Hi, music lovers
Who hasn't watched Pulp Fiction?
Τhe film begins with an image ... a man and a woman holding weapons inside a diner.
Next frame: The title of the movie on a black background.
And then, a music that floods our ears with its frantic rhythm.
It's the surf guitarist. Dick Dale, that plays the melody in one string of his guitar. And Tarantino makes "Misirlou" famous all around the world.
But the story of Misirlou goes way back. Dale had Lebanese roots and often used melodies from Libanus and even Armenia in his guitar style. When this song was first played in the 1960'in a live show, many people, due to Dale believed that the origina version was Lebanese or Amrenian. And it is a fact that this melody is very popular in the Middlle East for many many years, so long that some still thing that it's traditional.
But the truth is different. The song, "Misirlou", a Greek rebetiko, was recorded for the first time in 1925 by Tito Dimitriadis and produced by Columbia. The title means woman from Misir (Egypt) and some say that it refers to a beautiful Egyptian Muslim girl with whom the singer, a Greek orthodox, is madly in love. The first recording of the song, as a tsifteteli, a Greek Asian Minor dance, is here:
Then a second recording from Michalis Patrinos was released, but this time, a different tune, slower, a zeibekiko (zeibekiko is called the dance of the butchers=zeibeks, and was a slow, solo dance)
Next was Nick Roumbanis that recorded in a more jazz arrangement and named himself as the creator, claiming the copyright.
Many have been experimenting with this song, but it was Dale's approach that made it known to the world. After him, Beach Boys' made their own release of the song in the album "Surfin' Usa", making popular to the pop culture. In 2006, Black Eyed Peas, released their own cover on the melody of Misirlou. And my favourite one, Last Drive, a greek rock group:
In 2004, it was voted as one of the most famous Greek songs of all time, by the Organizing Committee of the Athens Olympic Games, and in 2005, by Q magazine one of the best song played with guitar. (Dale's cover)
Even though most of you have heard as instrumental, the first greek versions had lyrics.
Misirlou
Desert shadows creep across purple sands.
Natives kneel in prayer by their caravans.
There, silhouetted under and eastern star,
I see my long lost blossom of shalimar
You, Misirlou, Are the moon and the sun, fairest one.
Old temple bells are calling across the sand.
We'll find our Kismet, answering love's command.
You, Misirlou, are a dream of delight in the night.
To an oasis, sprinkled by stars above,
Heaven will guide us, Allah will bless our love.
(source: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=misirlou+lyrics)
Thanks for reading!