No Tengo Dinero (Los Umbrellos song)
"No Tengo Dinero" (English: "I Don't Have Money") is the debut single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records (now part of EMI) on 14 May 1997. Based on the theme of 1960 film "Never on Sunday" by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe. The song became a top-five hit in  Denmark, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland. In Austria, the song reached number one for ten weeks, received a Platinum certification from IFPI, and was the highest-selling single of 1998. The song also peaked at number 31 on Canada's "RPM" Top Singles chart and number 42 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100; it stayed on the latter chart for 27 weeks without entering the top 40. As of August 2003, the single had sold 800,000 copies worldwide. Unlike the band's following releases, "No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success, thus Los Umbrellos were named a one hit wonder. Background . In 1995, Jan Elhøj and Anders Hansen, of rap-comedy duo Angry Ass, made a song called "Frikadeller og krebinetter" (Danish for "Meatballs and pork patties") which incorporated the theme of 1960 film "Never on Sunday", composed by Manos Hadjidakis. The song was presented to Kenneth Bager, owner of FLEX Records, who immediately saw its potential. Bager sought to find the right people to work on the track. He enlisted Ugandan rapper Al Agami to write the rap lyrics, while songwriters Richie and Jay Balmorian wrote the Spanish and English chorus. Danish singer Shirley arranged the backing vocals for the  chorus. Finally, Kenneth Bager, Jan Elhøj, and Michael Pfundheller produced the track. Bager then presented "No Tengo Dinero" to FLEX Records' parent label, EMI, but they were not interested in the song. It was then re-produced by the Danish producers Cutfather and Joe Belmaati (of Cutfather & Joe), and finally EMI agreed to release the song. Before the release of the song, Kenneth Bager wanted to find two female backing singers for the Los Umbrellos project. Michael Pfundheller personally knew dancer Grith Højfeldt, while Mai-Britt Vingsøe was contacted through modelling agency Scandinavian Models. All three members of Los Umbrellos  finally met at the cover shooting for the single. Chart performance. "No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success. In Denmark, the song peaked at number two on the Danish Singles Chart. It went on to sell 10,000 copies there. It reached number one on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart, number four on the Swiss Singles Chart and number five on the Italian Singles Chart. The song also reached number 33 on the UK Singles Chart and appeared on three US "Billboard" charts—number 42 on the Hot 100, number 40 on the Mainstream  Top 40 and number 27 on the Rhythmic chart. As of May 1998, the song had sold 412,000 copies in the United States. As the next Los Umbrellos single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", did not follow the success of "No Tengo Dinero", the band was considered to be a one-hit wonder, and "No Tengo Dinero" their signature song. Music video. The music video was recorded at the Safari Inn motel in Burbank, California. The video featured a guest appearance of adult film actor Ron Jeremy. Track listings. Danish CD single European CD single European maxi-single UK maxi-single  US 7-inch vinyl US CD single Credits and personnel. Credits are adapted from CD single liner notes.