Paloma Blanca
Encyclopedia
Paloma Blanca, often called Una Paloma Blanca, is a 1975 song written by the Dutch musician George Baker and first recorded by his band The George Baker Selection. The single was a hit throughout Europe, and was taken from the group's fifth album of the same name.
The song became a #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening Singles chart in early 1976 (becoming that chart's overall number 1 song for 1976) and peaked at number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, as well as peaking at number thirty-three on the U.S. Hot Country Singles
charts.
The title is Spanish for "white dove
".
in the same year as the original, and it earned him an award for Best Record of the Year at the Ivor Novello
Awards and was a top five UK smash (Baker's original reached no.10 in the UK). Still in 1975, the dansband
Säwes scored a hit in Sweden
with the song, its lyrics in Swedish by Hans Rytterström. Siw Malmkvist
also scored a hit with another Swedish version of the song, that peaked at number 8 at the Swedish singles chart
in 1975-1976. A Norwegian language version was a hit for singer Hans Petter Hansen, also in 1975. Patricia Lavila had a hit in France with a loosely-translated French version (lyrics by Michel Jourdan), again in 1975.
George Baker rerecorded a solo version of the song in 2005 for the movie Vet Hard; the song had earlier been used in a 1982 movie, The Executioner's Song
. Other versions were done by Demis Roussos
and Slim Whitman
.
Given its popularity and middle-of-the-road quality, the song is often parodied. In 1993, the Croatian
group Vatrogasci
(Firefighters) made a parody named Pekara (bakery in Croatian) in a turbofolk
arrangement. In the United States, Eddie Murphy
, as the character Buckwheat in a Saturday Night Live
television commercial parody, sang a mangled version parodying the Slim Whitman version entitled "Una Panoonah Banka". In May 1985 radio station KNOB 98 FM in Bellflower, California, had a contest based on who could best replicate the yodel in Whitman's version, calling it a "Slim-off".
In 1976, the British "Scrumpy and Western
" group The Wurzels
had a Top 3 UK hit with their parody of the song, "I Am a Cider Drinker". The Wurzels version was covered in 2011 by Scottish Pirate Metal Band Alestorm as a bonus track for their album Back Through Time.
The song became a #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening Singles chart in early 1976 (becoming that chart's overall number 1 song for 1976) and peaked at number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, as well as peaking at number thirty-three on the U.S. Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts.
The title is Spanish for "white dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
".
Versions
The song was adapted a number of times, first by Jonathan KingJonathan King
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...
in the same year as the original, and it earned him an award for Best Record of the Year at the Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
Awards and was a top five UK smash (Baker's original reached no.10 in the UK). Still in 1975, the dansband
Dansband
Dansband is a Swedish term for a band that plays dansbandsmusik . Dansbandsmusik is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by swing, schlager, country, jazz, and rock...
Säwes scored a hit in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with the song, its lyrics in Swedish by Hans Rytterström. Siw Malmkvist
Siw Malmkvist
Siw "Siwan" Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist is a Swedish singer who is popular in Scandinavia and Germany...
also scored a hit with another Swedish version of the song, that peaked at number 8 at the Swedish singles chart
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
in 1975-1976. A Norwegian language version was a hit for singer Hans Petter Hansen, also in 1975. Patricia Lavila had a hit in France with a loosely-translated French version (lyrics by Michel Jourdan), again in 1975.
George Baker rerecorded a solo version of the song in 2005 for the movie Vet Hard; the song had earlier been used in a 1982 movie, The Executioner's Song
The Executioner's Song
The Executioner's Song is a 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder. The title of the book may be a play on "The Lord High Executioner's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado...
. Other versions were done by Demis Roussos
Demis Roussos
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...
and Slim Whitman
Slim Whitman
Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings...
.
Given its popularity and middle-of-the-road quality, the song is often parodied. In 1993, the Croatian
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
group Vatrogasci
Vatrogasci
Vatrogasci is a Croatian parody rock band formed in 1991 by Tihomir Borošak and Dean Parmak. The Band is known in particular for humorous songs and their often parody specific songs of contemporary musical acts....
(Firefighters) made a parody named Pekara (bakery in Croatian) in a turbofolk
Turbo-folk
Turbo-folk is a popular musical sub-genre that originated in Serbia, the Balkans. Having mainstream popularity in Serbia, although closely associated with Serbian performers, its sound is as popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro...
arrangement. In the United States, Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, as the character Buckwheat in a Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
television commercial parody, sang a mangled version parodying the Slim Whitman version entitled "Una Panoonah Banka". In May 1985 radio station KNOB 98 FM in Bellflower, California, had a contest based on who could best replicate the yodel in Whitman's version, calling it a "Slim-off".
In 1976, the British "Scrumpy and Western
Scrumpy and Western
Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect...
" group The Wurzels
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are a British Scrumpy and Western band...
had a Top 3 UK hit with their parody of the song, "I Am a Cider Drinker". The Wurzels version was covered in 2011 by Scottish Pirate Metal Band Alestorm as a bonus track for their album Back Through Time.
See also
- List of number-one hits of 1975 (Germany)
- List of number-one singles (Sweden)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)