Valens' version of "La Bamba" is ranked number 354 on Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is the only song on the list sung in a language other than English.
Ritchie Valens was just 17 when this song was released, and was the same age when he died. He made his first recordings in March 1958, so he was actively recording only for about 10 months. Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. That event was immortalized in the song "The Day The Music Died" by Don McLean. Valens was born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, California to Mexican-Indian parents. He didn't speak fluent Spanish, but could understand his mother and speak a fair Spanglish. He did, however, make a huge impact on the Hispanic audience in the United States, who saw one of their own become the first rock star.
Unlike most songs with titles that are the name of a dance, this one doesn't give any specific instructions on how to do the dance, so alas, there was no "La Bamba" dance craze. In this song, the singer is expressing how he feels about the dance - a generally good one, as assumed because of what he says about it and the beat/rhythm of the song. Although an obscure and possibly non-existent 1908 Mexican recording has been cited, the earliest certain recording of the song is that by Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, credited as El Jarocho, which was released on the Victor label in Mexico in about 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. A traditional huapango song, "La Bamba" is often played during weddings in Veracruz, where the bride and groom perform the accompanying dance. The dance is performed displaying the newly wed couple's unity through the performance of complicated, delicate steps in unison as well as through creation of a bow from a listón, a long red ribbon, using only their feet.
The title does not have a literal translation. The closest associated word is "Bambolear," which means "To Swing." The lyrics are in Spanish: "Para bailar la Bamba se necessita una poca de gracia" means "To dance La Bamba you need to have a little grace."
A little translation:
The verses start with a man telling his fiancée, "I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain," indicating his big ambitions. In the next verse he sings, "In order to get to heaven you need a big ladder and a little ladder, a little ladder and a big ladder." At this point, he's climbing for the heavens, then comes the refrain where he says, "Up and up and up I'll go." The song if filled with the optimism of youth, and hit the mark with the teenage audience that consumed this early rock.
A young guitarist named Carol Kaye played on this track. She was playing in Jazz clubs in 1957 when she picked up some session work, and she went on to become one of the most prolific studio musicians of the '60s and '70s (as a member of the famed "Wrecking Crew"), mostly on bass. Working on "La Bamba" was big moment for her. Said Kaye: "What was nice about working for Ritchie Valens was about that time, I was feeling like I didn't want to do studio work. Because I missed Be-Bop and I knew it was going to be rough to make a living in Jazz. But Ritchie Valens was so nice and so warm, and he made the date so pleasant. I thought if they're all like this, then studio work I can do."
Valens' version of "La Bamba" is ranked number 354 on Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is the only song on the list sung in a language other than English.
Ritchie Valens was just 17 when this song was released, and was the same age when he died. He made his first recordings in March 1958, so he was actively recording only for about 10 months. Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. That event was immortalized in the song "The Day The Music Died" by Don McLean. Valens was born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, California to Mexican-Indian parents. He didn't speak fluent Spanish, but could understand his mother and speak a fair Spanglish. He did, however, make a huge impact on the Hispanic audience in the United States, who saw one of their own become the first rock star.
Unlike most songs with titles that are the name of a dance, this one doesn't give any specific instructions on how to do the dance, so alas, there was no "La Bamba" dance craze. In this song, the singer is expressing how he feels about the dance - a generally good one, as assumed because of what he says about it and the beat/rhythm of the song. Although an obscure and possibly non-existent 1908 Mexican recording has been cited, the earliest certain recording of the song is that by Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, credited as El Jarocho, which was released on the Victor label in Mexico in about 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. A traditional huapango song, "La Bamba" is often played during weddings in Veracruz, where the bride and groom perform the accompanying dance. The dance is performed displaying the newly wed couple's unity through the performance of complicated, delicate steps in unison as well as through creation of a bow from a listón, a long red ribbon, using only their feet.
The title does not have a literal translation. The closest associated word is "Bambolear," which means "To Swing." The lyrics are in Spanish: "Para bailar la Bamba se necessita una poca de gracia" means "To dance La Bamba you need to have a little grace."
A little translation:
The verses start with a man telling his fiancée, "I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain," indicating his big ambitions. In the next verse he sings, "In order to get to heaven you need a big ladder and a little ladder, a little ladder and a big ladder." At this point, he's climbing for the heavens, then comes the refrain where he says, "Up and up and up I'll go." The song if filled with the optimism of youth, and hit the mark with the teenage audience that consumed this early rock.
A young guitarist named Carol Kaye played on this track. She was playing in Jazz clubs in 1957 when she picked up some session work, and she went on to become one of the most prolific studio musicians of the '60s and '70s (as a member of the famed "Wrecking Crew"), mostly on bass. Working on "La Bamba" was big moment for her. Said Kaye: "What was nice about working for Ritchie Valens was about that time, I was feeling like I didn't want to do studio work. Because I missed Be-Bop and I knew it was going to be rough to make a living in Jazz. But Ritchie Valens was so nice and so warm, and he made the date so pleasant. I thought if they're all like this, then studio work I can do."
Valens' version of "La Bamba" is ranked number 354 on Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is the only song on the list sung in a language other than English.
Ritchie Valens was just 17 when this song was released, and was the same age when he died. He made his first recordings in March 1958, so he was actively recording only for about 10 months. Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. That event was immortalized in the song "The Day The Music Died" by Don McLean. Valens was born Richard Valenzuela in Pacoima, California to Mexican-Indian parents. He didn't speak fluent Spanish, but could understand his mother and speak a fair Spanglish. He did, however, make a huge impact on the Hispanic audience in the United States, who saw one of their own become the first rock star.
Unlike most songs with titles that are the name of a dance, this one doesn't give any specific instructions on how to do the dance, so alas, there was no "La Bamba" dance craze. In this song, the singer is expressing how he feels about the dance - a generally good one, as assumed because of what he says about it and the beat/rhythm of the song. Although an obscure and possibly non-existent 1908 Mexican recording has been cited, the earliest certain recording of the song is that by Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, credited as El Jarocho, which was released on the Victor label in Mexico in about 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. A traditional huapango song, "La Bamba" is often played during weddings in Veracruz, where the bride and groom perform the accompanying dance. The dance is performed displaying the newly wed couple's unity through the performance of complicated, delicate steps in unison as well as through creation of a bow from a listón, a long red ribbon, using only their feet.
The title does not have a literal translation. The closest associated word is "Bambolear," which means "To Swing." The lyrics are in Spanish: "Para bailar la Bamba se necessita una poca de gracia" means "To dance La Bamba you need to have a little grace."
A little translation:
The verses start with a man telling his fiancée, "I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain," indicating his big ambitions. In the next verse he sings, "In order to get to heaven you need a big ladder and a little ladder, a little ladder and a big ladder." At this point, he's climbing for the heavens, then comes the refrain where he says, "Up and up and up I'll go." The song if filled with the optimism of youth, and hit the mark with the teenage audience that consumed this early rock.
A young guitarist named Carol Kaye played on this track. She was playing in Jazz clubs in 1957 when she picked up some session work, and she went on to become one of the most prolific studio musicians of the '60s and '70s (as a member of the famed "Wrecking Crew"), mostly on bass. Working on "La Bamba" was big moment for her. Said Kaye: "What was nice about working for Ritchie Valens was about that time, I was feeling like I didn't want to do studio work. Because I missed Be-Bop and I knew it was going to be rough to make a living in Jazz. But Ritchie Valens was so nice and so warm, and he made the date so pleasant. I thought if they're all like this, then studio work I can do."