The first global "hit" song?

[El Lobo]

O Sole Mio

 

Known to Elvis Presley fans as "It's Now Or Never"

[uhoh7]

O Sole Mio

Known to Elvis Presley fans as "It's Now Or Never"

 

Great suggestion, but not the song. Like O Sole Mio, this song was recorded by many opera stars and Elvis too, in a hit film

 

Also the theme of a landmark German film, brought by the sailors and soldiers back to Germany. Known by everyone in Russia as well. The story was first recorded by Greeks, more than 400 yrs BC.

 

You can't make this up, though it sounds like I am

 

Now I'm off to watch this German movie, which I never heard about till tonight, trying to find some good examples of the song. Charlie Parker and Chubby Checker have versions. Bette Davis was nuts about it.

[TommyRude]

[video:youtube]

[Tusker]

I am coming up short. There are problems with my first two ideas which were "Silent Night" and "Ave Maria." Both are hit songs recorded by artists popular and operatic but with no connection to Greek Culture that I see. Similarly Wooden Heart (Muss I den) has the Presley German connection and was a world wide hit, but I see no connections to ancient Greek culture. I explored Dithyrambes, as a way of getting back to 400 BC Greece, but there is no modern heir of such traditions I am aware of. Never on Sunday (Manos Hatzidakis) and Nana Moskouri's White Rose of Athens presented themselves and there is some melodic similarity to ancient folk songs, but it's a stretch. Finally, nothing I have come up with links to Bette Davis, so you clearly have access to a fantastic and unique storyline!! ð ð

 

Waiting patiently for the winner to be unveiled and explained. Thanks for a great game!

[TommyRude]

I got it - it's La Paloma ("The Dove")

 

Composer: Sebastien Iradier

Year written: 1860

Have I played it? Never

Have I heard about it before this contest? No

What inspired the "story"? Persian invasion of Greece in 492 B.C., their fleet wrecked at sea. White doves were spotted flying from the ships, delivering a final message of love from a lost sailor.

Landmark German film: Das Boot (although I would call this more of a "famous film"). The major landmark German film was Metropolis.

Elvis film: Blue Hawaii (as above)

All the details: La Paloma

 

 

EDITS - adding more details:

Composer died penniless? Per most accounts Iradier died in obscurity, before the song came to fame.

Uhoh throws a LOT of clues out there: The "Habanera", famed from Carmen, was written by Bizet, but was essentially the same as El Arreglito, which was written by Iradier. Bizet ended up giving credit to Iradier.

World's first "global hit"? I think Uhoh is taking some liberties here, and I think my earlier guesses are more technically accurate. [font:Book Antiqua](hahahaha... kidding, good contest Uhoh!)[/font]

[Synthaholic]

It might be 'Sukiyaki' by this stud:

 

 

I believe it was a huge international hit. Also beautifully remade by the Boogie-Oogie-Oogie girls, A Taste Of Honey, in a surprisingly good arrangement:

 

 

Then boy band 4 p.m. did a nice boy band version:

 

 

BTW, original artist Kyu Sakamoto unfortunately also had a notable death:

 

On August 12, 1985, Sakamoto was aboard Japan Airlines Flight 123 (departing from Tokyo), heading to Osaka for an event. The plane crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma, a disaster that remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history with 520 people killed, including Sakamoto. He was interred at ChÅkoku-ji Temple in the central Minato-ku area in Tokyo.

[Spider76]

As others have mentioned, China and India make up about 40% of the world's population, and Asia as a whole has 60%. So anything that's not a hit there can hardly be described as "global".

Also, "global" means global distribution and access, something that really became true only with internet and streaming. And even nowadays, I don't know how many people in China or Pakistan have access to Youtube and Spotify...

I'm honestly dubious a truly GLOBAL hit has ever existed yet. If it did, it would undoubtely be something by BTS (or maybe Gangnam style?), not anything from the pitifully small and unpopulated West

[uhoh7]

I got it - it's La Paloma ("The Dove")

 

Composer: Sebastien Iradier

Year written: 1860

Have I played it? Never

Have I heard about it before this contest? No

What inspired the "story"? Persian invasion of Greece in 492 B.C., their fleet wrecked at sea. White doves were spotted flying from the ships, delivering a final message of love from a lost sailor.

Landmark German film: Das Boot (although I would call this more of a "famous film"). The major landmark German film was Metropolis.

Elvis film: Blue Hawaii (as above)

All the details: La Paloma

 

 

EDITS - adding more details:

Composer died penniless? Per most accounts Iradier died in obscurity, before the song came to fame.

Uhoh throws a LOT of clues out there: The "Habanera", famed from Carmen, was written by Bizet, but was essentially the same as El Arreglito, which was written by Iradier. Bizet ended up giving credit to Iradier.

World's first "global hit"? I think Uhoh is taking some liberties here, and I think my earlier guesses are more technically accurate. [font:Book Antiqua](hahahaha... kidding, good contest Uhoh!)[/font]

 

BINGO!!!

 

OK what's the big deal about this song? First, let's hear it in a fundamental form, this is how I am trying to make it sound more or less, as a practice piece:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Sebastian Yradier.....The Great! (Click for details)

 

 

Let's set the context of the most incredible single feat in the history of songwriting.

Between 1525 and 1866 10.7 million Africans survived the dreaded Middle Passage to the Americas (388,000 to North America). Music was really a part of all aspects of life in West Africa, work, social, and religious. One element common in those cultures: Clave(link). It echos in folk styles across the region and in the lilting bass of La Paloma.

