Help identify swing/lounge/Italian/novelty song!

Cafe Society
1

Hello all,

This is my first “help me identify a song” thread. The song is kind of swingin’, kind of lounge-styled, and very Italian-sounding, much like Rosemary Clooney’s “Mambo Italiano” and all those shuffle-swing numbers by Louis Prima. It probably dates back to the '40s or '50s, and it has a girl singer with a nice, clear voice. It could actually be Rosemary Clooney again, for all I know. The only lyrics I remember are “Bella, bella” as part of the chorus. Does that help anyone at all? I love a lot of that style of music from the era, and this is a song I remember enjoying when a DJ played it at a club between bands setting up their equipment.

2

Could it be a version of Bella Bella Bambina, by a girl singer with a nice, clear voice?

3

Oh, and here’s a sample bit from Amazon.

4

That’s not it, but thank you anyway!

It went something like three syllables, and then “be-lla, be-l-la,” something like “And I say ‘be-lla, be-lla’…”

I know, no help.

5

Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen. Originally done by the Andrews Sisters. The best version of it that I’ve heard is on the Swing Kids Soundtrack with lead vocals by Janis Siegel.

The part you’re thinking of is…“I could say bella, bella bella, even say vunderbar…”

6

By Jove, I think you’ve got it! That song has been bugging me for years! Do you happen to know what the title means in English, by any chance?

7

I think it’s German for “to me, you are beautiful.”

8

Leslie Pressly of Lee Press-on and the Nails (final show on the 30th!) did a recent version of the song on El Bando En Fuego… I like it very much :smiley: Unfortuntely, there’s no clip of it on their website, but there is a clip of “It Had Better Be Tonight”, as sung by Leslie, so at least you can check her voice.