A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)

"A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)" (Portuguese for "The Band") is a composition by Chico Buarque that was first performed live in 1966 by Buarque and Nara Leão, during the II Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) Festival in TV Record's theater, São Paulo, winning the "Viola de Ouro" award for best composition. "A Banda" brought Buarque immediately into the limelight in Brazil. The song was also released in 1966, on the Brazilian RGE label, as the first track of side 1 in Chico Buarque de Hollanda (Vol. 1) LP.

Mina version

"La banda"
Single by Mina
from the album Sabato sera – Studio Uno '67
B-side"Se c'è una cosa che mi fa impazzire"
ReleasedMay 1967 (1967-05)
GenrePop
Length2:35
LabelRi-Fi
Composer(s)Chico Buarque
Lyricist(s)Antonio Amurri
Mina singles chronology
"Conversazione"
(1967) 		"La banda"
(1967) 		"Tu non mi lascerai"
(1967)

In 1967, singer Mina released an Italian version of the song called "La banda".[1] The song was a success in Italy, where it became number two on the chart,[2] and sales exceeded 400 thousand copies.[3] The Italian lyrics were written by Antonio Amurri.

In 1970, Mina also recorded an original Portuguese version for the album Mina canta o Brasil.

Buarque, who was living in Italy at the time, later performed this version.[4]

Charts

Chart performance for "La banda"
Chart (1967) Peak
position
Italia (Musica e dischi)[2] 2

Herb Alpert version

"A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)"
Single by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
from the album Herb Alpert's Ninth
B-side"Miss Frenchy Brown"
Released1967
GenreEasy listening
Length2:09
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Chico Buarque
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass singles chronology
"The Happening"
(1967) 		"A Banda (Ah Bahn-da)"
(1967) 		"Carmen"
(1968)

As an instrumental, the song was performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, who had their third and final number one on the Easy Listening chart in October 1967. It peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]

The instrumental version by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass was used in the Soviet cartoon Well, Just You Wait! in the 8th episode (at 06:27-07:30).[6]

Charts

Chart performance for "A Banda" by Herb Alpert
Chart (1967–1968) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 33
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[8] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 35
West Germany (GfK)[10] 22

Other cover versions

  • In 1967, Astrud Gilberto brought the song to the US, recording it with English lyrics on the Verve/Copacabana label, crediting Bob Russell for the English lyrics.
  • The French singer France Gall popularized this song, titled "Zwei Apfelsinen im Haar" in German ("Two oranges in the hair" in English).
  • A Czech version named "La banda" was performed by Vladěna Krumlová in 1969.
  • Also in 1999 the German band Captain Jack used a riff from "A Banda" in the song "Get Up".[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "La Banda" at Discogs. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). pp. 306–308. ISBN 9781093264906.
  3. ^ "International" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 29, no. 8. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. Inc. 16 September 1967. p. 103. ISSN 0008-7289.
  4. ^ "La banda (A Banda) (di Antonio Amurri / Chico Buarque de Hollanda)". Hit Parade Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Не только Пугачева и Высоцкий: Зарубежные песни из мультфильма "Ну, погоди!"". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Herb Alpert Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Herb Alpert Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – A banda" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Get Up! by Captain Jack feat. Gipsy Kings on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2021-05-30.


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