Kiss of Fire
Encyclopedia
"El Choclo" is a popular
song
written by Ángel Villoldo
, an Argentine
musician
. Allegedly written in honour of and taking its title from the nickname of the proprietor of a nightclub, who was known as El Choclo.
It is probably one of the most popular tangos in Argentina.
The piece was premiered in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
in 1903 – the date appears on a program of the venue – at the elegant restaurant "El Americano" on 966 Cangallo Street (today Teniente General Perón) by the orchestra led by Jose Luis Roncallo.
El Choclo has been recorded (without vocals) by many dance orchestras, especially in Argentina.
A number of vocal versions were recorded in 1952, but the most popular was the one by Georgia Gibbs
, which reached #2 on the Billboard chart.
Tony Martin
's version reached #6, Toni Arden
's #14, Billy Eckstine
's #16, Louis Armstrong
's #20, and Guy Lombardo
's version reached #30. There are Spanish versions of "Kiss of Fire" by Connie Francis
and Nat King Cole
. In 1953 Olavi Virta
and Metro-Tytöt released a Finnish version, titled "Tulisuudelma", which means "Kiss of Fire". The Finnish words, by "Kullervo" (Tapio Kullervo Lahtinen), closely follow the English. In 2001 the hip-hop group Delinquent Habits made the song known to a new generation when they released "Return of the tres", which relies heavily on samplings from a Mariachi version of the classical tango.
Alan Sherman sang a parody of the song as "Kiss of Meyer", which starts out like a Jewish song with the "Dye Dee Dye Dee Dye", and ending the song with a brief quote of "Whatever Lola Wants" as "Whatever Meyer Wants/ Meyer Gets/ That is his name? His name is Meyer Getz"?
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Ángel Villoldo
Ángel Villoldo
Ángel Gregorio Villoldo Arroyo was an Argentine musician and one of the pioneers of tango. He was born south of the city of Buenos Aires. He was lyricist, composer and one of the major singers of the era. He is also known by the pseudonyms A. Gregorio, Fray Pimiento, Gregorio Giménez, Angel Arroyo...
, an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Allegedly written in honour of and taking its title from the nickname of the proprietor of a nightclub, who was known as El Choclo.
It is probably one of the most popular tangos in Argentina.
The piece was premiered in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in 1903 – the date appears on a program of the venue – at the elegant restaurant "El Americano" on 966 Cangallo Street (today Teniente General Perón) by the orchestra led by Jose Luis Roncallo.
El Choclo has been recorded (without vocals) by many dance orchestras, especially in Argentina.
A number of vocal versions were recorded in 1952, but the most popular was the one by Georgia Gibbs
Georgia Gibbs
Georgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
, which reached #2 on the Billboard chart.
Tony Martin
Tony Martin (entertainer)
Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
's version reached #6, Toni Arden
Toni Arden
Toni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...
's #14, Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
's #16, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
's #20, and Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
's version reached #30. There are Spanish versions of "Kiss of Fire" by Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
and Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
. In 1953 Olavi Virta
Olavi Virta
Olavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed as the king of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions...
and Metro-Tytöt released a Finnish version, titled "Tulisuudelma", which means "Kiss of Fire". The Finnish words, by "Kullervo" (Tapio Kullervo Lahtinen), closely follow the English. In 2001 the hip-hop group Delinquent Habits made the song known to a new generation when they released "Return of the tres", which relies heavily on samplings from a Mariachi version of the classical tango.
Recorded versions
- Toni ArdenToni ArdenToni Arden is an American traditional pop music singer.-Biography:Arden became a big band singer in the 1940s, singing with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields...
(1952) - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
(1952) - Dick Beavers
- Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
(1959) - Billy EckstineBilly EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
(1952) - Lester Ferguson
- Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
- Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
(1952) - David HughesDavid HughesDavid Hughes may refer to:*David Hughes , interim president and CEO of Amtrak, 2005–2006*David Hughes , English astronomer specialising in comets*David Hughes , Swedish bass guitarist...
- Mickey KatzMickey KatzMickey Katz , was an American comedian and musician who specialized in Jewish humor. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey.-Family:...
Parody entitled Kiss of Meyer - Guy LombardoGuy LombardoGaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
and his Royal Canadians (vocal: Kenny Gardner) (1952) - Tony MartinTony Martin (entertainer)Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
(1952) - Anne Shelton
- Victor SilvesterVictor SilvesterVictor Marlborough Silvester OBE was an English dancer, author, musician and dance band leader. He was a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century, and his records sold 75 million copies from the 1930s through to the 1980s.- Early life...
- Caterina ValenteCaterina ValenteCaterina Valente is a singer, dancer, and actress. She was born into an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown...
- Billy Vaughn Orchestra
- Jimmy YoungJimmy YoungJimmy Young may refer to:*Jimmy Young *Jimmy Young , singer -See also:*Jim Young *James Young...
(1952) - Ikue MoriIkue Mori, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, composer, and graphic designer.-Biography:Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She says she had little interest in music before hearing punk rock...
(1995) - Julio IglesiasJulio IglesiasJulio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
(1996) - Violetta VillasVioletta VillasVioletta Villas is a Belgian-born Polish and international singer, actress, composer and songwriter. Her voice is characterized as coloratura soprano, she has five-octave vocal range and absolute pitch. Villas can play the piano, violin and trombone...
(1993) - Olavi VirtaOlavi VirtaOlavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed as the king of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions...
(1915–1972) of FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(1953)
Alan Sherman sang a parody of the song as "Kiss of Meyer", which starts out like a Jewish song with the "Dye Dee Dye Dee Dye", and ending the song with a brief quote of "Whatever Lola Wants" as "Whatever Meyer Wants/ Meyer Gets/ That is his name? His name is Meyer Getz"?