Monna Bell (1938 - 2008)

Chilean singer Monna Bell has died last week at the age of 70.
Monna Bell rose to international fame with the song Un Telegrama, the song that won the 1959 Benidorm International Song Festival which was her first hit in Europe and Latin America.

After she left the Hispavox label in the late 60's she signed with Musart and later Orfeon for which she mostly recorded coverversions of international standards. Even though it initially brought her some success she wasn't very happy and retired from the music business in 1980. A 1977 disco version Un Telegramma didn't make her happy and flopped miserably.

It was Mexican singer Juan Gabriel who revived Monna Bell's career by inviting her along on his live tours. It didn't bring back the success of the olden days and the album Monna Bell Ahora received mixed reviews, even though vocally it's among Monna Bell's best work ever.

I know of two Eurocovers by Monna Bell in Spanish and they're both here. The first one is a song you may have heard of before.
Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno's evergreen
- En El Azul Del Cielo - on EP (Hispavox HH-17-89)
Un Premier Amour - France 1962 winner by Isabelle Aubret
- Un Primer Amor - on EP (Hispavox HH17-203)

Un Primer Amor can also be found on a great Eurocovers compilation that was released in 2006 Los Exitos De Eurovision, Cantados en Español (Rama Lama music RM 53592) which includes 27 Spanish coverversion of Eurovision hits.
The same record company Rama Lama Music also released two Monna Bell CDs with her Hispavox recordings from 1959 to 1965. En El Azul Del Cielo is on Vol 1. (1959-1961), Un Primer Amor is on Vol 2. (1961 - 1965)

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Chile, Argentina, Mexico

The Year Of The Puppet takes us to all corners of the globe. Here's three versions of the song made by South American stars of the 60's.

Chile - Gloria Benavides - Marionetas en la cuerdaSinger and comedienne Gloria Benavides, born in 1952, was a child star rising in the early 60's, mainly with Spanish versions of worldwide hits like Norman (Sue Thompson) and Amor por teléfono (Telephone lover, Connie Francis). She was a part of La Nueva Ola Chilena, the generation of young rock'n'roll and pop stars of Chile in the 50's and 60's.

She made her actual radio debut at the age of three in the popular Uncle Alex Club (Club del Tio Alejandro).
Her teenager career was mainly musical, but she finally focussed more on acting and comedy, resulting in the mid 80's show 'La show de Gloria', a regular TV show with comedy and music. Benavides is still regarded as one of the biggest comedy stars of Chile.

Gloria Benavides also recorded No Tengo Edad Par Amar Te (Non Ho l'Eta, Italy's 1964 winner) and Primo O Poi from the 1965 San Remo contest (10th)


Violeta Rivas is a hugely popular singer in Argentina in the from the 60's to today.
You can read all about Violeta Rivas at her homepage (in Spanish)

Here is her Eurocovers Discography (all songs in Spanish)

Dios como te amo (Italy 1966, Dio come ti amo by Domenico Modugno)
- b-side to Ninguno me puede juzgar (RCA Victor 31A-084)
- EP Canciones del Festival de San Remo 1966 (RCA Victor)
with 4 San Remo 1966 songs
- also on LP with the same title with 12 San Remo 1966 songs (RCA Víctor AVL 3650)

Merci Cherie (Austria 1966 winner, original by Udo Jürgens)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-0963)
- EP Sin Final (RCA Victor 3AE-3536)

Titere (U.K. 1967 Puppet On A String - Sandie Shaw)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-1100)
- EP Kilimandjaro - (RCA Victor 3AE-3607)

Dios como te amo & Titere can be found 2004 compilation CD 20 Secretos de amor (BMG Argentina)


Mexico - Los Rockin Devil's - Muñeco de cuerdaLos Rockin Devil's were a rock band from Tijuana, Mexico, part of a huge wave of rock'n'roll bands that emerged in the 60's.
At the height of their fame they produced 2 LP's each year (1964-1969) on which they covered all the Rock 'n' roll classics in Spanish but also turned some Eurovision songs into fresh pop hits.

Los Devil's Eurocovers, all in Spanish

No tengo edad para amarte (Italy 1964 winner Non ho l'eta by Gigliola Cingquetti)
- on LP Los Rockin Devils (Orfeon 1964)
Muñeco de cuerda (Puppet on a string)
- on LP Nuevos Hit's de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1967)
Bum Bang A Bang - (Lulu's co-winner, UK 1969)
- on LP Los Nuevos hits de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1969)

Bio and Discography can be found on the Los Rockin Devil's website







The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Basque country Organland, Tirol, Denmark, CzechoSlovakia, Hungary, Russia, Yugoslavia (Slovenia) more to come....