"The Cisco Kid" is a song performed by

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, and written by Thomas Allen, Harold Brown, Morris "BB" Dickerson, Charles Miller, Howard Scott, Lee Oskar and Lonnie Jordan, all members of War at the time. It is the first song on their 1972 album ''

The World Is a Ghetto ''The World Is a Ghetto'' is the fifth album by American band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on ''Billboard'', and was ''Billboard'' magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling a ...

'', and is the group's highest-charting song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number two.

Song description

The song describes the adventures of Cisco and Pancho, two cowboys from the 1950s TV program ''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...

''. The song is known for having a different sequence of notes following each line. A distinct four-note phrase played by saxophone, harmonica, and flute punctuates the end of the first few lines, while a brief jam from the rhythm section follows the next couple. A completely different four-note phrase (this time played by guitar) follows some of the later lyrics, as well as lines of dialogue from the television show---and a three-note sequence repeated twice in a row is played by the harmonica and saxophone. These easy-to-remember hooks, along with the funk-driven rhythm section, make this song one of War's signature tunes, and the "most fun," according to lead vocalist and guitarist Scott.

Chart performance

In the US, "The Cisco Kid" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks at the end of April and start of May 1973, kept out of #1 by "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

" by "

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...

" On the US

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

, it peaked at No. 5. It reached No. 1 in Canada on the '' RPM 100'' singles chart. It was certified

gold 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 me ...

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cisco Kid, The War (American band) songs Cisco Kid Songs about friendship 1972 songs 1972 singles 1973 singles United Artists Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles