"Speedy Gonzales" is a 1961
David Dante alias David Hess song (RCA 8056)
about
Speedy Gonzales
Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...
, "the fastest mouse in all
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
". It was written by
Buddy Kaye
Jules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye (January 3, 1918 – November 21, 2002) was an American songwriter, lyricist, arranger, producer, and author. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washingto ...
, Ethel Lee and
David Hess
David Alexander Hess (September 19, 1936 – October 7, 2011) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He came to prominence for his portrayals of murderous villains and gruff characters in several films in the 1970s and 198 ...
. The David Dante original briefly entered the US Music Vendor chart in April 1961.
Pat Boone version
The song was popularised in the United States as a 1962
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
by
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
. The Boone version peaked at the No. 6
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
position in 1962 during a total chart run of 13 weeks, doing better in many national charts in Europe, where it sold a million copies.
[ The female voice ("La-la-la...") on this song was of Robin Ward.] It also incorporated Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...
voicing Speedy Gonzales as he did in the Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
s.
Dante's version details a demand from a girl named Consuela to Speedy to stop roving about and take care of his neglected household. Boone's song adds a spoken introduction stating that he was wandering between some old adobe haciendas on a moonlit night in Mexico, where he heard the voice of a Mexican girl calling to Speedy, and Mel Blanc's inserts replace a recurring line from Dante's lyrics.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
sued Boone and Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...
for $850,000 over Blanc's performance of Speedy's voice on Boone's record without their authorization. The case was later dropped.
Charts
Pat Boone version
Kumbia All Starz version
"Speedy Gonzales" by A.B. Quintanilla
Abraham Quintanilla III (born December 13, 1963), known professionally as A.B. Quintanilla III or A.B. Quintanilla, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician, and the older brother of singer Selena, known as " The Queen of Tejano ...
y Los Kumbia All Starz
Los Kumbia All Starz are an American musical group from Corpus Christi, Texas, created by A.B. Quintanilla. Kumbia All Starz are not to be confused with Los Kumbia Kings although some members are originally from Los Kumbia Kings. Their 2006 debut ...
is the third single from the album ''Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz
''Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz'' (English: ''Yesterday Was Kumbia Kings, Today Is Kumbia All Starz'') is the debut studio album by Mexican-American cumbia group A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia All Starz and the fifth studio alb ...
''. The song was covered in Spanish.
Personnel
* Written by Buddy Kaye
Jules Leonard "Buddy" Kaye (January 3, 1918 – November 21, 2002) was an American songwriter, lyricist, arranger, producer, and author. His songs were recorded by top performers, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washingto ...
, David Hess
David Alexander Hess (September 19, 1936 – October 7, 2011) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He came to prominence for his portrayals of murderous villains and gruff characters in several films in the 1970s and 198 ...
, and Ethel Lee
* Produced by A.B. Quintanilla III
Abraham Quintanilla III (born December 13, 1963), known professionally as A.B. Quintanilla III or A.B. Quintanilla, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician, and the older brother of singer Selena, known as " The Queen of Tejano ...
* Lead vocals by Pee Wee
* Background vocals by Roque Morales and Memo Morales
* Intro by A.B. Quintanilla III
Other versions
English-language versions
* In 1965, Soupy Sales
Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television serie ...
recorded the song on his album "Soupy Sales Sez Do The Mouse"
* Recorded in English, but with a Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
spoken section: "墨西哥女郎" ("Mexican Girl") by The Fabulous Echoes featuring Tang Kei Chan (鄧寄塵) (Hong Kong, 1965)
* In 1969, the song was recorded by the Hep Stars
The Hep Stars are a Swedish rock band formed in Stockholm in 1963. During 1965–1966 the band was the most successful of contemporary 1960s Swedish pop groups performing in the English language. Outside the Nordic countries the band is best ...
and became their last single
* In 1973, the song was recorded by the Navajo Sundowners on their album "Navajo Sundowners, Volume 3, and re-released in 1974 on Volume 8.
* Covered by The Wurzels
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...
on their 1975 album '' The Wurzels Are Scrumptious'' and later featured as a B-Side to their single '' Give Me England'' in 1977.
