Baila Morena by Zucchero

Perhaps no other recording artist in the world has recorded as many successful – and diverse – collaborations as Zucchero. Zucchero has performed in front of millions of people in many countries on different continents. However the emotion in Zucchero’s words and the feeling in his music is something that we all share, it is international. There are no boundaries.

Baila Morena

Zucchero (Adelmo Fornaciari) was born on 25 September 1955 in Roncocesi, a rural town in the province of Reggio Emilia. He got his nickname (sugar) at primary school because the teacher called him ‘zucchero e marmellata,’ - sugar and jam.

Zucchero

He began playing the guitar in his home province. He was taught the basics by a black American student in Bologna. He learned to strum the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. His music was coursing his veins, taking the specific form of rhythm’n’blues and the music of the Mississippi Delta.

As a teenager, he founded a local band called ‘Le Nuove Luci’. He toured with Sugar & Daniel (Daniel was the group's singer, while Zucchero played guitar and sax) until 1978 when he formed Sugar & Candies and began writing songs.

Zucchero

Although his first love was blues, when writing songs for other artists he made an effort to remain within the confines of Italian pop music.

In 1981 Gianni Ravera, struck by the timbre of Zucchero's voice, encouraged him to take part in the Castrocaro Festival as a performer. He won the competition, secured a contract with Polygram and a year later took part at the Sanremo Festival.

The exposure allowed Zucchero to release his own solo album, 1983's ‘Un Po' Di Zucchero.’ His song Donne, performed with the newly formed Zucchero & the Randy Jackson Band, caused a sensation at the 1985 Sanremo Festival; even though "Donne" didn't win, it did become a hit. This introduced the Zucchero blend of Italian pop and electric blues to a larger audience.

Un Po' Di Zucchero, album, 1983

During the late '80s and early '90s, he became one of the best-selling artists in Italy and a favorite all over Europe. His 1987 album "Blue's" with Corrado Rustici, David Sancious plus Clarence Clemons and the Memphis Horns sold in excess of 1.3 million copies and was the biggest commercial breakthrough ever achieved by a rock music album in Italy.

Blue's, album, 1987

His duet’s are legendary from Eric Clapton’s unmistakable guitar on 'Wonderful World' to the international hit ‘Senza Una Donna’ (Without a Woman) with Paul Young. From the Italian version of ‘Mad about You ’, (Muoio per te) on Sting’s ‘The Soul Cages’ album to ‘Miserere’ with the Maestro, Luciano Pavarotti.

In a recent interview Zucchero confided that he was proud of the close bonds he’s formed with English-speaking artists such as Eric Clapton, Bono, Ray Charles and Miles Davis. “It’s not easy,” he says, “for a continental European artist to get the respect from an English or American artist. I think it’s different for me because my music is a little bit different. I have a lot of influences coming from the blues, soul, gospel and Italian melodies. It’s a mixture of things they find interesting.”

Zucchero

On the 1998 album Bluesugar, Zucchero moved to a more English rock style. Following a lengthy tour to promote ‘Bluesugar,’ he took some time off to work on new music and reappeared in the summer of 2001 with the smash European single "Baila morena".

Bluesugar, album, 1998

"Baila morena" was released as a single twice : first in 2001 (under the title "Baila (Sexy Thing)"), reaching #1 in Italy, but achieving a moderate success in the other countries, then in 2006 as a duet with the band Maná, as the soundtrack of the film Les Bronzés 3 : Amis pour la vie (English : French Fried Vacation 3 - Friends Forever), becoming this time a huge hit in France and Belgium. On February 2, 2006, the single entered the French Singles Chart at #64, then jumped straight to #1, which is the third biggest jump to number-one in this country.

Baila (Sexy Thing), 2001

Baila Morena, lyrics

Adesso credo nei miracoli,
in questa notte di tequila boom boom.
Sei cosa, sexy cosa, sexy thing,
Ti ho messo gli occhi addosso... e lo sai.

Che devi avere un caos dentro di te
per far fiorire una stella che balla.
Inferno e paradiso dentro di te,
la luna é un sole guarda come brilla.
Baby, the night is on fire.
Siamo fiamme nel cielo,
lampi in mezzo al buio...
What you say?

Baila, baila morena,
sotto questa luna piena,
under the moonlight,
under the moonlight.

Vai chica vai cocca che mi sa, cocca
che questa sera qualche cosa ti tocca.
Ho un cuore d'oro sai il cuore di un santo
per cosi' poco me la merito tanto.

Baby, the night is on fire.
Siamo fiamme nel cielo,
scandalo nel buio...
What you say?

Baila, baila morena,
sotto questa luna piena,
under the moonlight.
Baila, under the moonlight,
sotto questa luna piena,
baila Morena...
yeah yeah yeah...

You got me hurtin' so bad, so bad
I got to have it, so bad
What you say?

Baila, baila morena,
sotto questa luna piena,
under the moonlight.

E baila, under the moonlight,
Sotto questa luna piena.
Baila morena,
sotto questa luna piena,
sotto questa luna piena,
sotto questa luna piena,
under the moonlight.

Zucchero & Mana - Baila Morena, 2006

Baila Morena (English translate, allthelyrics.com)

It blows my mind now that I found you
Deep in the night of tequila boom boom
Slide by me, sexy thing, sexy and fine
I got my eyes on you all of the time.....yeah

You've got to have chaos burnin? in you
To make you open like a flower in bloom
Hell lives inside you next to paradise
The moon and sun have come to watch your shine

Baby, the night is on fire
Yea, we're flames in the sky
Flashin? through the night.....what you say?

Baila, baila morena
Sotto questa luna piena
Under the moonlight
Under the moonlight

Go chica, go cocca keep it all shakin?
You know tonight somethin's up for the takin?
My heart is gold, heart of a saint
With you beside me girl, oh, then I ain't

Baby, the night is on fire
Yea, we're flames in the sky
A scandal in the night.....what you say?

Baila, baila morena
Sotto questa luna piena
Under the moonlight

Baila, under the moonlight
Sotto questa luna piena
Baila morena.....yeah yeah yeah

You got me hurtin? so bad, so bad
I got to have it, so bad

Baila, baila morena
Sotto questa luna piena
Under the moonlight

Baila, under the moonlight
Sotto questa luna piena
Baila morena

Sotto questa luna piena
Sotto questa luna piena
Sotto questa luna piena

Under the moonlight.

Zucchero