Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (February 2007) |
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a swing-style song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. The tune is similar to and possibly based on the music for "Puttin' on the Ritz", written by Irving Berlin in 1929. [1]
It was originally recorded by The Four Lads on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40082. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10. [2]
The lyrics humorously remind the listener of the change of the name of the city Constantinople to the Turkish name of Istanbul, professing uncertainty about how and why the names of cities change. The song also mentions, for the sake of comparison, the fact that New York City was originally named New Amsterdam.
Contents |
[edit] Covers
One of the more recent, better-known versions of the song is the cover by the rock group They Might Be Giants, who released it on their LP Flood in 1990, and on its own EP that same year. TMBG's version is at a faster tempo than the original and contains a distinct klezmer influence, including a violin introduction and some accordion parts.
The Duke's Men of Yale, an all-male a cappella group at Yale University, perform the song at the end of most of their concerts. The song has been in the repertoire of the Duke's Men since 1953.
The song is on the album Bette Midler Live at Last.
The song was also regularly covered by the klezmer fusion jazz band Hypnotic Clambake. It was featured on many live recordings of the bands which can be found on several internet download sites including www.archive.org
The song is also covered as the opening track on the Ska Cubano album Ay Caramba and recently in the Friends and Family album of Ayhan Sicimoglu (Doublemoon 2006).
Other artists that are known to have covered this song include Edmundo Ros (1953) , The Radio Revellers (1953) , Frankie Vaughan (1954), Caterina Valente (1954), Santo & Johnny (1962), The Argentinian pop group The Sacados (1990), the Swiss Folk Group Mad Dodo (1992), and Ac Rock (2000).It is currently being covered live by Australian Klezmer /Gypsy Jazz band Monsieur Camembert (2008).
[edit] Cultural uses
The They Might Be Giants version of the song was used for a music video in an episode of the animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures.
An episode of The Simpsons in which Homer buys an RV with Marge's "scrimpings", features the TMBG version of the song when the family is invited on the deck of a Turkish freighter upon which the RV landed.
The song was also featured in the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile, and the Pierce Brosnan episode of Muppets Tonight.
In 2005, the TMBG version of the song was featured in Konami's Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3, for Microsoft's Xbox console.
In the Battlefield Vietnam modification Point of Existence, the song can be played in the radio of the civilian limo in the map Embassy.
The lyrics were used in the February 21, 1954 episode of The Jack Benny Program during a sketch about a man trying to buy a train ticket to Constantinople. Jack Benny and Frank Nelson proceed to use the lyrics to dispute where the man can go.
The song is featured in the third season of Jeeves and Wooster, during a montage sequence of New York City.
The song is featured in the third season of "Gilmore Girls" in the episode "Application Anxiety" when Lorelai exclaims "I do know that Istanbul is Constantinople so if you've got a date in Constantinople, she'll be waiting in Istanbul."
[edit] References
- ^ Sarah Dunlap (October 23, 2007). Lively, fun and always different: They Might Be Giants brings its zany music to the Calvin. Daily Hampshire Gazette.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
