Mambo Italiano (song)
"Mambo Italiano" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill in 1954 for the American singer Rosemary Clooney. The song became a hit for Clooney, reaching the Top Ten in record charts in the US and France and No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart early in 1955. The song has shown enduring popularity, with several cover versions and appearances in numerous films.
Writing and original Rosemary Clooney version
Merrill reportedly wrote it under a recording deadline, scribbling hastily on a paper napkin in an Italian restaurant in New York City, and then using the wall pay-phone to dictate the melody, rhythm and lyrics to the studio pianist, under the aegis of the conductor Mitch Miller, who produced the original record. Alongside Merrill, 'Lidianni' and 'Gabba' are also listed as writers of the song, corresponding to the pseudonyms of the Italian lyricists Gian Carlo Testoni and Gaspare Abbate, respectively.Merrill's song provides an obvious parody of genuine mambo music, cashing in on the 1954 mambo craze in New York, while at the same time allowing Miller to set up a brilliant vehicle for Clooney's vocal talents. It is also a late example of an American novelty song in a tradition started during World War II by the Italian-American jazz singer Louis Prima, in which nonsense lyrics with an Italian-American sound are used in such a way as to present a stereotyped caricature of Italian-American people as likable, slightly brash, pleasure-loving folk. Although Clooney's own family background was Irish-American, she could perform such "Italianized" material with an entirely convincing accent, which she had readily picked up from Italian-American musicians and their families.
The nonsense lyrics were originally couched in English, mixed together with a comic jumble of Italian, Spanish, Neapolitan and gibberish words, including:
- Italian: italiano, Napoli, siciliano, calabrese, tarantella, mozzarella, pizza, baccalà, bambino, vino .
- Spanish: mambo, enchilada, rumba,.
- Neapolitan: paisà.
- A number of Italian words are deliberately misspelled ("Giovanno" instead of "Giovanni", and "hello, che se dice" for "hello, what's up?". Other words are in Italiese (goombah, from cumpà, literally godson/godfather but more broadly fellow countryman, and 'jadrool' or 'cidrule", a stupid person, closely related to cetriolo, Italian for "cucumber", but in Sicilian meaning jackass. The word tiavanna is a malapropism for Tijuana.
Chart history
Weekly charts
The song reached No. 8 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 50 Best Selling Records chart, in a tandem ranking of Don Cornell, Nick Noble, Kay Armen, and Roy Rogers & Dale Evans's versions, with Don Cornell and Nick Noble's versions marked as bestsellers. The song also reached No. 7 on Billboards Honor Roll of Hits, with Don Cornell and Nick Noble's versions listed as best sellers.In Australia, the song charted regionally. It entered the Brisbane charts in January 1956, and reached No. 3. In Sydney, it charted twice: in January, when it reached No. 10, and again in March 1956 when it went to No. 4.
| Chart | Peak position |
| France | 8 |
| UK | 1 |
| US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores | 10 |
| US Billboard Most Played in Juke Boxes | 9 |
| US Billboard Most Played by Jockeys | 13 |
| US Cash Box | 8 |
Cover versions
Dean Martin version
It was successfully covered by the popular Italian-American star Dean Martin.In 2006, the German Nu jazz and Lounge music act Club des Belugas officially released a remix of the Dean Martin version on their album Apricoo Soul, with official authorization on behalf of Capitol Records/EMI and Martin's estate.