"Patricia" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

with music by

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

and lyrics by Bob Marcucci, published in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. The song is best known in an instrumental version by Prado's orchestra that became the last record to ascend to No.1 on the ''Billboard'' Jockeys and Top 100 charts, both of which gave way the next week to the then newly-introduced ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song was also No. 1 on the R&B Best Sellers for two weeks. Prado's 1958 recording became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1958. Prado's "Patricia" entered the U.S. Cash Box chart week ending June 7, 1958, making No. 1 on that chart for four weeks from the week ending July 26, 1958. Prado's "Patricia" entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

in the week of July 25, 1958, peaking at No. 8 (week ending September 5, 1958) during a 16-week chart run. In 1960, Prado released a new stereo recording of the tune, and re-recorded it a third time in a "twist" version issued in 1962 that re-charted in the U.S.

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

's recording of " Patricia" from 1950 bears no resemblance to Prado's tune.

Cover versions and other usages

*The song was featured in the ''

Weebl and Bob ''The everyday happenings of Weebl and sometimes Weebl's friend, Bob'' (best known as ''Weebl and Bob'', and renamed ''Wobbl and Bob'' for its DVD release) is a Flash cartoon series created by Jonti Picking and co-scripted by Chris Vick. Abou ...

'' flash cartoon. *The song was covered by a Kenyan group, Kiko Kids, some time in the late 1950s. *The song was featured in a TV advert for the UK post office. *The song was featured at several points in

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

's 1960 film ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcel ...

,'' including a segment at a party where the music accompanied a striptease. *The song was featured as background music for a pool party in the 1969 film '' Goodbye, Columbus''. *The song was covered by Frank Valdor and His Orchestra and Chorus on the album ''16 Fantastic Golden Latin Hits'' in 1978. *The tune was sung (badly) by

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short ...

as he's shaving before a romantic night out in the "

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Singin ...

" episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

s first season. The song was also being played by a dance band later in that same episode. *The song appears in the 1989 movie '' Great Balls of Fire!'' during the scene in which

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

drives his convertible and proposes marriage to his thirteen-year-old second cousin, Myra Gale. *The Mambo All Stars’ version of the song was the theme for the 1999 animated series '' George and Martha''. *The song was used as the theme song to

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

's ''

Real Sex ''Real Sex'' is a documentary television series broadcast on and a production of HBO. As its name implies, ''Real Sex'' is a sexually explicit "magazine" which "explores sex '90s style." ''Real Sex'' explores human sexuality Human sexuali ...

'' series. *The song was covered by

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including " Rebel ...

, and Rory Parker, and by

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

on his Grammy winning 2002 album, ''Mambo Sinuendo''. *The song was used as background music for the swimsuit competition at the 1997

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall St ...

Pageant. *The song was used in "The British Invasion", Episode 12 from Season 2 of the Showtime series ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

''. *The song was used as background music in the state financed Danish TV campaign "Fisk 2 gange om ugen".

References

1958 songs Pérez Prado songs Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Germany Songs written by Pérez Prado {{pop-standard-stub