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10" 78 RPM record
photo by Styrous®
On Monday, February 3, 1941, Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded Amapola with vocalists Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. It was a gigantic hit a decade before the concept of "Top 40" in the early 1950s.
My memories of the song are delightful! My mother and father were into swing music and loved to dance with each other, this song amongst hundreds of others. Mom sang other songs but this song stands out vividly as she sang them to me to put me to sleep.
The recorded version by Dorsey, Eberly and O'Connel was a swing version which was a 1920's tune written by Spanish American composer José María Lacalle García and adapted to the new swing era. It starts out with a languid and sensual tango rhythm with Dorsey on his clarinet.
Eberly enters and the song goes into a moderately slow ballad. O'Connel hits the scene and it's a lively, jazzy swing song. Mom only sang the ballad version to me.
Many people covered the song: Roberto Carlos with a 50's doo wop and os course, Crosby with a cha cha ballad. Haymarket Square did a Psychedelic cover in the sixties, of course. Not to be missed is The Spotnicks a Swedish group with another wacked out 60's version, space suits 'n all.
Ennio Morricone used the song in the Sergio Leone film, Once Upon s Time In America, starring Robert De Niro and James Woods.
Opera didn't shy away either, Tito Schipa (1926), Nino Martini (1941), Jan Peerce (1950), Alfredo Kraus (1959) and Luigi Alva (1963). Tatsuro Yamashita did a wonderful cover in his 1986 a cappella album On The Street Corner 2. In 1990 Amapola was sung during the first Three Tenors concert in Rome.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A - Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)
Vocals – Bob Eberly, Helen O'Connell
Written By Albert Gamse, Joseph M. Lacalle*
Side 2:
B - Donna Maria
Vocals – Bob Eberly
Written By Allie Wrubel
Credits:
Manufactured By – Decca Records, Inc.
Alto Saxophone [Uncredited] – Milt Yaner, Sam Rubinowitch
Bass [Uncredited] – Jack Ryan
Drums [Uncredited] – Buddy Schutz
Guitar [Uncredited] – Guy Smith (2)
Leader, Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Clarinet [Uncredited] – Jimmy Dorsey
Piano [Uncredited] – Joe Lipman
Tenor Saxophone [Uncredited] – Charles Frazier, Herbie Haymer
Trombone [Uncredited] – Don Matteson, Nat Lobovsky, Sonny Lee
Trumpet [Uncredited] – Jimmy Campbell (6), Nate Kazebier, Shorty Solomon
Notes:
Both Sides: Fox Trot, Vocal Chorus
Recorded February 3, 1941, New York
Manufactured in U.S.A. By Decca Records, INC.
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
Credits from Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022
Side 1:
A - Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)
Vocals – Bob Eberly, Helen O'Connell
Written By Albert Gamse, Joseph M. Lacalle*
Side 2:
B - Donna Maria
Vocals – Bob Eberly
Written By Allie Wrubel
Credits:
Manufactured By – Decca Records, Inc.
Alto Saxophone [Uncredited] – Milt Yaner, Sam Rubinowitch
Bass [Uncredited] – Jack Ryan
Drums [Uncredited] – Buddy Schutz
Guitar [Uncredited] – Guy Smith (2)
Leader, Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Clarinet [Uncredited] – Jimmy Dorsey
Piano [Uncredited] – Joe Lipman
Tenor Saxophone [Uncredited] – Charles Frazier, Herbie Haymer
Trombone [Uncredited] – Don Matteson, Nat Lobovsky, Sonny Lee
Trumpet [Uncredited] – Jimmy Campbell (6), Nate Kazebier, Shorty Solomon
Notes:
Both Sides: Fox Trot, Vocal Chorus
Recorded February 3, 1941, New York
Manufactured in U.S.A. By Decca Records, INC.
Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.
Credits from Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A): 68652
Matrix / Runout (Side B): 68650
Matrix / Runout (A side stamped variant 1): 68652A 0
Matrix / Runout (B side stamped variant 1): 68650A 0
Matrix / Runout (A side stamped variant 2): 68652A X
Matrix / Runout (B side stamped variant 2): 68650A
Jimmy Dorsey And His Orchestra – Amapola / Donna Maria
Label: Decca – 3629
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1941
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Big Band
Label: Decca – 3629
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1941
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Style: Big Band
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Steemit ~ Amapola ~ Long Psychedelic Song!
Styrous® ~ Saturday, February 3, 2024
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