Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From '' What Is Me ''
Label: Rene Records – R-1141
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1974
Tracklist
A1 What Is Me
A2 The Superlative Life Is Free
A3 Lamora
A4 Unknown/Unnamed
A5 Love Is The Answer
B1 Obese Mama
B2 Take Me Home Little Mama
B3 Because It's Not An Easy Thing
B4 It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
B5 Malaquena
Notes
Artist's real name was James (Jim) Graham. He flipped it for a stage name.
🎵 [SONG INFO]
"Malagueña" is a song by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.
It was originally the sixth movement of Lecuona's Suite Andalucía (1933), to which he added lyrics in Spanish.
The song has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum and bugle corps standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages. In general terms, malagueñas are flamenco dance styles with pasodoble elements from Málaga, in the southeast of Spain.
Origins
The melodic themes which form the basis of "Malagueña" were not of Ernesto Lecuona's invention, having been prominent in Spanish folk songs named "malagueñas" for several centuries, though at least one was popularised internationally by 19th-century American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk in his solo piano composition Souvenirs d'Andalousie (English: Memories of Andalusia).
The malagueña originates in the fandango style of Málaga, hence its name. It was also exported to the Canary Islands around the 18th century by Spanish mariners, where it has developed its own separate identity as the malagueña canaria, with a distinct style for different islands ranging from variations similar to the original fandango, to slower and more lamenting melodies such as those from the island of Tenerife. On the island of Fuerteventura the malagueña de los novios (English: of the bride and groom) is played at weddings in honour of the nuptials, and is much more elegant.
Notable vocal performances
A German-language version, sung by Caterina Valente, with Werner Müller's orchestra, was very popular in the United States (not making the Billboard chart, but charting on Cashbox, peaking at No. 42) in February 1955. Valente also sang "Malagueña" in Spanish.
English lyrics were written by Marian Banks and a later charting version was recorded by Connie Francis in 1960 that reached No. 42 on Billboard's chart as the flip-side of her No. 1 pop hit "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own", which were included on her 1961 compilation album More Greatest Hits.
In 1962, Violetta Villas recorded "Malagueña" in German- and Polish-language versions. Singers Vigen Derderian and Googoosh adapted the song for Iranian pop.
Notable instrumental performances
Lecuona's "Malagueña" was recorded by the composer as a piano solo on the 1955 RCA Victor LP Lecuona Plays Lecuona. The recording is available on RCA/BMG CD compilations and reissues.
As a pianist, Stan Kenton first had the piece arranged for the Sketches on Standards LP in 1956, which mostly went unnoticed at that time. After the 1960 Connie Francis version, Bill Holman's 1961 arrangement for the Stan Kenton Orchestra re-imagined the song again as a fiery big band showpiece, with an even larger orchestra. Performances of this arrangement appeared on Kenton's 1962 Grammy Award-winning album Adventures In Jazz and on the 1962 American TV show Jazz Scene USA.
Marco Rizo's solo piano performance of "Malagueña" can be found in Lecuona, a Musical Legacy. Rizo, who in 1938 became the official pianist of the Havana Philharmonic, performed under the direction of Maestro Ernesto Lecuona and gave duo piano recitals with Lecuona in 1939.
Sabicas adapted it for flamenco-style guitar, and it was included on his 1957 album, Sabicas Vol. 2, on Elektra Records. This recording was influential in the piece becoming a guitar standard, even though it was originally written for piano.
An acoustic instrumental demo of "Malagueña" was performed by Ritchie Valens and recorded in early 1959 at his manager Bob Keane's home studio. It was to have been worked on and completed later that year, but Valens died in a plane crash on February 3 before anything further could be done. About two years later, Keane chose Valens' demo as one of several unfinished tracks featured on the album Ritchie Valens in Concert at Pacoima Jr. High. Other artists as varied as Chet Atkins, Count Basie, Roy Clark, Ray Conniff, Xavier Cugat, Esquivel, Connie Francis, Ted Heath and Chico O'Farrill have also performed the piece.