* In 1977, Charo
María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist.
Charo began playing guitar at the age of nine and trained under the famed A ...
and the Salsoul Orchestra
The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982.
History
The orchestra was formed i ...
made a cover on the album ''Cuchi Cuchi''
* In 1980, Lena Zavaroni
Lena Hilda Zavaroni (4 November 1963 – 1 October 1999) was a Scottish singer and a television show host. At ten years of age, with her album ''Ma! (He's Making Eyes at Me)'', she was the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ...
covered the song on her album ''Songs Are Such Good Things''
* In 2002, the Belgian band Swoop had a hit with a cover version.
* In 2014, the Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
-based band Los Pimientos Locos covered this song for the game Just Dance 2015
''Just Dance 2015'' is a 2014 dance video game developed by Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Milan, Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft. The sixth main installment of the ''Just Dance'' series, it was announced ...
.
Other-language versions
* In Spanish: Manolo Muñoz
Manolo Muñoz (14 March 1941 –29 October 2000) was a Mexican singer and actor, who was famous for an interpretation of the song "Speedy Gonzales" in the 1960s. He was also one of the first soloists in Mexico to sing, a style that later bec ...
, The Sacados
* In Spanish: Klasse (Venezuelan band) (1987)
* In German ("Kleiner Gonzales"): Rex Gildo
Rex Gildo (formerly Alexander Gildo, born Ludwig Franz Hirtreiter; 2 July 1936 – 26 October 1999) was a German singer of Schlager ballads who reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, selling over 25 million records and st ...
, Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente (born 14 January 1931) is a French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer of Italian ethnicity. Valente is a polyglot; she speaks six languages, and sings in eleven. While she is best known as a performer in Europe, Valente ...
with her brother Silvio Francesco, Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
, and Lou van Burg
* In French ("Le Petit Gonzales"): Danyel Gérard
Danyel Gérard (born Gérard Daniel Kherlakian; 7 March 1939) is a French pop singer and composer.
Life and work
Gérard was born in Paris, France to an Armenian father and an Corsican mother, but grew up mainly in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. I ...
, Dalida, Jean Chabrier and Pierre Lalonde
Pierre Lalonde (January 20, 1941 – June 21, 2016) was a Canadian singer and television host.
The son of Jean Lalonde, a popular singer in the 1940s, Lalonde attended high school in the United States but returned to Canada in 1960, where he wo ...
* In Serbo-Croatian ("Mali Gonzales"): Dušan Jakšić (1963)
* In Italian: Johnny Dorelli
Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937) is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Early life
Dorelli was born in Meda, Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York City with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio ...
, Peppino Di Capri
Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...
, Catullo e gli Enigmisti (Nuova Enigmistica Tascabile, N. 424) (1962)
* In Greek: "Kakosalesi" by Yannis Miliokas (1986)
* In Norwegian: "Fisking i Valdres" (Fishing in Valdres) by Viggo Sandvik (1988)
* In Hungarian: János Koós
János Koós (born Kupsa; 20 November 1937 – 2 March 2019) was a Hungarian Pop music, pop singer, who became successful in the 1960s after participation in the talent show ''Táncdalfesztivál''.
Early life
János Koós (né Kupsa) was born i ...
* In Korean: 바람둥이 아가씨 by The Key Boys (1964)
* In Estonian: "Viimane vaatus" ("Last act") by Anne Veski (1983)
* In Czech: "Speedy Gonzales" Hana Ulrychová (1971)
See also
* Crocodile Rock
"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previou ...
(a song by Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
with a similar chorus)
* Putin khuilo! (a Russian/Ukrainian football chant
A football chant or terrace chant is form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their p ...
, as assumed by Artemy Troitsky, inspired by "Speedy Gonzales" chorus)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speedy Gonzales (Song)
1961 songs
1962 singles
2007 singles
Pat Boone songs
Kumbia All Starz songs
Songs with lyrics by Buddy Kaye
Songs written by David Hess
Song recordings produced by A. B. Quintanilla
Songs about mice and rats
Songs about comics
Number-one singles in Germany
Looney Tunes songs