Marianne (Terry Gilkyson song)
| "Marianne" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Genre | Calypso |
| Composer(s) | Roaring Lion |
History
"Mary Ann," composed by calypsonian Roaring Lion (born name: Rafael de Leon),[1] was popular with steelbands and revelers during a spontaneous Carnival celebration on V-J Day in Trinidad in 1945, at the end of World War II.[2] The song's lyrics alluded to Mary Ann's occupation:
- All day, all night, Miss Mary Ann
- Down by the seaside, she sifting sand.
Recordings
Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat recorded a version of "Mary Ann" in the late 1940s. During the 1956-57 American calypso craze, the Easy Riders, Burl Ives and other interpreters of folk music further popularized the calypso, generally under the title of "Marianne".[2] The song continued to be a favorite with steelbands and calypso entertainers at Caribbean tourist hotels for many years.
The most popular version was recorded by Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders (#4 on the Billboard Top 100);[3] another version was recorded by The Hilltoppers in 1957 (#3 on the Billboard Top 100).
Trini Lopez included "Marianne" on his album Trini Lopez at PJ's on Reprise Records RS-6093.
References in popular culture
Allan Sherman sang about Cary Grant based on this song which went as follows (from Shticks of one Kind and Half Dozen of Another):
- All day, all night, Cary Grant
- That's all my wife just thinks about is Cary Grant
- What can he do that I can't
- Big deal, big star, Cary Grant
In the nudie-cartoon anthology Sex to Sexty, which included "Balled-Up Ballads"—popular tunes with racy lyrics—the following lines were written for "Marianne":
- All day, all night, Marianne;
- Who the hell you think I am, Superman?
References
- ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir; et al. (2001), All Music Guide: The definitive guide to popular music, Hal Leonard Corporation (retrieved via Google Books), p. 884, retrieved 2010-11-27
- 1 2 Green, Garth L. & Scher, Philip W. (2007), Trinidad Carnival: The cultural politics of a transnational festival, Indiana University Press (retrieved via Google Books), p. 190, retrieved 2010-11-27
- ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003), The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Random House (retrieved via Google Books), p. 19