Musical Offerings ⦁ 2026 ⦁ Volume 17 ⦁ Number 1 47 Prima recorded in two versions: “Che la luna,” which utilized the tambourine and added new English lyrics, and “Zooma Zooma,” which transitions to a fast swing feel. The popularity of Prima’s versions of “Luna mezzo mare” led to the song’s inclusion on the soundtrack to The Godfather, solidifying the tarantella’s association with Italian American culture in the American imagination. Another well-known tarantella is the “Tarantella Napoletana.” The melody originated in 1852 as “Tarantella di Piedigrotta,” and was an important melody in Luigi Ricci’s comic opera La Festa di Piedigrotta. The opera is based on the Piedigrotta Festival in Naples, which famously held songwriting competitions that birthed the Neapolitan song genre. Ricci composed the melody specifically to sound Neapolitan. In 1950, the melody and feel of “Tarantella Napoletana” was adapted into the American popular song “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me,” composed by Buddy Arnold and Milton Berle, and performed by Evelyn Knight (see Example 7). While this song does not make references to Italian culture within its English lyrics, its arrangement was no doubt inspired by Prima’s Italian novelties. Similarities include the piano performing accordion-like rhythms in the accompaniment, the replacement of the tambourine with the snare drum, and a transition into a swing feel later in the recording. This was the first of many times that “Tarantella Napoletana” would be used as a basis for other music, and eventually this would lead to the melody becoming an Italian trope. Example 7: Evelyn Knight, “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me,” mm. 9–12 (transcription by the author). Note the snare drum’s rhythms and the piano accompaniment representing the tambourine and the accordion respectively.
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