La Bamba (song)
"La Bamba" () is a Mexican folk song, originally from the state of Veracruz, best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens, a Top 40 hit in the U.S. charts. Valens's version is ranked number 345 on "Rolling Stone magazine"′s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "La Bamba" has been covered by numerous artists, notably by Los Lobos whose version was the title track of the 1987 film "La Bamba", a bio-pic about Valens; their version reached No. 1 in many charts in the same year. Early recordings. La Bamba has its  origin in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The oldest recorded version known is that of Alvaro Hernández Ortiz, who recorded the song with the name of "El Jarocho". His recording was released on the Victor label in Mexico in 1938 or 1939, and was reissued on a 1997 compilation by Yazoo Records, "The Secret Museum Of Mankind Vol. 4". According to a 1945 article in "Life" magazine, the song and associated dance were brought "out of the jungle" at Veracruz by American bandleader Everett Hoagland, who introduced it at Ciro's nightclub in Mexico City. It became popular, and the  song was adopted by Mexican presidential candidate Miguel Alemán Valdés who used it in his successful campaign. Later in 1945, the music and dance were introduced at the Stork Club in New York City by Arthur Murray. A popular version by Andrés Huesca (1917–1957) and his brother Victor, billed as Hermanos Huesca, was issued on Peerless Records in Mexico around 1945–46. Huesca re-recorded the song for RCA Victor in 1947, and the same year the song featured as a production number in the MGM musical film "Fiesta", performed by a group called Los Bocheros. The Swedish-American folk singer  William Clauson recorded the song in several languages in the early and mid-1950s. He claimed to have heard the song in Veracruz, and in performance slowed down the tempo to encourage audience participation. Another version, "somewhat bowdlerized", was recorded by Cynthia Gooding on her 1953 Elektra album, "Mexican Folk Songs". Ritchie Valens version. Ritchie Valens learned the song in his youth, from his cousin Dickie Cota. In 1958 he recorded a rock and roll version of "La Bamba", together with session musicians Buddy Clark (string bass); Ernie Freeman (piano); Carol Kaye (acoustic rhythm guitar); René Hall (Danelectro six-string baritone  guitar); Earl Palmer (drums and claves); Ritchie Valens (vocals, lead guitar). It was originally released as the B-side of "Donna", on the Del-Fi label. The song features a simple verse-chorus form. Valens, who was proud of his Mexican heritage, was hesitant at first to merge "La Bamba" with rock and roll, but then agreed. The song ranked No. 98 in VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll" in 1999, and No. 59 in VH1's "100 Greatest Dance Songs" in 2000. Furthermore, Valens' recording of the song was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of  Fame. The song was listed at number 354 in the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine, being the only non-English language song included in the list. It was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings published in "" (1981). Valens was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2019, Valens' version was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of  Fame's list of 500 songs that were influential in shaping rock and roll. Los Lobos version. The music video directed by Sherman Halsey won the 1988 MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film, also the music video had the participation of Lou Diamond Phillips, actor who played Valens in the 1987 film namesake. The song was also the fourth wholly non-English language song to top the Billboard Hot 100.