Pour ce 15-ème numéro, nous allons savoir comment Zorro est arrivé.
La première pochette du 45T avec Zorro en face B :
La deuxième pochette avec Zorro en face A :
La pochette des Coasters :
Une affiche du film avec Gary Cooper :
For my Friends who don’t speak French a summary in English. I hope it can help to follow what I say :
For this 15th episode, we’ll find out how Zorro got there.
• Sample of the cover Zorro est arrivé
In France, everyone knows this song by Henri Salvador, released in 1964. My daughter even learned it in elementary school! Doubly paradoxal success since on the one hand, Disney’s Zorro soap opera was only broadcasted on French television from 1965 and on the other hand, the singer did not like so much this title. He had initially placed it on the B-side of the first EP of his brand new self-production: RIGOLO records. The success will require a new pressing of the 45rpm with this time Zorro on side A and supported by a Scopitone in which Salvador plays all the male or female roles and grimacing a lot.
As we know, the title of Henri Salvador did not come from the soap opera (we did not yet say « series » at that time), but Disney eventually woke up to the success of the commercial use of his character. Salvador and his wife then negotiated an agreement and Henri Salvador became a regular collaborator of the American giant for children’s record books and cartoons. For example, he will sing the song Sous L’océan in the cartoon The Little Mermaid.
However, Zorro est arrivé is nonetheless adapted from an American song.
So let’s listen to the original version.
• Sample of the original version (the Coasters) www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFyr49TwuiI
The song is called Along came Jones and is performed by the Coasters. The Coasters is a doo wop quartet originally from California but based in New York since 1957. They came to the East coast probably to follow their favorite composers Jerome (said Jerry) Lieber on lyrics and Michael (said Mike) Stoller. Yes, we talked about them in episode 1.
This song Along came Jones is not based on Zorro but on an eponymous comedy western starring Gary Cooper as Melody Jones. The film, produced by Gary Cooper himself, was released in 1945. The Coasters recorded their song in 1959, 5 years before the adaptation in France. As in the French version where Zorro saves poor Suzy, the hero Jones saves Sweet Sue from many dangers.
By the way, it was not Henri Salvador the author of the adaptation but his friend Bernard Michel, who he had met in Ray Ventura‘s orchestra. Together they will sign many songs like Twist SNCF (sncf is the French National railroad) and Minnie petite souris (Minnie little mouse which is a cover of Pepino the Italian Mouse from Lou Monte).
But let’s listen to Sweet Sue’s misadventures instead.