Cuba is considered to be the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". His parents emigrated from Puerto Rico in the late 1920s and settled in Spanish Harlem, a Hispanic ghetto located in Manhattan. Cuba was raised in an apartment building where his father had become the owner of a candy store located on the ground floor (street level floor). His father had organized a stickball (ghetto baseball) club called the Devils. Stickball was the main sport activity of the neighborhood. After Cuba broke a leg he took up playing the conga and continued to practice with the conga between school and his free time. Eventually he graduated from high school and joined a band.
In 1950, when he was 19 years old, he played for J. Panama and also for a group called La Alfarona X. The group soon disbanded and Cuba enrolled in college to study law. Whilst at college he attended a concert in which Tito Puente performed "Abaniquito". He went up to Tito and introduced himself as a student and fan and soon they developed what was to become a lifetime friendship. This event motivated Cuba to organize his own band. In 1954, his agent recommended that he change the band's name from the Jose Calderon Sextet to the Joe Cuba Sextet and the newly named Joe Cuba Sextet made their debut at the Stardust Ballroom.
In 1962, Cuba recorded "To Be With You" with the vocals of Cheo Feliciano and Jimmy Sabater. The band became popular in the New York Latin community. The lyrics to Cuba's music used a mixture of Spanish and English, becoming an important part of the Nuyorican Movement. In 1967, his band which included timbales, vibraphones, and the piano among its musical instruments, scored a "hit" in the United States National Hit Parade List with the song "Bang Bang" - a song which ushered in the Latin Boogaloo era. He also had a #1 hit, that year in the Billboards with the song "Sock It To Me Baby".
Then came what is considered to be his "greatest" hit, "El Pito (I Never Go Back To Georgia)". It is said that during the 1960s, while Joe Cuba and his sextet were on tour, they had an engagement in Georgia. He personally suffered the racial discrimination which was rampant in the south at that time. This experience inspired him to write the song which includes his trademark whistle.
Charlie Palmieri was his musical director, when in 1988 he died of a heart attack upon his arrival to New York from Puerto Rico. Joe Cuba and his sextet have sold millions of records over the years.
On April 1999, Joe Cuba was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was named Grand Marshall of the Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated in Yonkers, New York. He currently is the director of the Museum of La Salsa, located in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York. He is also in the stickball hall of fame.
Joe Cuba died on February 15, 2009 in New York City after being removed from life support. He had been hospitalized for a persistent bacterial infection. Cuba's remains were cremated at Woodhaven Cemetery. He is survived by his 2 adult children from his first wife (Nina, married in 1960), son Mitchell and daughter Lisa, 3 grandchildren Nicole, Alexis and Rebecca; and his second wife Maria (Married in 1994).
Bang Bang
Joe Cuba Sextet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bang bang bang
Is it the way that you're movin'
The way that you're makin' my heart beat
Is it the sound of your voice
The way that you're talkin' to me
Is it the scent of your hairThe look of your smile,Idon't know
You believed you're the best
No,I thing it's the look in your eyes
Bang,bang,bangYou drive me insane,sane,sane
Bang,bang,bang
Bang,bang,bang,insane,sane,sane
Bang,Bang
Na,na
Bang,bang
It it the look of your face
I'm Losin' my base (can't see you)
Is it the style of your walk
Or the way you talk,I don't know
Is it the way that you're dressed,That you believe you're the best
No,I thing it's the look in your eyes
Like bang,bang,bang
Bang,bang,bang,insane,sane,sane
Bang,Bang
The lyrics of Joe Cuba's "Bang! Bang!" describe the effect that a person has on the singer. The lyrics start with "Bang! Bang! Bang!" as if to indicate the intensity of the feeling, and then go on to list all of the different things that might be contributing to that feeling. The singer has trouble pinpointing exactly what it is that is causing this effect - is it the way the person is dressed, the sound of their voice, the scent of their hair, the look of their smile, or something else entirely? The singer is overwhelmed by the intensity of their attraction, and the repeated use of the word "insane" indicates that this person is driving them crazy.
Overall, the song expresses the idea that sometimes, it's hard to explain why we feel the way we do about someone. There is a sense of helplessness in the lyrics, as if the singer is powerless to resist this person's charm. The use of repetition - "Bang! Bang! Bang!" - reinforces this idea, and helps to convey the sense of urgency and intensity that the singer is feeling.
