Rosemary Clooney - Mambo Italiano

Rosemary Clooney - Mambo Italiano

Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 -- June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville), which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" (a cover version of the Italian song Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina by Alberto Rabagliati), "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House", though she would go on to success as a jazz vocalist.

Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1974, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002.

"Mambo Italiano" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill in 1954 and recorded by Rosemary Clooney. Merrill actually wrote it on deadline, scribbled hastily on a paper napkin in an Italian restaurant in New York, United States using the wall pay-phone to dictate the melody, rhythm and lyrics to the recording studio pianist, under the aegis of conductor Mitch Miller. The song became a hit for Rosemary, reaching #10 on the charts in the United States and number one in the UK Singles Chart early in 1955.

The original record was produced by Mitch Miller.

The 1988 Jonathan Demme film, Married to the Mob, featured Clooney's version playing while the opening credits rolled.

Also in 1988 the song figured prominently in the 22-year off-broadway production of "Tony & Tina's Wedding" as well as various national touring productions since.

In 2000 it was remixed and re-released by Shaft, reaching #12 on the UK Singles Chart. The bands Groove Armada and Basement Jaxx have each recorded their own electronic music versions of the song. A Russian version of "Mambo Italiano" was recorded by Philipp Kirkorov in 2001, and appeared on his album Vchera, Segodnya, Zavtra. Paula Tsui recorded a Mandarin version, Cha shao bao. A sample from Clooney's version was used in the song "Imma Tell" by Tech N9ne in 2002. The song was also sampled in "Mambo", performed by VIP featuring Sin, from Sin's and VIP's 2006 mixtape "Rane Vol. 1".

Other versions of "mambo Italiano" have been recorded by Dean Martin, Bette Midler, Gérard Darmon, Alma Cogan (1955) and Renato Carosone, and in French, Dario Moreno.

In 2009, the Renato Carosone/Nisa recording was featured in an advertisement for Visa Inc.

In 2010, it was performed during the live rounds of the BBC TV Show Over The Rainbow by the eventual winner, Danielle Hope.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Rosemary
• Clooney
• Mambo
• Italiano

[Kaluthrica]

The guy at the right at the front almost knocks his hat off on the doorway at 0:31 lol, Good recovery, though

[hebneh]

I'm really glad to see this original on YouTube; up till recently it's just been this clip as it appeared in a later PBS special.

In 1954 there was a craze for the Mambo in the USA, which inspired a bunch of novelty songs like this one. I was very surprised to discover that this had been a hit in Italy too, recorded in both English and - appropriately - Italian.

[monicalups]

@memphistim2001 but since she says "with the fishy baccala'" it could sorta be italian.. LOL

[MsCooloreo]

Im trying to find this so i can get it on my Ipod . anyone know where i can get it ? give me a link :D ?

[Francy4116]

bel video e bella canzone♥

[memphistim2001]

Hey Mambo, try an enchilada- because nothing says Italy like a Cuban dance with Mexican food.

[madamexfiles]

@Kaluthrica

Lol, good eye.

That having been said, can anyone else see the resemblance with nephew George? Good gene pool

[SoulTaker1003]

@KSONNYC

wow ur obviously not a true italian if ur were bought here cause of a video game thats sad.......

[aline1326]

excellente vidéo, merci de ce beau partage. La chanson a été reprise par Dany Brillant qui l'a un peu remise au goût du jour. Amicalement Aline

[Bourdie]

awesome! :)

[alexisdanna1]

I love being italian :)