Pop Song 184 'La Bamba' Ritchie Valens version 1958

Pop Song 184 'La Bamba' Ritchie Valens version 1958

Thanks to miguelavendano for encouraging me to try some spanish language songs.

"La Bamba" (pronounced [la ˈβamba]) is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens

La Bamba has its origin in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.The oldest recorded version known is that of Alvaro Hernández Ortiz,[ who recorded the song with the name of "El Jarocho". His recording was released on the Victor label in Mexico in 1938 or 1939.

According to a 1945 article in Life magazine, the song and associated dance were brought "out of the jungle" at Veracruz by American bandleader Everett Hoagland, who introduced it at Ciro's nightclub in Mexico City. It became popular, and the song was adopted by Mexican presidential candidate Miguel Alemán Valdés who used it in his successful campaign. Later in 1945, the music and dance were introduced at the Stork Club in New York City by Arthur Murray.[4] A popular version by Andrés Huesca (1917–1957) and his brother Victor, billed as Hermanos Huesca, was issued on Peerless Records in Mexico around 1945–46. Huesca re-recorded the song for RCA Victor in 1947,[5] and the same year the song featured as a production number in the MGM musical film Fiesta, performed by a group called Los Bocheros.

The Swedish-American folk singer William Clauson recorded the song in several languages in the early and mid-1950s. He claimed to have heard the song in Veracruz, and in performance slowed down the tempo to encourage audience participation. Another version, "somewhat bowdlerized", was recorded by Cynthia Gooding on her 1953 Elektra album, Mexican Folk Songs.