#acoustic
#acousticguitar
#acousticcover
#acousticmusic
From '' What Is Me ''
Label: Rene Records – R-1141
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1974
Tracklist
A1 What Is Me
A2 The Superlative Life Is Free
A3 Lamora
A4 Unknown/Unnamed
A5 Love Is The Answer
B1 Obese Mama
B2 Take Me Home Little Mama
B3 Because It's Not An Easy Thing
B4 It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
B5 Malaquena
Notes
Artist's real name was James (Jim) Graham. He flipped it for a stage name.
🎵 [SONG INFO]
"Malagueña" is a song by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.
It was originally the sixth movement of Lecuona's Suite Andalucía (1933), to which he added lyrics in Spanish.
The song has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum and bugle corps standard and has been provided with lyrics in several languages. In general terms, malagueñas are flamenco dance styles with pasodoble elements from Málaga, in the southeast of Spain.
Origins
The melodic themes which form the basis of "Malagueña" were not of Ernesto Lecuona's invention, having been prominent in Spanish folk songs named "malagueñas" for several centuries, though at least one was popularised internationally by 19th-century American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk in his solo piano composition Souvenirs d'Andalousie (English: Memories of Andalusia).
The malagueña originates in the fandango style of Málaga, hence its name. It was also exported to the Canary Islands around the 18th century by Spanish mariners, where it has developed its own separate identity as the malagueña canaria, with a distinct style for different islands ranging from variations similar to the original fandango, to slower and more lamenting melodies such as those from the island of Tenerife. On the island of Fuerteventura the malagueña de los novios (English: of the bride and groom) is played at weddings in honour of the nuptials, and is much more elegant.
Notable vocal performances
A German-language version, sung by Caterina Valente, with Werner Müller's orchestra, was very popular in the United States (not making the Billboard chart, but charting on Cashbox, peaking at No. 42) in February 1955. Valente also sang "Malagueña" in Spanish.
English lyrics were written by Marian Banks and a later charting version was recorded by Connie Francis in 1960 that reached No. 42 on Billboard's chart as the flip-side of her No. 1 pop hit "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own", which were included on her 1961 compilation album More Greatest Hits.
In 1962, Violetta Villas recorded "Malagueña" in German- and Polish-language versions. Singers Vigen Derderian and Googoosh adapted the song for Iranian pop.
Notable instrumental performances
Lecuona's "Malagueña" was recorded by the composer as a piano solo on the 1955 RCA Victor LP Lecuona Plays Lecuona. The recording is available on RCA/BMG CD compilations and reissues.
As a pianist, Stan Kenton first had the piece arranged for the Sketches on Standards LP in 1956, which mostly went unnoticed at that time. After the 1960 Connie Francis version, Bill Holman's 1961 arrangement for the Stan Kenton Orchestra re-imagined the song again as a fiery big band showpiece, with an even larger orchestra. Performances of this arrangement appeared on Kenton's 1962 Grammy Award-winning album Adventures In Jazz and on the 1962 American TV show Jazz Scene USA.
Marco Rizo's solo piano performance of "Malagueña" can be found in Lecuona, a Musical Legacy. Rizo, who in 1938 became the official pianist of the Havana Philharmonic, performed under the direction of Maestro Ernesto Lecuona and gave duo piano recitals with Lecuona in 1939.
Sabicas adapted it for flamenco-style guitar, and it was included on his 1957 album, Sabicas Vol. 2, on Elektra Records. This recording was influential in the piece becoming a guitar standard, even though it was originally written for piano.
An acoustic instrumental demo of "Malagueña" was performed by Ritchie Valens and recorded in early 1959 at his manager Bob Keane's home studio. It was to have been worked on and completed later that year, but Valens died in a plane crash on February 3 before anything further could be done. About two years later, Keane chose Valens' demo as one of several unfinished tracks featured on the album Ritchie Valens in Concert at Pacoima Jr. High. Other artists as varied as Chet Atkins, Count Basie, Roy Clark, Ray Conniff, Xavier Cugat, Esquivel, Connie Francis, Ted Heath and Chico O'Farrill have also performed the piece.
#acoustic
#acousticguitar
#acousticcover
#acousticmusic
