Yes indeed! It’s Trivia Tuesday for May 21st. Brought to us each Tuesday Morning by our Fab Friends over at Omnivore Recordings! The coolest place in the Universe specializing in all the music you didn’t know, you didn’t know! However before we get to this weeks question, we’d like to recognize the brilliant SMS readers who took a stab at last week’s question, which was: Can you name four hits from The Four Seasons that included a girls name in the title? The correct answer is, “Sherry” “Dawn” “Ronnie” and “C’Mon Marianne” Only two readers attempted to answer our question! Rob from Deep in the heart of Texas weighed in but only named two outta the four! Nice try Bruddah! But! Ron Wood From “Way down in FLA. nailed all four titles! However, as Ron was the previous week’s winner as well, no one qualifies for a very cool Omnivore C.D. this week!
But now! Here is this week’s question: Between 1958 and 1963, there were at least Four number one records in the U.S.A. that were totally sung in a foreign language ( for our purposes “foreign languages” are defined as any language other than English) Here’s what we need:
1) The title to each of the four songs?
2) The names of each of the four artists who took the song to number one?
3) The language each song is sung in?
SMS Note: In The USA there have been countless hit songs that have included selective lines of lyric sung in a “Foreign language” What were looking for are Four huge hits where THE ENTIRE SONG is sung in a foreign language! Uniquely, zero English words can be found in any one of these four chart toppers!
We realize this week’s question is particularly difficult, Sooo, to aid with the correct answer, if the artist used a “U.S. stage name” that will be acceptable!
Lastly, we’re certain you loved these four classic records and, like us, sang merrily along making up your own bizarre words in English, struggling as you try to make sense of these “Foreign” lyrics.
Meanwhile, if this week’s question has you in the mood for some 60’s music classics, just below is a link to Omnivore Recording’s homepage. Give it a click and browse thru the coolest record catalogue on earth!
DOMINIQUE/ The SINGING NUN
VOLARE/ DOMINGO MODUGNO
SUKIYAKI/ KYU SAKAMOTO
GUNATANMERA/SANDPIPERS
LA BAMBA/ RICHIE VALENS
Hey Joey…
He’ll Yeah, and it’s so great to see you show up here!
Don’t be a stranger!
Rick
I JUST HAD ANOTHER GOOD OLD TUNE COME TO MIND TAHT HAS NOW BEEN RINGING IN MY HEAD. I REMEMBER ONLY THE WORDS “Al-De-La” and I think is was completely foreign language lyrics???
thanx…wood
Hey Wood,
Yes “Al di la” a huge hit in 1960 sung completely in Italian by Emilio Pericoli and many others like Connie Francis and Al Martino who also recorded it and had minor hits
Excellent call on that one Woody!
Shoe
Actually, let’s listen to the beautiful “Al di la”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwq461GHZGs
Remembered Guantanamera by the Sandpipers (?), was all Spanish maybe…
Hey Mark,
Great call, this song is a Cuban folk song and yes, it’s sung in Spanish. And, you’re not alone, notice below, Ron Woods comment. However, there is that pesky spoken word section which is done in English!
We’re looking for songs that contain ZERO English, spoken or sung!
Thanx as always Mark,
Rick
These songs bring me way back to Jr.High times and early beginning days of strummin’ my nylon string guitar where we were trying to learn the “NEW” [for us] Folk Songs of the time. I first thought of “Gauntamamera” [sp.?], there was of course the Singing NUn with “Dominiqur” and one that NEVER leaves my head once I bring it to the fore and that is “Sukiyali” {sp.]? That’s really all I got right now..full stop. I know there were so many at that time around the quite early 60’s!
thanx….wood
Hey Wood,
Always appreciate your input! Of the songs you mentioned “Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto always surprises us, as it was such a huge hit in the U.S. being that it was just around 20 years since PEARL HARBOR! Around our house our mother still referred to the Japanese people as “Japs” But still it went to number one in 1963!
Thanx Woody
R.
That is so true for my experience too. I actually remember that song only because I had good pal in elementary school and JHS that ABSOLUTLEY LOVE IT!!! I was not at all intrigued!
But [I did not know it at the time} but in the early 70’s when the small, Japanese auto imports began to flooding our car markets {very smart of them!] ___ well the names like Datsun and Honda and maybe Toyota were purposefully made up names of their vehicles because they were made in former WWII military factories dedicated to making machines to wipe us out!! So they hid the REAL NAMES like General Mitsubishi etc!! Smart and the only move to make. Americans were not going to purchase Japanese cars named for ruthless Japanese war generals.
Hey do you remember our Hondas??? Those were WELL MADE…best I ever had up to then! Even Shadoe actually bought one!!
thanx….wood
Dominique Dominique by soeur sourire/the singing nun. French
Volare by domingo modugno Italian
La Bamba by richie valens. Spanish
Tequila by the Champs. Spanish
Love is Blue by Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra. French ?
Hey Mark,
We were looking for four chart toppers that were “Sung” in a language other than English and YOU certainly nailed three with “Dominique”, “Volare” and “LA Bamba”
But! With all respect to your sense of humor, “Tequila” is pretty much an instrumental, with the exception of one or more band members ( who likely had been drinking heavily grunted out the title at the end of each verse!
And to be honest, we’re not completely sure whether the word “Tequila” is Spanish or English? Please help us here!
Lastly,, Paul Mauriat’s beautiful “Love Is Blue” has NO lyrics spoken or otherwise! Perhaps you were saying they were “Playing” in French?
Gotta couple more idea’s? They’re out there!
Thanx Mark!
Rick
Does “Louie Louie” count as a foreign language??? HA HA just JOKIN’!!!
Gonna get my thinking cap on….be back…..wood
“Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” by Domenico Modugno in 1958
“Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto in 1963
“Dominique” by The Singing Nun also in 1963
Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus – Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin in 1969 (I know, it is after 1963 but I couldn’t come up with another one)
Hey Jules,
Good call with J’ T’ame….although as you pointed out it actually was released in the U.S. in 1967. However it is the only Duet in the list! Well done!
By the way, just for fun we employed the Google translator to understand what they were saying between all the heavy breathing and either Google Got it wrong or these two were into some weird S+#T !
“just sayin”
Thanx Jules
The songs are (as they came to me): ”Volare” aka “Nel Blu di Pinto di Blu” sung by Domenico Whatshisname in Italian; Seeman sung in German by Lolita; Sukiyaki (Japanese) by Kyu Sakamoto and the French ”Dominique” by the Singing Nun. I’m only guessing each of these were number one but I’d have to look it up to confirm.
Hey Larry in Munich,
You nailed it! And, by the way, we had completely forgotten about “Seeman” by Lolita, excellent call! And some may say “predictable” considering that you are “Larry in Munich”
We Loved that record and after a zillion listens we believed we could speak German!
Yhanx Lar!
Rick