I find it kind of funny that someone as urbane and smooth as Nat "King" Cole would be shilling for Italian Swiss Colony's Arriba wine - the professional wino's choice, right up there with Ripple, Thunderbird, Night Train, MD 20/20, Green River and Olde English. In fact, here's a great website which details the pleasures to be derived from drinking these fine spirits.
But then again, times were different. Nobody was asking poor Nat to be the spokesperson for Chevrolet or Westinghouse.....simply because of the color of his skin. In fact, Cole's groundbreaking TV show only lasted a short time - not because he couldn't get anybody to tune in, but because nobody would sponsor the show. Ridiculous....
So take a listen to this 45, available only to retailers who sold the Italian Swiss Colony line (and on red vinyl, no less), and enjoy the catchy jingle (you'll be singing "Arriba! The new wine drink...." all day long).
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.....
Nat "King" Cole - Arriba Salesmen's Record (Capitol Custom 932) - c. 1960
Hi Richard, I can't hear the promo? Is it still up?
ReplyDeleteMark
I can't hear the song although I do recall the melody and the lyrics. However, I did think it odd that the name meant "up" in Spanish. And like the unknown writer, I knew it was in the same class as Vincove,Ripple, Golden Spur and Thunder Bird.
DeleteDavid Hugo Barrett
I used to hear this jingle on the black radio stations in Philadelphia in the late '50s and early '60s. The jingle went: "Arriba!...the new wine drink...Arriba!...the color of pink...Everybody's gonna rave about the new Arriba flavor, 'cause the flavor's so exciting like the bongo beat...Arriba!"
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