From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"
Jumbie Jamberee
" is a
calypso
song credited to Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr.
[1]
In 1953
Lord Intruder
released the song as the B-side to "Disaster With Police".
[2]
The song is also known as "Zombie Jamboree" and "Back to Back". The introduction to the
Kingston Trio
's version humorously credits "
Lord Invader
and his Twelve Penetrators" with authorship of the song instead of Lord Intruder.
The oldest versions of the song refer to a
jumbee
jamboree. Jumbies are evil spirits who were thought to cause wild dancing in their victims. The song's references to
Carnival
also suggest a connection to the
Moko jumbie
, a protective spirit figure represented during
Carnival on Trinidad
by stilt walkers and dancers. The switch to "Zombie Jamboree" occurred very early with
King Flash
's version with those lyrics coming out in 1956, only three years after "Jumbie Jamboree" first appeared.
Like many "
folk
" songs, there is unclear copyright in the song and many lines are variable between versions. While many versions set the song in a New York, Long Island or
Woodlawn Cemetery
, some place it in Kingston or an island cemetery. The third verse is the most variable, with The Charmer's version discussing the local food at a previous jumbie Carnival parade while
Rockapella's
version discusses zombies and
King Kong
invading various New York City landmarks. The third verse of King Flash's 1956 version further discusses the female zombie's romantic pursuit of the singer.
John Sterling
, the longtime
New York Yankees
radio announcer, routinely quotes the song after consecutive hit home runs, saying "back to back, and belly to belly!"
Notable cover versions
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]
- "Back to Back, Belly to Belly" by The Charmer (
Louis Farrakhan
) with Johnny McCleverty Calypso Boys recorded in 1954.
- King Flash and
Calypso Carnival
recorded a version of "Zombie Jamboree" in 1956.
- Jamaican
mento
singer Lord Foodoos recorded "Back to Back" for his 1957
Elektra
album
Calypso
, an early production by
Jac Holzman
, who later produced
The Doors
,
Nico
and
The Stooges
among others.
- A version of "Jumbee Jamboree" appears in the 1957 movie
Calypso Joe
.
- Jamaican mento group The Wrigglers recorded "Back to Back" for their 1958 album
At the Arawak
featuring
Ernest Ranglin
on guitar.
- The Kingston Trio
recorded "Zombie Jamboree" on their
...from the Hungry i
and
Stereo Concert
albums, both released in early 1959.
- Harry Belafonte
recorded five versions of the song (in 1962, 1964, 1966, 1972 and 1974). It first appeared on Belafonte's
The Many Moods of Belafonte
and later became one of his signature songs.
- Lord Jellicoe and His Calypso Monarchs recorded a version of "Zombie Jamboree" in 1962.
- Peter Tosh
recorded "Jumbee Jamboree" with
The Wailers
in 1965. It used the original lyrics of the song (not the Zombie ones), and also added a new chorus based on "De River Ben Come Dung" by
Edric Connor
(a traditional Jamaican mento song). It released as a
7-inch single
and was included on the 1996 CD compilation
The Toughest
.
[3]
- Harry Nilsson
recorded a version of the song on his 1976 album
…That's the Way It Is
.
[4]
[
unreliable source?
]
- The Jolly Boys
recorded "Back to Back (Belly to Belly)" on their
Pop 'n' Mento
album in 1989.
[5]
- The
a cappella
group
Rockapella
has performed numerous versions of this song, including one on the PBS
Great Performances
TV special
Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella
in 1990, and a few times on the PBS game show
Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?
.
- Mixed Company of Yale
, an
a cappella
group from
Yale University
, uses the song as their alumni song.
- The
Sherwoods
at
Cornell University
recorded a highly successful and lively version in 1958, called "Zoombie Jamboree".
- Leftover Salmon
recorded a version of the song for their 1993 debut album,
Bridges to Bert
.
- The GrooveBarbers
did a cover on their 2010 album
Guts
under the title "Zombie Jamboree". A line of the song was changed due to the
September 11 attacks
, with
Sean Altman
changing a line to "There's an acapella zombie singing down Broadway" instead of the line that he and
Rockapella
had sung for years, "There's a high-wire zombie between the
World Trades
".
- A cover of the song by vocal group Dave Kennedy & The Ambassadors was used in the web comedy series
PEN15
season 2 episode 5 "Sleepover".
- Filk group
Clam Chowder
performed it frequently in concert and also on their 1980 album
Stewed
, as "Zombie Jamboree".
[6]
References
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]