Copacabana (song)
Encyclopedia
"Copacabana", also known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)", is a 1978 song which was sung by Barry Manilow
and written by Jack Feldman, Barry Manilow, and Bruce Sussman.
, and tells the story of Lola, a showgirl
, and her lover Tony, a bartender
at the club who is murdered by Rico, a Mafia
lord who took an interest in Lola.
The recording was used as incidental music in the 1978 movie Foul Play
, which starred Chevy Chase
and Goldie Hawn
, and has been featured in over a dozen other films. The single version clocks in at 4:08, the Extended Disco version is titled "Copacabana (At The Copa) (Disco)" and is 5:46. As opposed to a commercial 12" single, the extended version was on the B-side of the 45 and can also be found on Manilow's first Greatest Hits double album.
It debuted on Billboard magazine's Top 40 chart on July 7, 1978, and peaked at #8. It peaked at #42 in the United Kingdom
the same year. The track was Manilow's first gold single for a song he recorded and released. Additionally, the lyrics to "Copacabana" earned Manilow his first and only Grammy Award
for Pop Male Vocalist in February of 1979.
Manilow released a Spanish version entitled "Copacabana (En El Copa)" shortly after the English version was released. Though popular in dance clubs catering to Latin audiences, the Spanish version failed to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
A remixed version of the original English release entitled "Copacabana (The 1993 Remix)" peaked at #22 on Billboard magazine's Top 40 chart in 1993.
A home demo recording, albeit truncated, is available on the 4 CD/1 DVD box set collection, The Complete Collection and Then Some...
. In conjunction to this release, the song was remixed and released as "Copacabana (At The Copa) 1993 Remix".
In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full length, made-for-television musical
, also called Copacabana
, writing many additional songs and expanding the plot suggested by the song. This film version was then further expanded by Manilow, Feldman, and Sussman into a full-length, two-act stage musical that ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre
on London
's West End
for two years prior to a lengthy tour of the UK. An American production was later mounted that toured the US for over a year. Over 200 productions of the show have since been mounted worldwide.
recorded her interpretation of "Copacabana" in 2005 and it was released on a single by Dance Street and ZYX Music
. Apart from single edit of the song, a longer version also exists, with a slower piano intro. The latter was included in Forever Glam! compilation tracklist, released later in 2005.
Dance song "Do U Wanna See It?" was released on the single as well as music video for "Love Boat
" (which actually was an edited version of TV performance). Both tracks come from Amanda's 2001 album Heart
.
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
and written by Jack Feldman, Barry Manilow, and Bruce Sussman.
Song information
The song's title refers to the famous New York night club, the CopacabanaCopacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
, and tells the story of Lola, a showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
, and her lover Tony, a bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
at the club who is murdered by Rico, a Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
lord who took an interest in Lola.
The recording was used as incidental music in the 1978 movie Foul Play
Foul Play
Foul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping....
, which starred Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
, and has been featured in over a dozen other films. The single version clocks in at 4:08, the Extended Disco version is titled "Copacabana (At The Copa) (Disco)" and is 5:46. As opposed to a commercial 12" single, the extended version was on the B-side of the 45 and can also be found on Manilow's first Greatest Hits double album.
It debuted on Billboard magazine's Top 40 chart on July 7, 1978, and peaked at #8. It peaked at #42 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the same year. The track was Manilow's first gold single for a song he recorded and released. Additionally, the lyrics to "Copacabana" earned Manilow his first and only Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Pop Male Vocalist in February of 1979.
Manilow released a Spanish version entitled "Copacabana (En El Copa)" shortly after the English version was released. Though popular in dance clubs catering to Latin audiences, the Spanish version failed to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
A remixed version of the original English release entitled "Copacabana (The 1993 Remix)" peaked at #22 on Billboard magazine's Top 40 chart in 1993.
A home demo recording, albeit truncated, is available on the 4 CD/1 DVD box set collection, The Complete Collection and Then Some...
The Complete Collection and Then Some...
