in Cuba and died 1981 in New Jersey.She authored more than 300 songs.

    Babalu was written inthe mid 30's.Desi Arnaz recorded it in 1946.

  • Ya''U sure right.he is damn Hot''

  • its so crazy to hear his music and know how many people sing this song and not know what its really about. i bet that most of you do not know that babalou is a saint in santeria and he is paying homage to him. maferefun san lazaro

  • @cvictoria123 Do you think Desi believed in it or did he just think it was a cool song and a crowd pleaser to perform?

    I don't believe in it and I've been singing "Babalu" since I was a kid.

    (My mother-in-law used to believe in it but that's another story.)

  • @battenwood Well ofcourse i was not personally there with him but from what i know this song is a homage to babalu and you would have to have zero knowledge about Santeria to not sing it for that reason. Also he was Cuban and babalu is one of Cuba’s patriot saints. Also any song that is sang for a particular saint is considered either a invocation, payment or offering for whatever the saint did for you. so to answer you- i do believe it was for san lazaro.

  • Ojalá pudieras estar con nosotros hoy en día..

  • Is there ANYTHING that Desi Arnaz could not do? The man is a legend and a genius.

  • 1. LOVE the title of this video. LOL

    2. I'm trying to teach my bird to sing Babalu (his name is Desi)

    3. His hair getting messed up - dead sexy!

  • thank you for bringing back the memories of good entertainment!!!

  • Terrific! I can see one reason Lucille Ball married him.

  • never heard of the guy until i saw delirius

  • Ahhhh, he was so handsome <3

  • Awesome. Thanks for the memories.

  • his stage presence is great! but i gotta be honest he's not a very good singer. his singing voice sounds like him yelling at lucy.

  • Try about twelve!!

  • When his hair starts to get messed up - so sexy!

  • whose line is it anyway tapioca. so funny

  • I Want His Hair!!!!! I Love it!

  • wow grammy how old are you? how old were u when u saw him. its 2010...lets say u saw him n 1950. u had to be somewhat old to watch his show and remember it so lets say u were 20. so u were born in the 30's. lets do 2010-1930...80. so ur 80 and posting on youtube?...NICE! technology knows no boundaries..im 26 and i love i love lucy. fred mertz is by far the funniest character ever made!

  • HE IS A SMEXY BEAST. I...I had my first.."DREAM" about him. ;)

  • WOW! WOW! WOW! DID EVERYONE READ grammy70's comment???

    Gave me the chills and a smile!!!

    Thanks! AND THANKS TO wrlord for sharing this video!!

    It IS Badass!!!

  • Desi had great instinct for show business as well as talent. Just sexxy as all hell.

  • You know, I watched this as a kid without realizing how great it was. Desi is underrated... or was. People might be rediscovering him now. This performance is bad-ass!

  • mejor version es de Miguelito Valdez

  • MAN I LOVE, I LOVE LUCY

  • he went totally sickhouse on that shit at the end

  • nada como miguelito valdez

  • this nigga kills it!!!!!!!!!

  • Yeah baby, loosen that tie! What a sexy, sexy man.

  • @WrenskiBaby all us cubans are sexy babe lol !

  • With respect to Spanish speaking people, are the lyrics loosely translated as "I want a black woman who'll give money-don't want her hair to be dyed' whilst yelling out to a "god" called Babalu? A co-worker from Puerto Rico was translating for me. Just wondering. Bow before Desi awesomeness on the conga drum.! He da Man!

  • @bbqeatinbuckeye you got the god part ( orisha ) it's a deity in santeria .. saint lazurus. the deity of the sick. it's a santeris song. the rest of the lyrics your friend your friend got wrong. ( sorry ) the song is called babalu aye ....if i had more space i'd gladly translate it for you, but the space i took explaining it was moe important ;)

  • Lovely performance

  • BabaLu

    Baba = Daddy

    Lu = Lucifer

  • This stuff, as they say, ROCKS !!! It's going to be around for decades after some of the crap they call music today fades away like a fart in a windstorm.

  • Miguelito valdes - Babalu.

    Enough said.

  • Pure energy!  What a great man!

  • I wish they still had clubs like this today. Grab a cocktail and watch an incredible show. Now it's just terribly lit dance floors with terrible thumping music.

  • that nigga is ill son!

