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Ciribiribin

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"Ciribiribin"
Song
LanguagePiedmontese[1]
Written1898
Composer(s)Alberto Pestalozza
Lyricist(s)Carlo Tiochet

"Ciribiribin"[tʃiribiriˈbin]is a merryPiedmonteseballad, originally in three-quarter time, composed byAlberto Pestalozzain 1898 with lyrics by Carlo Tiochet.[2]It quickly became popular and has been recorded by many artists. Decades later it enjoyed continued popularity with swing and jazz bands, played in four-four time.

Background

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The distinguishing feature of the song is repeated use of the five-note title phrase. In the sheet music the name is indicated to be enunciatedchiri-biri-beanto allow singers to hold the vowel at the end as long as they like.[3]

Early successes

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  • It was a success as "Ciribiribin Waltz" forPrince's Orchestrain 1911 reaching a number three position in the charts of the day as calculated byJoel Whitburn.[4]
  • Grace Mooreenjoyed chart success with the song in 1934 reaching a peak position of number 15.[5]She also made a live recording accompanied by a pianist, Gibner King, as an encore after presenting some pieces withWillem Mengelbergand theConcertgebouw Orchestraon June 23, 1936.
  • The song was a favorite ofHarry James,who chose it as his theme song when he formed his band in 1939[6]and wrote English lyrics for it withJack Lawrence.The James version reached the No. 10 spot in the charts in 1940.[5]Frank Sinatraworked with James's band for a while before going to work forTommy Dorsey.On the James/Sinatra recording of the song, Sinatra enunciated the trailing "n".
  • Bing Crosbyandthe Andrews Sistersrecorded the song on September 20, 1939[7]withJoe Venutiand his Orchestra and it reached the number 13 spot in the charts in 1940. This was Crosby's first recording with the Andrews Sisters and they went on to have another 22 chart hits together in the US.[8]

Other recordings

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Artists who have recorded the song in Italian includeGracie Fields,Mario Lanza,Claudio Villa,andRenato Carosone. Coloratura sopranosMado RobinandErna Sackrecorded the song as well (in German for Erna Sack).

Film appearances

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  • The song "Java Jive",a hit song forthe Ink Spotsin 1940, originally featured thecouplet"I'm not keen about a bean / Unless it is a 'cheery beery bean", as a pun on "Ciribiribin", but the Ink Spots' lead singer inadvertently sang it as "cheery cheery bean", and recordings by subsequent artists have generally either followed suit or changed it to "chilichili bean ".
  • An earlier play on the "chili" joke came in a comic song written byAlbert Von Tilzerand recorded byBilly Murrayin 1921. The song, "Chili Bean", is about an exotic woman named Chili Bean. A bar of "Ciribiribin" appears in a brief instrumental segment in the middle of the song.
  • A rock 'n' roll adaptation, "Gotta Lotta Love", sung bySteve Alaimo,was mildly successful in late 1963, where it peaked at number 74.[9]

References

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  1. ^"Ciribiribin (1898) – Gioventura Piemontèisa".
  2. ^"sheetmusicplus".sheetmusicplus.RetrievedDecember 8,2020.
  3. ^Schaum, John W. (March 5, 1985).Adult Piano Course, Bk 3.Alfred Music Publishing.ISBN9780769236544– via Google Books.
  4. ^Whitburn, Joel (1986).Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954.Wisconsin, US: Record Research. p.357.ISBN0-89820-083-0.
  5. ^abWhitburn, Joel (1986).Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954.Wisconsin, US: Record Research. p.321.ISBN0-89820-083-0.
  6. ^Simon, George T. (1995). "In the Beginning".Liner Notes for Columbia's Harry James Disk.
  7. ^"A Bing Crosby Discography".BING magazine.International Club Crosby.RetrievedApril 1,2017.
  8. ^Whitburn, Joel (1986).Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954.Wisconsin, US: Record Research. p.113.ISBN0-89820-083-0.
  9. ^Whitburn, Joel(2013).Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012.Record Research. p. 26.
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