the king of 1947 cuban
pop
Behold “Malagueña.” Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona wrote the
piano piece no later than 1931, with reference to the Spanish town Málaga. In
1947, LIFE magazine crowned Lecuona the king of Cuba’s popular music,
and noted that “Malagueña” had been, by then, a hit in the United States for 16
years. (According to LIFE, Tin Pan Alley music publishing houses in New
York had sold 100,000 copies of the composition every year since 1931.)
Performances and / or recordings by Marco Rizo, Caterina
Valente, Violetta Villas, Connie Francis, and Stan Kenton — not to mention the
royal figure of Count Basie — would continue to popularize the song among audiences all over the world. But we digress. After all, we here at Blood
And Gutstein tend to specialize in a genre known as “Long Lost.” And the songs
we tend to put forward will rattle your speakers. Therefore, let’s take a look
at three examples of how rock ‘n’ roll transformed this Cuban composition into a banging shaker.
three rock ‘n’ roll extravaganzas
Ali Hassan aka Al Hazan. This song asserts itself immediately and jumps soon thereafter. With
piano just as percussive as the drums, and played to excess in the upper
register (we approve), the arrangement makes plenty of potent arguments,
including:
— “Given the hubbub, why don’t we engage in romance?”
— “Yes, let’s.”
— “Well, all reet then. Shall we remove our garments?”
— “We shall.”
Not to be outdone, the guitar really wails. Thus, we have
some percussive keys, phat drums (the train is coming), and blistering
guitar. We have people ripping each other’s duds off, no less!
Session information: Ali Hassan (Al Hazan) producer piano; Sharky Hall (drums); Ray Pohlman (guitar); and Carol Kaye (fender bass). A-side “Malagueña” b/w B-side “Chopsticks.” Philles 103, Los Angeles, 1962. Compositional credit: Ernesto Lecuona. A-side “Malagueña” b/w B-side “Chopsticks.” Philles
103, Los Angeles, 1962. [Notably, the Philles label was founded by none other
than the notorious Phil Spector and one Lester Sill. Also notably, Al Hazan
played piano on the UK number one hit “Nut Rocker” by B. Bumble and the
Stingers.]
The Wildtones. Little is known about this group, which may
have cut only two songs under that name. On the one hand, “King Cobra” may be a
bit deceptive, as the classic “Malagueña” riff runs nearly throughout the entire
song (on guitar), and offers the other musicians a sturdy, hypnotic ladder upon
which they can howl into or batter their instruments. On the other hand, “King
Cobra” is probably an apt summary for the mayhem that ensues, especially the
venomous saxophone. Or, “blistering,” if you will, and you will. Call the
drumming “surfy,” call the horn “borderline avant,” call the guitar “twangy”
(or Duane Eddy-esque) and then you’ll have some estimation of this eclectic
cacophony!
Session information: The Wildtones. Musicians unknown.
A-side “King Cobra” b/w B-side “Mendelssohn Rock.” Tee Gee 105, New York, 1958.
Writing credited to “Ford” and “Newman.” [Notably, Tee Gee records was owned by
George Goldner, a pioneer record producer who recorded, interestingly enough,
the song “Gee” by The Crows, which became a hit on both the R&B and pop
charts.]
The Trashmen / Los Trashmen. These Midwest rockers present a
clear-cut surf treatment of the song. It reverberates heavily with ghost waves (we approve) and behaves suspensefully before the lead guitarist slashes into
the proceedings. As a “building” or “climbing” or “burrowing” song, we find the
musicians drifting into and out of numerous effervescent idioms. The
“smoothest” cover of the three rock ‘n’ roll versions, don’t underestimate this
song’s edgy properties and virtuosic musicianship. It propels the surfer, after
all, through the barrel of a breaker!
Session information: The Trashmen. Likely personnel: Troy
Andreason (guitar), Dal Winslow (guitar), Robert Reed (bass), Steve Wahrer
(drums). The song was recorded in 1963 or early 1964, and would be released in
LP, EP, and 7-inch formats in the U.S. and abroad. For the original LP release,
see Surfin’ Bird, Garrett Records, January 1964. Otherwise, we have Los
Trashmen, Gamma 578 A-side “Malagueña Surf” b/w B-side “Mi Cuate” (Mexico, 1965). [Speaking of the
band’s flagship song, “Surfin’ Bird,” it rose to No. 4 in the charts in 1963-64,
and would go on to be covered by several bands, including the Ramones and the
Cramps, and appear in film, television, video games, and other extravaganzas.]
the upshot
Rock musicians have always repurposed songs from other eras and genres. This continued, for sure, with “Malagueña.” These bands rocked all of our pronouns: we, us, me, I, and you. Now that you’ve been rocked, Dear Reader, it’s up to you how
to proceed. We always suggest moderation here at Blood And Gutstein. Thus, you
could jump, there, all by yourself, if you need an aerobic workout. You could
surf if your abode abuts (!) saltwater climes. Or you could telephone your
sweetie pie and propose romance. We have found that mere mention of the song
title — “Malagueña” — tends to propose romance. Yes, you can text, ping, and
DM, if you must, and if you must, just propose romance responsibly and (always)
bear the gift of music, wink wink.
sources of
information:
Billboard advertisement
(for Surfin’ Bird) January 11, 1964
Black Cat Netherlands page for Al Hazan
Discogs entry
for “King Cobra” by The Wildtones
Discogs entry
for Lecuona Plays Lecuona, 1954-55
Discogs entry
for “Malagueña” by Ali Hassan / Al Hazan
Discogs entry
for “Malagueña Surf” by The Trashmen
LIFE article
on Cuban music Oct. 6, 1947
Wikipedia entry for George
Goldner
Wikipedia entry for “Malagueña”
Wikipedia entry for Surfin’
Bird (album)
Wikipedia entry for “Surfin’
Bird” (song)
