Cugat and Goombay
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My neighbors were having a thrift sale, so I had a look and came away with a bunch of great records for only 75 cents apiece. I really like the artwork on the 2 shown above. Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas is a set of four 10-inch, 78 RPM records issued by Columbia back in the Forties. Unfortunately, my 78 player doesn't have a needle at the moment, so I can't listen to it.
Goombay Carnival, by the Confidential Club Orchestra, a group of native Nassau musicians, was released in 1956. Goombay music is similar to Calypso, but its rhythms are based on a fire dance brought to the West Indies by American slaves during the Civil War.
Comments
Is it me, or does "Goombay" sound slightly racist?
Posted by: Elizabeth McQuern | July 10, 2007 5:42 PM
Goombay is the native African word for the drum used in the fire dance, so I think it's just you...:-)
Posted by: MrBaliHai | July 10, 2007 6:04 PM
It sounds like something my German grandma used to call our Italian relatives. (Just wanted to clarify that I knew better, and was just trying to be silly/funny.) :)
Posted by: Elizabeth McQuern | July 25, 2007 7:12 PM
Oddly enough, I'm half-German (Bavarian, actually) and half-Italian.
I figured you were joking, but after 15 years on the Internets, I've learned that it's best not to make assumptions.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | July 26, 2007 6:18 AM