Saga of Second Bests #7

‘Poppa Piccolino’ – Diana Decker, 17/12/1953

From Sweden to Italy, the British population loved a bit of European exoticism, albeit not enough for No1. For Diana Decker (who acted in Kubrick’s Lolita), this exoticism extends as far as repeating a few Italian words, mainly the song’s title, over a light orchestral arrangement. She tells of a vagabond musician who has a concertina-fetching pet monkey, with ‘a smile for every doggie and cat/ And children get the friendliest pat of all!’. It is staggering to think of what popular music became in the next decade, considering this was almost at the top of the charts. 

Weirdly, the first song I thought of after hearing this for the first time was ‘Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head’ by Gorillaz. It must be that both songs tell a story with similar affectations, although Hopper’s grisly doom-mongering makes for a far better listen than Decker’s condescending bedtime tale. How can I be surprised? ‘Baby Shark’ was in the Top 10.

Should it be silver?

This may be the only time that a song has been kept from the top spot by two versions of the same song. People must’ve really enjoyed ‘Answer Me’, keeping it at No.1 for both Frankie Laine and David Whitfield. Laine’s rendition is standard for what we’ve already heard from him: a plodding affair, building to a final burst of emotion that is supposed to make the middling first minute worth it. For Whitfield’s version, I have never heard anyone sing (seriously) with such ridiculous inflections and tongue-rolling Queen’s (though I suppose King’s now) English, building to a similar outburst at the end with a gurning anticipation. They are both better than ‘Poppa Piccolino’, but they are still not anything special.

Rating

1.5 concertina-fetching pet monkeys out of 5

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