Frenesi

In 1940, after a three-month sojourn in Mexico, bandleader Artie Shaw returned to the States, gathered 32 musicians and a female vocalist, Anita Boyer, and recorded six tunes. Included were two Latin songs he uncovered in Mexico, and one of them, "Frenesi," went on to be a smash hit. It held the Numero Uno position on the Hit Parade for 13 weeks, and was the first song by a Mexican writer to sell a million records. Both Glenn Miller and Woody Herman recorded the song in 1941, but it was the Artie Shaw rendition that was used in the 1981 film, "The Raging Bull," and is remembered as one of the great big band hits of all time.

Spanish Words and Music by Alberto Dominguez.
English Lyric by Ray Charles and S.K. Russell.
Aranged by Phil Gaberman.

Artie Shaw, the jazz legend who epitomized the Big Band era with hits such as "Begin the Beguine" and "Stardust" before abandoning the music world for writing and other pursuits, died Thursday, December 30, 2004. He was 94. He had been in declining health for some time and died at his home. His band's recording of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine" topped the charts for six weeks in 1938 and made Shaw famous at age 28.

Among his other hits, some with his big band and some with his quartet, the Gramercy Five: "Frenesi," "Dancing in the Dark," "Nightmare," "Back Bay Shuffle," "Accent-tchu-ate the Positive," "Traffic Jam," "They Say," "Moonglow," "Stardust," "Thanks for Ev'rything," "Summit Ridge Drive" and "My Little Nest of Heavenly Blue."

The hits blocked in red can be found in the Ol'Kunnel's Jukebox [Click Here!]

17:09 5/22/2008