JUANITA BANANA
(1966)
SHE'S BANANAS!
"Juanita Banana," by Henri Salvador (1966) I have no idea what he's saying (other than Juanita Banana), but I love this Scopitone.
"Juanita Banana" is a novelty song co-written by Tash Howard and Murray Kenton.[1] The song, which tells the story of a Mexican banana farmer's daughter with operatic ambitions and whose chorus is an adaptation of "Caro Nome" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, was originally released in the United States in 1966.
The original release of "Juanita Banana" was performed by The Peels, a studio group assembled by co-writer Tash Howard, who also co-produced the single. Howard also wrote "Juanita Banana Part 2" for The Peels as a follow-up release later in the same year.
The Verdi-inspired chorus of the Peels recording was sampled later that year in the Dickie Goodman record "Batman & His Grandmother".
Henri Salvador, Luis Aguilé, Paola Neri and Quartetto Cetra were among the many artists who recorded non-English cover versions of the song.
Juanita Banana is a comic song about a Mexican banana grower's daughter who makes it as a singing star in the big city [lyrics]. When "Juanita Banana" sings the chorus it is an operatic caricature, a worked-over version of Caro Nome, an aria from Giusseppe Verdi's Rigoletto.
The title echoes Chiquita Banana, the 1944 jingle about the cartoon mascot of the United Fruit Company, the international banana trader that evolved into the present-day Chiquita Brands International.
The Juanita Banana phenomenon
"Juanita Banana" is a novelty song co-written by Tash Howard and Murray Kenton.[1] The song, which tells the story of a Mexican banana farmer's daughter with operatic ambitions and whose chorus is an adaptation of "Caro Nome" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, was originally released in the United States in 1966.
The original release of "Juanita Banana" was performed by The Peels, a studio group assembled by co-writer Tash Howard, who also co-produced the single. Howard also wrote "Juanita Banana Part 2" for The Peels as a follow-up release later in the same year.
The Verdi-inspired chorus of the Peels recording was sampled later that year in the Dickie Goodman record "Batman & His Grandmother".
Henri Salvador, Luis Aguilé, Paola Neri and Quartetto Cetra were among the many artists who recorded non-English cover versions of the song.
Juanita Banana is a comic song about a Mexican banana grower's daughter who makes it as a singing star in the big city [lyrics]. When "Juanita Banana" sings the chorus it is an operatic caricature, a worked-over version of Caro Nome, an aria from Giusseppe Verdi's Rigoletto.
The title echoes Chiquita Banana, the 1944 jingle about the cartoon mascot of the United Fruit Company, the international banana trader that evolved into the present-day Chiquita Brands International.
The Juanita Banana phenomenon
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