Released May 14, 1997 | Format Cassette, CD single Length 3:36 | |
Writer(s) Manos Hadjidakis, Al Agami, Richie Balmorian, Jay Balmorian | ||
"No Tengo Dinero" (Spanish: "I Don't Have Money") is a début single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records (EMI on May 14, 1997. Based on the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe. The song was a top 5 hit in Austria, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The song peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It stayed on the chart for 27 weeks without ever entering the top 40. As of August 2003, the single had sold 800,000 copies worldwide. Unlike the band's following releases, "No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success, thus Los Umbrellos were named one hit wonder.
Contents
Background
In 1995, Jan Elhøj and Anders Hansen, of rap-comedy duo Angry Ass, made a song called "Frikadeller og krebinetter" (Danish for "Meatballs and pork patties") which incorporated the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday, composed by Manos Hadjidakis. The song was presented to Kenneth Bager, owner of FLEX Records, who immediately saw its potential. Bager sought to find the right people to work on the track. He enlisted Ugandan rapper Al Agami to write the rap lyrics, while songwriters Richie and Jay Balmorian wrote the Spanish and English chorus. Danish singer Shirley arranged the backing vocals for the chorus. Finally, Kenneth Bager, Jan Elhøj, and Michael Pfundheller produced the track. Bager then presented "No Tengo Dinero" to FLEX Records' parent label, EMI but they weren't interested in the song. It was then re-produced by the Danish proucers Cutfather and Joe Belmaati (of Cutfather & Joe), and finally EMI agreed to release the song. Before the release of the song, Kenneth Bager wanted to find two female backing singers for the Los Umbrellos project. Michael Pfundheller personally knew dancer Grith Højfeldt, while Mai-Britt Vingsøe was contacted through modelling agency Scandinavian Models. All three members of Los Umbrellos finally met at the cover shooting for the single.
Music video
The music video was recorded at the Safari Inn motel in Burbank, California. The video featured a guest appearance of adult film actor Ron Jeremy.
Chart performance
"No Tengo Dinero" enjoyed chart success. In Denmark, the song peaked at number two on the Danish Singles Chart. It went on to sell 10,000 copies. It reached number one at Ö3 Austria Top 40, number two at RIANZ Singles Chart, and number four at Italian and Swiss Singles Chart. The song also reached number thirty-three at UK Singles Chart and peaked in two Billboard charts — number forty-two at Billboard Hot 100 and number forty at Billboard Top 40 Mainstream. As of May 1998, the song had sold 412,000 copies in the United States.
As the next Los Umbrellos single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", did not follow the success of "No Tengo Dinero", the band was considered to be one hit wonder, and "No Tengo Dinero" their signature song.
Track listing
- "No Tengo Dinero" — 03:36
- "No Tengo Dinero" (Flex Mucho Mix) — 03:36
- "No Tengo Dinero" (Extended Mucho Mix) — 04:13
- "Los Umbrelos Theme" — 03:20
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.