ROSEMARY CLOONEY - “Mambo Italiano”
(14th January 1955)
Italiana strikes again, but Clooney plays it for laughs and dances. The track kicks off with a sarkily comical ballad intro before quickly getting down to hoofing business. I imagine an iceberg of mambo tunes of which this novelty is the chart-topping tip - Clooney really gets her teeth sunk into it, though (check her feral “Ayyyy”s to hear how much she’s enjoying it). Her band follow suit, with a hammering piano break, and the whole thing wraps up before you quite have time to get irritated by it. 5
Site powered by
Keith W on March 21st, 2008
The first singalong number one? Or is that This Ole’ House?
FT's Tom on April 3rd, 2008
Badly underrated this one - certainly not a 5.
Marcello Carlin on April 4th, 2008
Certainly at the time the sexiest number one to date!
rosie on May 3rd, 2008
George’s auntie, too! I like this a lot, I’d rate it a 7 or perhaps an 8.
wichita lineman on May 31st, 2008
Always liked this, definitely a 7. Yet another Bob Merrill chart-topper! Later on, as a respected jazz singer, Rosemary revealed she really wasn’t fond of it. But then she also claimed to loathe Come On A-My House: this one was decidedly sexy, powered by fruity innuendo and boisterous harpsichord, and it made her name in 1951 (a number one on the pre-Guinness Radio Luxemburg chart). What’s more it was written by Pulitzer-winning writer William Saroyan, his only attempt at songwriting. Ungrateful jazzers, eh?