View source for Babalú

{{Short description|Cuban song}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Babalú
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| language   = Spanish creole
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| published  = 1939 (USA)
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| genre      = [[Afro (genre)|Afro]]
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| writer     = [[Margarita Lecuona]]
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"'''Babalú'''" is an international popular [[afro (genre)|Afro]] [[Cuba]]n song written by [[Margarita Lecuona]], the cousin of composers Ernestina and [[Ernesto Lecuona]]. The song title is a reference to the [[Santería]] deity (Yoruba: òrìṣà) [[Babalú Ayé]] (Yoruba: Obalúayé).<ref name="npr080518">{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90535612 |title=Ricky Ricardo: The 'Mr. Babalu' Next Door |first=Felix |last=Contreras |work=[[NPR Weekend Edition]] |date=May 18, 2008 |quote=Millions of Americanos tuned into ''I Love Lucy'', and most of them probably didn't realize that Ricky Ricardo's signature song was a tribute to an Afro-Cuban god. |accessdate=September 19, 2008}}</ref>
==Lyrics==
In the song's lyrics, originally written in [[Spanish creole]], the singer wonders aloud what to do with a statue of Babalú Ayé, now that a Santería rite had been invoked by others.<ref name="npr080518"/> He suggests that seventeen candles be lit up, in the shape of a [[cross]], and that a [[cigar]] and [[aguardiente]] be brought to him, as to pay homage to the deity. He then requests good luck, love from his beloved woman, and safety and protection to both.
==History==
The song was first published in the United States in 1939 by Peer International.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lecuona |first=Margarita |url=http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3Ababalu&fq=yr%3A1939+%3E&qt=advanced&dblist=638 |title=Babalu in Worldcat |publisher=Worldcat.org |date= |accessdate=2012-05-12}}</ref> The first publication with an English translation (by Sydney King Russell) was in 1941.
"Babalú" was the signature song of the fictional television character [[Ricky Ricardo]], played by [[Desi Arnaz]] in the television comedy series ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', though it was already an established musical number for Arnaz in the 1940s as evidenced in the 1946 film short ''Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134612/|title=Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra|author=|date=|publisher=|accessdate=28 April 2019|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> By the time Arnaz had adopted the song, it had become a Latin American music standard, associated mainly with Cuban singer [[Miguelito Valdés]], who recorded one of its many versions with [[Xavier Cugat]] and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 |date=1986 |publisher=Record Research Inc. |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |isbn=0-89820-083-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/116 116] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/116 }}</ref> Arnaz made the song a rather popular cultural reference in the United States.
Whenever Arnaz and his band played the song live, he would finish it with an extended conga solo and chorus-refrain section, mimicking Cuban ''[[comparsa]]s'' (a popular genre usually associated with the city of [[Santiago de Cuba]]). This section has been quoted by other Cuban artists, most notably by [[Miami Sound Machine]] in their live presentations.
[[Yma Sumac]] sang it in 1952 in her second single ''[[The Lion Sleeps Tonight|Wimoweh]]/ Babalú'' with [[Capitol Records]]. It was an introduction for Sumac into [[Traditional pop|traditional pop music]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Yma Sumac - Wimoweh / Babalu|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4389235-Yma-Sumac-Wimoweh-Babalu|language=es|access-date=2022-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Yma Sumac - Babalu|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTXTYp8jYig|language=en|access-date=2022-01-25}}</ref> [[Johnny Mathis]] recorded the song twice. It was included on his album ''[[Johnny Mathis (album)|Johnny Mathis]]'' (1956) and his album ''[[Olé (Johnny Mathis album)|Olé]]'' (1964).
[[Billy Eckstine]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jazz.com/music/2009/8/6/slim-gaillard-babalu-orooney |title=Slim Gaillard: Babalu (orooney) – Jazz.com &#124; Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News |publisher=Jazz.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721150510/http://www.jazz.com/music/2009/8/6/slim-gaillard-babalu-orooney |archivedate=2011-07-21 }}</ref> recorded the song on his album [[Billy's Best!]] ([[Mercury Records|Mercury]], 1958, with Billy May's Orchestra).
In [[Hanna-Barbera]]'s "[[Quick Draw McGraw]]", the title character's Mexican burro sidekick, who was based on Desi Arnaz, was named [[Baba Looey]] in a nod to the song.
The song is performed by Maria Andipa in the 1962 "Death's Dispatch" episode of ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''. A Ska rendition was recorded and performed by [[Ska Cubano]] a Mambo-Ska band from Britain made up of musicians and singers from many diverse countries.
In the early fifties, the song was recorded by Brazilian singer [[Angela Maria]], and it became her biggest hit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gafieiras.com.br/entrevistas/angela-maria/3/|title=gafieiras – Medium|author=|date=|website=Medium|accessdate=28 April 2019}}</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:Cuban songs]]
[[Category:Johnny Mathis songs]]
[[Category:1939 songs]]