Line by Line Meaning
Bang bang bang
The repetitive sound of a gun going off.
Is it the way that you're movin'
Asking if the way someone is physically moving is causing the singer's heart to beat faster.
The way that you're makin' my heart beat
Acknowledging that someone is making the singer's heart beat faster.
Is it the sound of your voice
Questioning if the sound of someone's voice is causing the artist to feel a certain way.
The way that you're talkin' to me
Acknowledging that the way someone is speaking to the artist is affecting them.
Is it the scent of your hair
Asking if the smell of someone's hair is affecting the singer.
The look of your smile,Idon't know
Uncertain about whether the look of someone's smile is having an effect on the singer.
Is it the way that you're dressed
Questioning if the way someone is dressed is affecting the artist.
You believed you're the best
Implying that someone is dressed like they believe they are the best.
No,I thing it's the look in your eyes
Declaring that it is actually the look in someone's eyes that is having an effect on the artist.
Bang,bang,bang
Reiterating the sound of a gun going off.
You drive me insane,sane,sane
Implying that the effect someone has on the artist is making them feel crazy.
Is it the look of your face
Asking if the way someone's face looks is having an effect on the singer.
I'm Losin' my base (can't see you)
Implies that something is happening to the singer and they aren't able to see the subject of the song anymore.
Is it the style of your walk
Asking if someone's walk is affecting the singer.
Or the way you talk,I don't know
Uncertain about whether someone's speaking style is affecting the artist.
Bang,bang,bang
Reiterating the sound of a gun going off.
Like bang,bang,bang
Referencing the sound of a gun going off as a metaphor for the effect someone is having on the singer.
Bang,bang,bang,insane,sane,sane
Reiterating that the effect someone is having is making the singer feel crazy.
Bang,Bang
Reiterating the sound of a gun going off.
Na,na
Vocalization that has no specific meaning in this context.
Bang,bang
Reiterating the sound of a gun going off.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY SABATER, JOE CUBA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robertgrotto7058
I'm 74 and Italian. Grew up in the tenements of NYC in the 50's and early 60's. I remember this song and others of the era on hot summer nights. No ac. A small window fan. The smell of garbage wafting up from the street. Listening to this and other songs of the times. I remember block parties where Hector Lavoe and others jammed. Italians, blacks, Irish, Polish, Puerto Ricans etc all had a great time. We mostly all got along. Yes, there were gangs and fights but the most of the hard working people and the families got along. You know why? We were all poor. It's always been more about the color green of the dollar then skin color. IMHO it's worse today. Keep rockin and God bless.
@bridgetedwards2378
Thank you for your story. I believe you - it's FAR worse today. Back then, even during the worst of times - at the time - simple pleasures were the best. I'm 65, raised in Cali - enjoyed the music of the 50s, 60s, 70s - of all flavors. Music was the BEST back then. Yep. I said what I said. :-) Blessings - and keep rockin!
@bernicejackson4902
I remember being so happy singing and dancing to this this great song back in my early days in the Farragut Projects of Brooklyn NY ❤️💃🥰💃
@newzcutter
Lower East side?
@robertgrotto7058
@@newzcutter West side. 93rd street. A block from Riverside drive. The same street that has that little park with the Joan of Arc statue. It was a bad neighborhood when I lived there. It's all gentrified now and looks great. A real shithole when I was a kid. The ball fields look like Yankee stadium now. When I was a kid they were just dirt. We used too clean them up in the summer so we could play ball. Old tires, broken glass, junkie needles all over. Junkies would watch us play until they nodded off. LOL.
@bocastacker9005
It was the same for me when I was young. No divisions among different ethnicities. We all got along and music brought us all closer together. What the hell happened to this world?? Politicians divide us to try to control us.
@Carlospjr
I grew up in the 60s & 70s in NYC and the Bronx and the music flowing out the windows on Friday night and Saturdays was Heavenly. This was a classic.
@Dune137
I miss just plain, simple and fun music like this. I think I was about 3 years old when my mom bought this album. We used to play this song over and over.
@arnoldgratacos5460
Joe Cuba king of Spanish Harlem music...I played it all thru my high school years. Thank you Joe!!
@dannyphantommm
Thank you for posting this video. My grandfather is Joe Cuba, he died when I was three and I love his music. My mom, Joe Cuba's daughter has his golden discs in our house and pictures of my grandfather including this art.