"Little Latin Lupe Lu" was written by
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...
in 1962, and became the song that launched
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...
' career.
Though it peaked on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 49 on June 8, 1963, Medley and his partner, Bobby Hatfield, were offered a national distribution contract by VeeJay records. It was purchased the following year by Phil Spector, who went on to produce their most successful recordings. The song has been covered by more than twenty artists, notably by Bruce Springsteen, from 1977-2009.
Original version
Little Latin Lupe Lu ("Lupe") was written by 19-year-old Bill Medley when he and Bobby Hatfield were in a five-piece band called The Paramours. It's about a girl he dated at Santa Ana High School in California named Lupe Laguna, whose nickname was "Lupe Lu." Medley later described it as "a silly little song, about a girl who likes to dance". He taught the song to Hatfield, then contacted Ray Maxwell, the owner of a local label called Moonglow Records, who came to hear the duo sing it. Maxwell had them record the song, but since it was just Hatfield and Medley, they needed a new name.
This often-told story varies in location, but always involves U.S. Marines stationed at the nearby El Toro Marine base. At the end of a performance, an African-American soldier in the audience shouted, "That was righteous, brothers!" Walking in from the parking lot for another performance, a group of Marines spotted them, and one called out, "Hey righteous brothers, how you doin'?" From then on, they were "The Righteous Brothers".
Nothing happened when "Lupe" was released, so Hatfield and Medley took some gigs at The Rendezvous Ballroom in Newport Beach, California, which was a
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...
dance club where
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting with reverb eff ...
also played. According to Medley, they were reluctant at first to perform, but "it fit this surf dance that they were doing" and became a big hit with the patrons. When the local record store told their new fans they had never heard of it, "Bobby Hatfield and our road manager took about 1500 copies to the record store, and we told the kids where to buy them. Well, 1500 kids went down and bought this record."
In the same 2010 interview, Medley explained, "In those days, radio stations would call record stores to see what was selling." When Los Angeles stations KFWB and KRLA heard that 1500 records had been sold, they added "Lupe" to their programing list, and soon they were getting requests for the song. It became a local hit, reaching No. 4 on KRLA and No. 5 on KFWB. On May 11, 1963, it entered the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 49 and finishing after 7 weeks on the chart. It also reached No. 47 on the
Cashbox music chart.
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' described it as "a fabulous stomp-a-rock’er...that the Righteous Bros, belt out in a manner the teeners’ll flip over."
Cover versions
*The south Minneapolis
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...
band The Chancellors recorded "Little Latin Lupe Lu" on October 13, 1964 at
Kay Bank Studios
Kay Bank Studios was a recording studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 2541 Nicollet Avenue, now Creation Audio. Daniel Heilicher and his brother Amos started in a business together in the 1930s, distributing and stocking jukeboxes. In 1954, they fou ...
in Minneapolis. The record was released under the Soma label in the United States and
Apex Records
Apex Records was a Canadian record label owned by the Compo Company which lasted as late as 1980.
Compo established the Apex label in July 1921 in Toronto. It released American recordings from Okeh Records and Gennett Records, among others. It al ...
in Canada. It was a regional hit for The Chancellors, arriving on the
WDGY
WDGY (740 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs a Classic Hits/Oldies radio format. The station's studios and offices are ...
charts December 26, 1964 and reaching No. 1 in Minneapolis on January 23, 1965. The Chancellors remained at No. 1 for three weeks and in the Top 40 for 11 weeks. As "Little Latin Lupe Lu" faded from the Twin Cities’ charts, it appeared in Chicago on April 2, 1965. The Chancellors stayed in the
WLS charts for seven weeks, peaking at No. 14.
*
The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the ''Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ha ...
recorded a version of the song reaching No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' chart and No. 49 on the Cashbox chart in 1964.
*A few years later, the pioneering
all-woman garage band
The Heart Beats
The Heart Beats were an American all-female garage rock band, based in Lubbock, Texas, and founded around 1966. They were led by drummer and lead vocalist Linda Sanders, along with younger sister Debbie Sanders (guitar), Debbie McMellan (bass gu ...
released a version where Lupe Lu was a boy.
*In 1966,
Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Career
Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...
& The Detroit Wheels had the most success with their recording, hitting No. 17 on ''Billboards, Hot 100,
and No. 16 on Cashbox.
*
The Box Tops
The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perform ...
also recorded a version in 1998.
*The song has been performed multiple times by
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, most recently in 2009 on his
Working on a Dream Tour
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album ''Working on a Dream''. This was the first ful ...
at
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
in Massachusetts as a request by sign from a fan with the lyrics written on the back of the sign.
Film reference
"Little Latin Lupe Lu" is mentioned in the film ''
High Fidelity'' (based on the
Nick Hornby
Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...
novel of the same name) as track number 2 on Barry's (played by
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), ''Shallow Hal'' (2001), ''Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ''E ...
) Monday-morning mix tape. The other employee, Dick, states that he prefers the version by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, which angers Barry due to his belief that The Righteous Brothers' original is the best version.
References
{{authority control
1963 songs
1963 singles
1964 singles
1966 singles
The Righteous Brothers songs
The Kingsmen songs
Mitch Ryder songs