Edited by Azizi Powell
This post presents information about Salsa dancing and showcases seven videos of that dancing.
The content of this post are presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those featured in these videos. Thanks also to those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the video producers and publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT SALSA DANCING
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_(dance)
"Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in New York with strong influences from Latin America, particularly Cuba and Puerto Rico. The movements of salsa have its origins in Cuban Son, Cha cha cha, Mambo and other dance forms, and the dance, along with the salsa music,[1][2][3] originated in the mid-1970s in New York.[4]
Origin
Salsa dancing originated in New York in the mid-1970s. It evolved from earlier dance forms such as "Cha cha cha" and Mambo which were popular in New York, and incorporated elements of Swing dancing and Hustle, as well as elements of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dances such as Guaguanco and Pachanga.
There is some controversy surrounding the origins of the word salsa. Some claim that it was based on a cry shouted by musicians while they were playing their music. Other believe that the term was created by record labels to better market their music, who chose the word "salsa" because of its spicy and hot connotations. Still others believe the term came about because salsa dancing and music is a mixture of different styles, just like salsa or "sauce" in Latin American countries is a mixture of different ingredients...
Rhythm
Every salsa composition involves complex Afro-Cuban percussion based around the Clave Rhythm (which has four types)...
The Different Styles
Salsa's roots are based on different genres such as Puerto Rican rhythms, Cuban Son, specifically to the beat of Son Montuno in the 1920s. However, as it is a popular music, it is open to improvisation and thus it is continuously evolving. New modern salsa styles are associated and named to the original geographic areas that developed them. There are often devotees of each of these styles outside of their home territory. Characteristics that may identify a style include: timing, basic steps, foot patterns, body rolls and movements, turns and figures, attitude, dance influences and the way that partners hold each other.
Incorporating other dance styling techniques into salsa dancing has become very common, for both men and women: shimmies, leg work, arm work, body movement, spins, body isolations, shoulder shimmies, rolls, even hand styling, acrobatics and lifts.
Latin American styles originate from Puerto Rico, Cuba and surrounding Caribbean islands including the Dominican Republic, and then expanding to Venezuela, Colombia, and the rest of Latin America; also heavily influence "Miami" style which is a fusion of Cuban style and North American version. The styles include "Casino", Miami-Style, Cali-style and Venezuelan Style.
North American styles have different characteristics: Los Angeles style breaks on the first beat "On 1" while New York style breaks on the second beat "On 2". Both have different origins and evolutionary path, as the New York Salsa is heavily influenced by Jazz instruments in its early growth stage."...
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FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order with the oldest dated video given first.
Example #1: Sexy Salsa Smooth
Erick Berninzon, Uploaded on Aug 30, 2009
This video is of Ana and me, Erick Berninzon, dancing at the San Francisco Carnaval in 2009. The band that is playing live in the background is our best local band called Avance. The song is called "Baila que baila." We are not professional dancers but we both love to dance and its our passion. Im Peruvian and she is Mexican and we are dancing what I call street style salsa. Its a mix of Cuban style salsa with some LA style and NY style as well
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Example #2: best salsa dancers in the world!
NYC Salsa Classes Uploaded on Jan 10, 2010
Best salsa dancers in the world! Just my own personal top ten countdown of who I think are the best dancers in the salsa scene. Don't agree? Tell us who you think are the best in the comments.
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Example #3: 6 degrees Salsa Competition-professional semifinals March 23-2010.mp4
Erick Perdomo, Uploaded on Mar 26, 2010
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Example #4: Kuba - Salsa life
Reiseumdiewelt, Uploaded on Aug 14, 2010
Wochenende in Kuba 1999, Tanz auf der Dorfstraße
[Google translate from German to English – Weekend in Cuba in 1999, dancing on the village street”
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Example #5: Salsa House En Cuba - Descarga En Callejón De Hamel
SalsaHouseTV, Published on Apr 3, 2012
Jam-session in Callejón de Hamel, Havana, December 2011.
