"La, la, la" is a song recorded by
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
singer
Massiel
María de los Ángeles Felisa Santamaría Espinosa (born 2 August 1947), professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "La, la, la", beating the British pop singer Cliff Richard' ...
, written by
Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. It is best known as the
Spanish winning entry at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1968
The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the with the song " Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite havi ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. It was the first time that Spain won the Contest.
Massiel also released the song in English as "He Gives Me Love (La, La, La)".
Eurovision
The performance of the song was the first of Spain's two Eurovision wins to date. The song was composed by Ramón Arcusa and Manuel de la Calva, otherwise known as the singing duo
Dúo Dinámico
Dúo Dinámico (''Dynamic Duo'' in English) is a Spanish musical duo, which was very popular in Spain in the 1960s. It is formed by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa, singers, songwriters, record producers and actors. They were the main prec ...
. This was the first Eurovision Song Contest broadcast in colour, with viewers noting Massiel's backing singers in their short
teal
alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male)
Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...
coloured dresses (from left/tallest to right/shortest, they were María Jesús Aguirre, María Dolores Arenas, and Mercedes Valimaña Macaria).
"La, la, la" beat the favourite, the 's "
Congratulations
Congratulations may refer to:
Film and television
*'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary
Music Albums
* ''Congratulations'' (album), an album by ...
", by just one point.
Bill Martin (writer of the UK entry) called the Spanish song "a piece of rubbish".
Joan Manuel Serrat
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages.
Serrat's lyrical style ...
, the artist originally chosen to perform Spain's entry, intended to sing it in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
. The
Francoist State dictatorship would not allow this – and insisted that the entry should be performed in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
(which is in fact the language of
Castile), official language for all the territories of Spain, although Serrat wanted to make a claim for the other regional languages of this country,
repressed under the Francoist State. Hence the last-minute substitution of Massiel as singer. It was not until , when
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
made its first entry, that Catalan would be heard on the contest stage.
A documentary film shown on Spanish television in 2008 claimed that
Caudillo
A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
Franco had had the competition fixed to ensure a victory for Spain, which would boost the country's image abroad.
Massiel was outraged by the allegations, insisting that she won because her song was better, and that Franco would have not been able to buy any votes for her in the first place. She also blamed the allegations on competition among Spanish TV channels.
José María Íñigo
José María Íñigo Gómez (4 June 1942 – 5 May 2018) was a Spanish journalist, radio and television presenter, and stage and screen actor.
Biography
Career
Born in Bilbao, Íñigo began his professional career in his hometown as he was hi ...
, the person who had made the original claims in the documentary, later retracted them, saying "If there had been such a manipulation, it would have been for a different artist who had been closer to the regime."
Recordings
Massiel recorded the song in four languages; Spanish,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, all as "La, la, la", and in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, as "He Gives Me Love (La, la, la)". It was later covered by the Italian singer
Mina in
Radiotelevisione Italiana
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...
's 1968 variety series ''
Canzonissima
''Canzonissima'' was an Italian musical variety show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1958 to 1974, aired on Saturday evening except for the last two editions in which it was aired on Sunday afternoon. The program was referred to as "the synthesis and the ...
'' and by Finnish singer
Carola
Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol.
People named Carola include:
Acting
* Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress
*Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actres ...
. The band
Saint Etienne recorded another cover version, featured on the album ''A Song for
Eurotrash'' (1998) with English lyrics that differ from the original, referring to the man she is dating instead of the things she is thankful for. The biggest-selling recording of the song, however, was the cover-version, performed in Spanish, by Portuguese
fado
Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...
star
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress.
Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...
. It was also sung by
Alpay, a famous Turkish singer, in
Turkish that same year as "La La La Şarkı Sözü" and released as the
B side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
of his single "Sen Gidince" in 1969.
Heidi Brühl
Heidi Rosemarie Brühl (; 30 January 1942 – 8 June 1991) was a German singer and actress who came to prominence as a young teenager and had a prolific career in film and television. She was also a successful recording artist, and is known for ...
covered it in German and Marcela Laiferová in
Slovak.
Charts
References
External links
Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 1968Detailed info and lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "La, la, la"
{{authority control
Eurovision songs of Spain
Spanish-language songs
Eurovision songs of 1968
Eurovision Song Contest winning songs
1968 songs