The Complete Collection and Then Some... is a four-disc and one video greatest hits compilation by American pop singer Barry Manilow. It features 70 tracks including unreleased songs and five new recordings. It was certified RIAA gold...
. In conjunction to this release, the song was remixed and released as "Copacabana (At The Copa) 1993 Remix".
In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full length, made-for-television musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, also called Copacabana
Copacabana (musical)
Copacabana is a TV-musical, stage musical, and nightclub show written by Barry Manilow, based on the song of the same name. The show toured the United States and, as of 2006, became available to license to performing companies and schools for the first time....
, writing many additional songs and expanding the plot suggested by the song. This film version was then further expanded by Manilow, Feldman, and Sussman into a full-length, two-act stage musical that ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
for two years prior to a lengthy tour of the UK. An American production was later mounted that toured the US for over a year. Over 200 productions of the show have since been mounted worldwide.
Amanda Lear version
French singer Amanda LearAmanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, composer, painter, TV presenter, actress and novelist....
recorded her interpretation of "Copacabana" in 2005 and it was released on a single by Dance Street and ZYX Music
ZYX Music
ZYX Music is a German record label which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco and early house music. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term Italo disco in the 1980s...
. Apart from single edit of the song, a longer version also exists, with a slower piano intro. The latter was included in Forever Glam! compilation tracklist, released later in 2005.
Dance song "Do U Wanna See It?" was released on the single as well as music video for "Love Boat
Love Boat (song)
"Love Boat" is a single by Jack Jones released in 1979 by MGM Records.-Song information:The song was written by Charles Fox and Paul Williams . It became the theme music of popular American television series The Love Boat, broadcast between 1977 and 1986...
" (which actually was an edited version of TV performance). Both tracks come from Amanda's 2001 album Heart
Heart (Amanda Lear album)
-Personnel:*Amanda Lear - lead vocals*Cécile Maestre - backing vocals*Sandrine Foguère - backing vocals*Judith Flessel-Toto - backing vocals*Stefano Meghenzani - piano, Rhodes & accordion*Patrick Bacqueville - trombone*Nicolas Baudino - flute, saxophone...
.
Track listing
- CD Maxi-Single (2005)
- "Copacabana" - 3:26
- "Do U Wanna See It?" - 3:51
- music video: "Love Boat" - 3:12
Other cover versions
- James LastJames LastJames Last is a German composer and big band leader. His "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom. His composition, "Happy Heart", became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark...
recorded "Copacabana" in 1979. - Paul de LeeuwPaul de LeeuwPaul Henri de Leeuw is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for broadcasting company VARA...
released his version under the title "Kopa Koopavond" in 1994. - DJ HellDJ HellThis article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
recorded his cover version, sampling from Manilow's original, and released it as "Copa" in 1999. - Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
performed the song on her 2008 KylieX2008KylieX2008KylieX2008 was the tenth concert tour by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, in support of her tenth studio album, X . Originally announced as just a European tour, rumors of Minogue taking the tour to Australia, Asia, and America had surfaced in the international media...
tour. - John BarrowmanJohn BarrowmanJohn Scot Barrowman is a Scottish-American singer, actor, dancer, musical theatre performer and media personality. Born in Glasgow yet growing up in Illinois after his family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old, Barrowman was encouraged to further his love for music and...
recorded "Copacabana" on his 2010 self-titled albumJohn Barrowman (album)John Barrowman is the self-titled third studio album by musician and actor, John Barrowman. Released on March 1, 2010, the album debuted at #11 on the UK Top 40 Albums Chart. This was the highest chart rating of any of Barrowman's albums to date....
. - The VandalsThe VandalsThe Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
recorded a parody of "Copacabana" called "Dachau Cabana" which was later performed by Bradley NowellBradley NowellBradley James Nowell was an American musician who served as lead singer and guitarist of the Californian band Sublime. He died at the age of 28 from a heroin overdose shortly before the release of Sublime's self-titled major label debut.Raised in Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an...
of SublimeSublime (band)Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
.