Número Cinco

[Aaron Bitman]

My second question serves no purpose, but I’m just curious about this song from the South of the Border album. I’m singling out "Número Cinco” just because I like it. Does anyone know why it was called “Número Cinco?”

(And since I mention it, I have to say that had I worked with Alpert in 1964, I would have urged him to make it the fifth track on the album, just for a joke. I also would have urged him, when he was putting together his fifth album, to make “Cinco de Mayo” the fifth song on that one. I can only assume that the idea finally occurred to him, or to someone working with him, by the time he put together the Bullish album, because “Struttin’ on Five” is indeed the fifth song on that lineup.)

 

[Harry]

Ahh, but your thinking is 21st Century. You must go back to the day when these were issued on LP and you'll find:

- "Numero Cinco" *is* track #5 on Side 2 of SOUTH OF THE BORDER
- "Five Minutes More" *is* track #5 on Side 2 of WHAT NOW MY LOVE

Alas, there's no explanation for "Third Man Theme" being sixth on GOING PLACES, nor for "Cinco De Mayo" being fourth on Side 2 of same.

Harry

 

[Aaron Bitman]

Heh. Good point. I never even thought about "Five Minutes More" and that's one of my favorite TJB songs.

It's weird that I didn't think of the fifth band on Side 2. One of the reasons I thought about song titles jokingly placed on the record that way was Aerosmith's Pump album. When you turn over the LP or cassette to Side 2, the first song you'll hear is "The Other Side." <sings>Take me to the other side...</singing>

But as for my main question - why it's called "Number Five" in the first place - I doubt that people decided its placement on the record before naming it, unless someone claims they did.

 

[Harry]

I doubt that people decided its placement on the record before naming it, unless someone claims they did.

I actually think that's more likely than you think. The song was written by Ervan "Bud" Coleman, friend and collaborator with the Tijuana Brass and the Baja Marimba Band. Like many instrumental compositions, the song was probably written either with a different title or no title, and took it's name on SOUTH OF THE BORDER based on its placement on Side Two.

Using the research that Steve Sidoruk did on the recording dates of some of these songs, one can see that they often recorded things with generic names like "Bud's Tune" or something like that - and later those songs were given proper names on the albums.

Harry

 

[Aaron Bitman]

Wow!

Well, until I hear another explanation, I guess I could buy that. Thank you!