  • Playing comedy as they did (and filmed in black in white) it's easy to forget that Lucy and Desi were actually very good looking people.  If you haven't viewed them dancing to Cuban Pete here, take a look. They're both sexy.

  • That's one sexy Cubano papi!!!

  • @grammy70 Elvis didnt have the rhythm that Desi had. And I wish I coulda been there with you. Amazing! I Love Lucy was one of my fav shows.

    Classic!

  • Ye Gods! Desi is one of the sexiest men I've seen in long time! I remember when my mom bought me my first "I Love Lucy" box set, I was 12. Almost 3 years later & my feeling for him have never been altered in the slightest bit! Just watching Desi play those drums makes me...Wet!

  • sexy!

    

  • Unfortunately I was all of 10 or 11, but it sure established a precedent for the coming years. LOL. Try Cuban Pete......how could Elvis move me after Desi??

  • miguelito valdez es mejor cantando este tema ,,,escuchenlo

  • This use to drive my granddaddy Nutz He hated this song I use to irritate the heck out of him by cranking up the volume up on the tv when Desi did this song On I love Lucy. I love Drums

  • One word- Smokin'

  • that is cool as shit!

  • I always loved ricky. I was heart broken when i found out he cheated on lucy :(

  • Tapiooca! x3

  • I have pictures of my Mom and Dad nightclubing in New York in the late 50's. They tell me it was a golden time for Cuban artists (think Mambo Kings). Too bad nothing like this exists today, nothing but idiots with their pants on the groud screaming into microphones spewing garbage for lyrics, acting like the ignorant, fatherless thugs they are!

  • I saw him years later on the first season of Saturday Night Live (Desi Jr was the official Host) at the end of the episode Desi performed Babalu. Twenty years or so after this clip, his hair now white he Still played with the same intensity and that damned lock of hair still went wild. Marvelous!

  • Not sure if this posted earlier but does anyone know what I love Lucy episode this might have come from?

  • @eruiz006 It's from 'The Audition'.

  • Pretty awesome..

  • thats freakin sweet

  • TAPIOOOOOOCA!

  • @maxpowers518 just saw the whose line episode of that lmfao. so freaking good.

  • Bad ass motherfucker!!

  • he he he i like his hair

  • happy birth day desi...xoxoxo

  • This guy was a cool motha fuka

  • he sure entertained!!

  • he wrecked that congo drum. lol ayy yeah

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  • BRUTAL!!! Ahora quiero bailar. Como me hubiera gustado vivir esos tiempos... C'est la vie!

  • Haa, this was JUST on. Lol.

    Anywho, I think Ricky is pretty hot. Lucy was lucky.

  • no he beat her

  • He was the best. I love the way he was so "in the zone" when he was drumming.

  • nadiebcomo el

  • hot and sensational performance!

  • excelente interpretación de babalu, la negra bembona, de desi, tanto se entregó para tocar la conga, que hasta despeinado terminó !

  • Desi RocKS !!!

  • @Brisi502  i hear you!!!! hot damn! ha

  • @Brisi502 you must be really horny!

  • @Brisi502 well he's latin...most latin guys are hot n sexy

  • @Brisi502 latinos babe latinos !!!

  • Aw damn! He's pomp got all messed up. I hate it when that happens. I'm all done rockin' out and then find out later I look like Kramer. lmao!

    Classic!

  • Keep it piled high my friends!

    ~Rockabilly Forever~

  • the messed up hair made him THAT much more sexy.

  • @MsTexas73

    Why thank you! lol I mean yeah of course. :)

  • and he knew he was some cuban sexiness givin that hot cuban sex to lucy every night... no wonder she lost her mind off some ricky!!

  • @MsTexas73 hahhah sooo true!!!!!!

  • My parents saw Desi Arnaz perform live, many years before I was born. They loved him. And said he was fantastic in person!

  • ESTA MUY CHINGONA LA MELODIA DE RICKY RICARDO, PERO NO SE EN QUE ESPISODIO SALE DE garfiold IMITANDO A ESTE AMIGO.

  • I love that he performed a Vodou ("Voodoo "), or actually Santeria, invocation on nationwide TV.

  • @mithras718 Well, not vodou, not the Haitian one, but yeah, Babalue Aye is the orisha of illness, Ricky's singing asking Babalu to give him back the loved one he took. heh