Blame It On The Bossa Nova

Album

Single

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Traditional Pop

Composer(s)

Barry Mann;Cynthia Weil

Entered Chart

Jan 19, 1963

Peak Date

Mar 2, 1963

Released

January 4, 1963

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Columbia 4-42661

B-Side

Guess I Should Have Loved Him More

This was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, a husband-and-wife songwriting team. They also wrote "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'." Bossa nova, a Brazilian style of music and dance, was the hot fad in pop music of the early '60s. While "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" held the #7 spot on the Hot 100, Elvis Presley's "Bossa Nova Baby" peaked at #8. Eydie is blaming the seductive "dance of love" for a whirlwind courtship that started out with "just one little dance, but then it ended up a big romance." After she graduated from high school, Eydie worked as a Spanish interpreter by day, attended night classes at City College in New York City, and sang from time to time for a local band. She became a solo singer in 1952 after singing for Tommy Tucker's and Tex Beneke's big bands. In 1953, she became a regular performer on Steve Allen's Tonight Show, where she met her husband-to-be, singer Steve Lawrence. They married December 29, 1957, the week her hit "Love Me Forever" reached the Top 40. In 1958, Steve and Eydie had their own summer replacement TV show: Steve Allen Presents The Steve Lawrence-Eydie Gorme Show. Eydie had another Top 40 hit that year with "You Need Hands." After Lawrence was drafted in the fall of 1958 and Jack Paar replaced Steve Allen as host of The Tonight Show, Eydie stepped out of the spotlight for almost two years (Lawrence was not so "hidden" during his army days - he had the #9 hit "Pretty Blue Eyes" and #7 "Footsteps" released by ABC-Paramount as he was the official vocalist of the United States Army Band). After Lawrence left the army in 1960, he and Eydie became a popular nightclub act. Eventually the two of them signed with Columbia Records. Eydie finally reached the Top 10 in 1963 with this. It was her last Top 40 solo hit. This was the first single Eydie Gorme released on Columbia Records. For both Steve and Eydie, their first Columbia singles were their biggest hits... and their last Top 10 records. Before the end of 1962, Steve hit #1 with "Go Away Little Girl," a Gerry Goffin/Carole King song that Donny Osmond would take to #1 again a decade later. Steve and Eydie finally scored on the charts as a duo with "I Want to Stay Here" and "I Can't Stop Talking About You," but only after Lawrence's last Top 40 Hits (in 1963), "Don't Be Afraid, Little Darlin'," "Poor Little Rich Girl," and "Walking Proud." Although the British Invasion cost them success in the recording industry, Steve and Eydie have remained a popular nightclub act for four decades. In 1979, Steve and Eydie recorded as Parker and Penny. >> Annette Funicello covered this for her 1964 album Annette At Bikini Beach. Her version was featured on season 2 of The West Wing when Ainsley (Emily Procter) is caught dancing to it in her bathrobe. Sean Hayes sang this on the 1998 Will & Grace episode "A New Lease On Life." This was used in several movies, including The Big Picture (1989), starring Kevin Bacon, Mermaids (1990), starring Cher, and Doubt (2008), starring Meryl Streep. This is referenced in the 1993 film adaptation of Stephen King's Needful Things, where the villain brushes off his evil doings by saying, "Hey, don't blame it on me. Blame it on the bossa nova." Former San Francisco 49ers head coach George Seifert sang this for a Visa commercial in the '90s.

I was at a dance when he caught my eye
Standin' all alone lookin' sad and shy
We began to dance, swaying' to and fro
And soon I knew I'd never let him go

Blame it on the bossa nova with its magic spell
Blame it on the bossa nova that he did so well
Oh, it all began with just one little dance
But then it ended up a big romance
Blame it on the bossa nova
The dance of love

(Now was it the moon?)
No, no, the bossa nova
(Or the stars above?)
No, no, the bossa nova
(Now was it the tune?)
Yeah, yeah, the bossa nova
(The dance of love)

Now I'm glad to say I'm his bride to be
And we're gonna raise a family
And when our kids ask how it came about
I'm gonna say to them without a doubt

Blame it on the bossa nova with its magic spell
Blame it on the bossa nova that he did so well
Oh, it all began with just one little dance
But then it ended up a big romance
Blame it on the bossa nova
The dance of love

(Now was it the moon?)
No, no, the bossa nova
(Or the stars above?)
No, no, the bossa nova
(Now was it the tune? )
Yeah, yeah, the bossa nova
(The dance of love)

(Now was it the moon?)
No, no, the bossa nova
(Or the stars above ?)
No, no, the bossa nova