"Frenesí" is a musical piece originally composed by Alberto Domínguez Borrás for the marimba, and adapted as a jazz standard by Leonard Whitcup and others.
| "Frenesí" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra | |
| A-side | "Adiós Mariquita Linda" |
| Published | December 28, 1939 by Southern Music Pub. Co., Inc., New York[1] |
| Released | March 29, 1940 |
| Recorded | March 3, 1940[2] |
| Studio | Victor Studios, Hollywood |
| Genre | Swing |
| Length | 3:01 |
| Label | Victor 26542 |
| Composer(s) | Alberto Domínguez Borrás |
| Lyricist(s) | Leonard Whitcup[1] |
Background
The word frenesí is Spanish for "frenzy".
Artie Shaw recording
A hit version recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra[3] (with an arrangement by William Grant Still) reached number one on the Billboard pop chart on December 21, 1940, staying for 13 weeks,[4] and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.[5]
Cover versions
Other performers who have recorded the song include:
- Julie London
- Les Brown
- Dave Brubeck on his 1967 album, Bravo! Brubeck!
- Betty Carter
- Gerry Mulligan
- June Christy
- Natalie Cole
- Ray Charles
- Bing Crosby
- Tommy Dorsey
- Victor Feldman
- The Four Freshmen
- Eydie Gorme
- Woody Herman
- Earl Hines
- Harry James
- Ben E. King
- Steve Lawrence
- Billy May
- Glenn Miller
- Anita O'Day
- Perez Prado
- Cliff Richard
- Linda Ronstadt
- Jack Emblow
- Pat Suzuki
- Frank Sinatra
- Three X Sisters vocals with the Watson Orchestra
- Mel Tormé on his 1959, ¡Olé Tormé!: Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May[6]
- Caterina Valente
- The Ritchie Family - 1975, on their Brazil album.[7]
- Jesus Chino Miranda.
- Vedha (composer): A song from the Modern Theatres Tamil movie Vallavan Oruvan
In popular culture
- World War II flying ace Major (later Brigadier General) Thomas L. Hayes named his P-51 Frenesi after the song.[8] He said it was a tribute to his wife Louise, for the song they listened to; he believed the song's name translated as "Love Me Tenderly".
- The Artie Shaw recording was used in the soundtrack of the 1980 film Raging Bull.[9]
- Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland features a character named Frenesi Gates, "her name celebrating the record by Artie Shaw that was all over the jukeboxes and airwaves in the last days of the war".