 

In 1800 the three largest cities in the Americas were: NYC, Mexico City.....and Havana. It has recently swelled with refugees from the defeat of Napoleon by African Slaves in Haiti, which up till then had been the richest sugar island and major source of revenue for France. "Country Dancing", was the rage in for Euros at home and in the colonies, with French, Italian, and many flavors. Producing collections and writing these dances was one way to make income or fame in music. Yradier was Basque, one of the few ethic groups to defend their territory against all indo-european cultures, and tied closely to Spain, Portugal and France. Yraider was a pro, sold music to publishing houses, and even managed to aquire the French Empress Eugenie as a student at some point. He went to Havana and lived there a few years around 1850, and that experience gave Paloma and Europe a priceless gift: the clave related Tresillo. You cannot miss that bassline. It had not been heard in Europe before. A West African heartbeat was transplanted into "Contradanse", and the world fell in love. My favorite piano arrangement from 1932, describes the tempo: "Stroking Tango". It's the first time somebody got this on paper and it got real attention. 1860ish. The song became an international sensation, as I will show. And this is not a dead song, as I will show

 

How Yradier came up with such gorgeous melody to go with it....nobody is sure, but

"The motif of "La Paloma" (the dove) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC, before Darius the Great's invasion of Greece, a time when the white dove had not yet been seen in Europe.[3] The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of Mount Athos and wrecked, when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. Those were most probably homing pigeons which the Persian fleet carried with them when sallying forth out of Persia for battle. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea."

Source

 

Yraider was in Havana as Spain, lately the greatest empire on earth, was in crisis. Napoleon had put his brother on the throne, and Bolivar, inspired by his refuge in Haiti, siezed the day and lead a series of close run campaigns across the mountains and valleys of South America, where Sucre broke the Spanish forces at Ayacucho high in Peru. Now Mexico was about to break loose and La Paloma would be sung across that land:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Where the event depicited above took place,

Max requested the song one last time before:

Lets hear it as all Mexicans know it today:

[video:youtube]

 

Cuando salí de la Habana

¡Válgame Dios!

Nadie me ha visto salir

Si no fui yo.

Y una linda Guachinanga

Allá voy yo.

Que se vino tras de mí,

que sí, señor.

 

Si a tu ventana llega una paloma,

Trátala con cariño que es mi persona.

Cuéntale tus amores, bien de mi vida,

Corónala de flores que es cosa mía.

Ay, chinita que sí!

Ay, que dame tu amor!

Ay, que vente conmigo, chinita,

A donde vivo yo!

 

El día que nos casemos ¡Válgame Dios!

En la semana que hay ir Me hace reir

Desde la Iglesia juntitos, Que sí señor,

Nos iremos a dormir, Allá voy yo.

 

Translations vary wildly, but:

When I left Havana, Goodness gracious

No one saw me leave but myself

And a pretty clever girl, like a flower

Came after me, yes sir..

If a dove comes to your window

Treat her with affection, for she is my own

Tell her well of the loves in your life

And Crown her with flowers, for she is mine

Oh yes, little pebble, give me your love

Oh come with me, little ladybug

To where I live

Ah Chinita, that"s right, give me your love

Oh come with me, little girl

To wherever is my home

etc (something like this)

 

TBC.....

 

Great job TommyRude!

[El Lobo]

[AnotherScott]

I don't think I've ever heard this one! Only the first line seems familiar, and I think that's only because it's similar to something else (which I suppose might have stolen it from this one).

[TommyRude]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:04 PM, uhoh7 said:

BINGO!!!   Great job TommyRude!

I most humbly accept your congratulations for my superior sleuthing.  I modestly admit that it was quite easy to solve, only required 112 hours and 46 clues from Mr. Uhoh.

[uhoh7]

By 1870 the song was widely available in this form

 

http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000162175&page=1

 

And here is how that might of sounded:

 

 

 

This is an authentic arrangement of the time. For comparision of other songs before and after, also sung "as bought", and with similar interesting photographs and art, I made a playlist. 

 

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFU1KtRRAXrYzu_nj-YaU_Q9PpsRVc2Qy

 

La Paloma appears in many guises from the dawn of recording:

 

1903:

1905 Mexico:

 

 

1908 John Philip Sousa Conducts His Own Marches And Other Favorites

1909:

 

 

The song was recorded by many opera singers very early in the recording era. Next we'll see where the dove landed in early Jazz

[uhoh7]

As noted, La Paloma is considered an interaction of "contra-danse" and west african music traditions. Here are two incredible recent lectures about Contra-danse, then and now, and how black muscians got involved very very early. 

 

These are not short, but really interesting. 

 

 

Above is the general history of the form right up to "techno contra-danse"! Below is the now legendary scholar Phil Jamison examining how blacks in north america became the "go-to" pros when you wanted to throw a real contra-danse event, long before the USA, and how especially in southern forms, they changed the music. 

 

 

Yraider's Habaneras caught fire as the Waltz and Polka momentarily eclipsed the Contra-danse, and they present a more stark mix of the old with an incredibly bold, often layered syncopation which perhaps explains how fresh and connected to popular music they remain. That first video documents the remarkable comeback of Contra-danse in America. I was one of those in the early 60's who was exposed at a young age to the great revival. While I defected to rock 'n roll coverband dancing at drinking age, maybe my love for that pursuit in my twenties was prepared do-si-do