Papa Loves Mambo

"Papa Loves Mambo"
Single by Perry Como
B-side"The Things I Didn't Do"
ReleasedSeptember 1954
RecordedAugust 31, 1954
GenrePop
Length2:38
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Al Hoffman
Dick Manning
Bix Reichner
Producer(s)Joe Reisman
Perry Como singles chronology
"Hit and Run Affair"
(1954) 		"Papa Loves Mambo"
(1954) 		"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"
(1954)

"Papa Loves Mambo" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Dick Manning, and Bix Reichner and released in 1954.[1]

The best-known version was recorded by Perry Como with Mitchell Ayres's orchestra in New York City on August 31, 1954. The U.S. release peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard chart in January 1955.[2] The recording was part of a wave of popular mambo music in the U.S. alongside songs like "They Were Doin' the Mambo" and "Mambo Italiano".[3][4]

Other recordings

  • Bing Crosby also recorded the song in 1954[5] for use on his radio show and it was subsequently included in the CD El Senor Bing [Deluxe Edition] issued in 2013.[6]
  • Johnnie Ray – a single release for Columbia Records (1955).[7]
  • Nat King Cole – a single release for Capitol Records (1954).[8]
  • The Perry Como version was originally planned to be used in the 1985 movie Back to the Future as the song that played when Marty McFly enters the 1955 version of Hill Valley, but was scrapped by the producers in favor of The Four Aces' version of "Mister Sandman". Instead, "Papa Loves Mambo" plays on Biff Tannen's car radio as he drives to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in the 1989 sequel Back to the Future: Part II.[9]
  • The Como recording was also featured in the Season 8 episode of The Middle titled "The Par-Tay."
  • The Nat King Cole version was featured in the first episode of Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building. The episode was titled "Persons of Interest" and was telecast on June 28, 2022.
  • The Como version was also featured in the 2007 action game Bioshock.
  • The Como record was also heard during the credits of the 2010 film Red.
  • A snippet of Como's recording is also found during a montage of failed attempts in the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven.
  • The song is also featured in the 2013 film No Clue.

Chart positions

Chart (1954/1955) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 1

References

  1. ^ Hoffmann, Al; Manning, Dick; Reichner, Bix; Como, Perry (1954). Papa loves Mambo: as performed by Perry Como. Roba Digital Sheets. ISBN 978-3-8418-0046-6.
  2. ^ Macfarlane, Malcolm; Crossland, Ken (2015-05-07). Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0024-6.
  3. ^ Tyler, Don (2008). Music of the Postwar Era. Internet Archive. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-313-34191-5.
  4. ^ None (2003). Inside Cuba : the history, culture, and politics of an outlaw nation. New York : Marlowe & Co. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-56924-484-5.
  5. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  6. ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "45cat.com". 45cat.com. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. ^ "Back to the Future: Part II - Trivia". TV Tropes. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  10. ^ "Perry Como – Papa Loves Mambo" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 9, 2013.


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