5.13.2006
Mustapha
Bob Azzam Mustapha 7" (Barclay, 1960)
I wish I could find more on Bob Azzam because the outline of his career really intrigues me. Born of Arab Jewish parents in Egypt, in the 1960s, Azzam helped fuel a Latin dance craze in his native country with his song El Mambo da taliani...El Mambo fi kayani (The Cuban Revolution lead to a big Latin music craze in a lot of "Third World" countries, as well as Europe). Azzam was to hit it big in France, where most of his records were released (and where they are quite common. In 1967, he tapped into the Brazilian sound and recorded the classic Batucada Por Favor.
Rewind back to 1960 and we get Azzam's first hit, Mustapha, which is the title cut on this ep. Rather than giving you the hit to listen to, I've chosen two others. Tuuu!!! Tintarella di Luna has a poppy near beat meets Euro 60s pop sound to it. Padrone do'Mare is a very, very cool cross between haunted pop, exotica, and Latin music.
# posted by Scott Soriano : 12:03
