BaBalu

BaBalu^[a] is the debut album released independently by jazz crooner Michael Bublé, before his debut label album, Michael Bublé (2003) was recorded. It was released in 2001, under the managemente of Big Shtick Productions Ltd., but it was not widely commercial. In England, it was released by Australian record company Phantom.

BaBalu
Studio album by Michael Bublé
Released	2001
Genre	Jazz, easy listening
Length	40:53
Michael Bublé chronology
First Dance (1995) BaBalu (2001) Dream (2002)

Background

Bublé stated that his interest in singing jazz and swing standards stems from his listening to old Mills Brothers recordings, as is evident on albums such as BaBalu, where he actually re-records several Mills Brothers hits, such as "Lazy River." Bublé says, "Although I like rock 'n' roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."[1] The track "Spiderman Theme" was later remixed by Junkie XL, released as a single and also used in the movie Spider-Man 2. "Spider-Man" is misspelled on the original album packaging, excluding the hyphen that falls between Spider and Man.

Inspiration

The title, BaBalu, refers to the Vancouver night club where Bublé regularly performed in the late 1990s before gaining broad recognition outside of his home town. The club has since become Doolin's Irish Pub, located on Granville Street at Nelson.[2] The word Babalu is a reference to Margarita Lecuona's song "Babalu" popularized by famous Cuban big band singers Miguelito Valdés and Desi Arnaz. Also seen, as such, with the character of Ricky Ricardo (played by Desi Arnaz) on the classic TV comedy series I Love Lucy. The word originally refers to "Babalú-ayé", an orisha or deity in the Santería religion.[3][4] The album title informally written as Babalu is often seen written as BaBalu because on the album art, the second B is also capitalized. The Vancouver night club and lounge, BaBalu, after which the album is named, was also written with the second B capitalized.[2][5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Spiderman Theme"	Bob Harris, Paul Francis Webster	3:01
2.	"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"	Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren	2:43
3.	"You'll Never Know"	Mack Gordon, Harry Warren	4:19
4.	"Lazy River"	Hoagy Carmichael, Sidney Arodin	4:17
5.	"Oh Marie"	Eduardo di Capua, Howard Johnson	2:47
6.	"Can't Help Falling in Love"	Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss	4:38
7.	"Bill Bailey"	Hughie Cannon	3:12
8.	"Buena Sera^[b]"	Peter De Rose, Carl Sigman	3:45
9.	"When You're Smiling"	Mark Fisher, Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay	2:45
10.	"What a Wonderful World"	Bob Thiele, George David Weiss	4:16
11.	"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"	Bob Russell, Duke Ellington	2:31
12.	"Mack the Knife"	Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill	4:50
13.	"La Vie en Rose"	Louiguy	2:05

Notes

• ^a Capitalization as printed on the album.[6]
• ^b Spelled as "Buena Sera" on the album, the song's official spelling is "Buona Sera".[7]

References

1. Bubling along nicely Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. icLiverpool. 2 July 2004.
2. Parry, Malcolm. Breathing new life into a pair of artistic icons. Vancouver Sun. Canada.com 6 March 2010.
3. Ricky Ricardo: The 'Mr. Babalu' Next Door May 18, 2008.
4. Carrillo, Lynn. CULTURE STOCKED SOUTH BEACH STORE IS ABOUT CUBAN HERITAGE, NOT POLITICS. Sun Sentinel. 4 July 1995.
5. BaBalu - Vancouver Nightlife (654 Nelson Street) Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine vancouverkiosk.ca
6. Michael Buble: BaBalu back album cover scan coveralia.com
7. BUONA SERA - Carl Sigman song catalog Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine Songwriters Hall of Fame