Music: Elio Revé y su Charangón, Agua pa' Yemayá
www.salsahouse.fi
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Example #6: Social ''Salsa New York style on2''
.
Esteban Zamora Published on Oct 4, 2012
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Example #7: The World Games 2013 | DanceSport | Salsa Final
DanceSportTotal, Published on Aug 11, 2013
The Final of the Salsa event of The World Games 2013 in Cali, COL, held at the Cali bullring in front of 18,000 spectators on 28 July. Recorded by Dr Helmut Roland.
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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Salsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salsa. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The Fania All Stars - Congo Bongo
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on recordings entitled "Congo Bongo". This post showcases a sound file of the 1973/1974 recording "Congo Bongo" by The Fania All Stars.
Information about that group is included in this post. This post also includes an excerpt of an article about the first performance of "Congo Bongo" by that group.
Part II of this series showcases a sound file of the 2003 song entitled "Congo Bongo" by Ghanaian vocalist Blakk Rasta.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/blakk-rasta-congo-bongo.html for that post.
For a related post, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/bongo-bongo-bongo-i-dont-want-to-leave.html.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE FANIA ALL STARS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fania_All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars is a musical ensemble established in 1968 by the composer, Johnny Pacheco, as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.[1]
In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, an Italian-American lawyer with a love for Latin melodies, and Johnny Pacheco, a composer and bandleader, born in the Dominican Republic. Masucci later bought out his partner Pacheco from Fania Entertainment Group Ltd., and was the sole owner for many years until his death in December 1997.
Throughout the early years, Fania used to distribute its records around New York. Eventually success from Pacheco's Cañonaso recording would lead the label to develop its roster. Masucci and Pacheco, now executive negotiator and musical director, respectively, began acquiring musicians such as Bobby Valentín, Larry Harlow and Ray Barreto.
In 1968, Fania Records created a continuously revolving line-up of entertainers known as the Fania All-Stars. In 1971 they recorded Fania All-Stars: Live At The Cheetah, Volumes 1 and 2. It exhibited the entire All-Star family performing before a capacity audience in New York's Cheetah Lounge.
Following sell-out concerts in Puerto Rico, Chicago and Panama, the All-Stars embarked on their first appearance at New York's Yankee Stadium on August 24, 1973... Live at Yankee Stadium was included in the second set of 50 recordings in the List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, solidifying the All-Stars as "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."
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ARTICLE EXCERPT
From https://www.fania.com/content/latin-rock-soul
"By 1973 Fania Records' flagship super-group, the Fania All Stars, were on a roll. Their two-volume album Live At The Cheetah (1971) had became the biggest selling live Latin recordings up to that point and the 1972 movie Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa), prominently featuring clips from the Cheetah concert, was opening doors abroad. Despite advice to the contrary, label boss Jerry Masucci (1934-1997) took the bold step of booking New York's massive Yankee Stadium for a salsa concert on Friday, August 24, 1973. They thought we were crazy, said Masucci. But I rented the place for one night for $180,000 cash. His gamble paid off, because the event attracted a crowd of about 45,000.
It was a condition of the stadium rental that the performers should stay on the platform stage and the audience remain in the stands, located far away from the stage. All went according to the stipulation during performances from Típica 73, El Gran Combo and Mongo Santamaría's group. However, midway through the Fania All Stars' rendition of "Congo Bongo," an incendiary conga duel between Ray Barretto and Mongo written by Larry Harlow and Heny Alvarez, the audience could no longer contain themselves, and charged the stage. Police intervened, the lights went up and the event had to be abandoned with about five numbers still to perform.
1974's "Latin-Soul-Rock" was the first album to include material from this historic concert, namely the tracks "Congo Bongo" and "El Ratón." The two-volume Live At Yankee Stadium, released the following year, featured four more songs from the concert. The live recording of "Soul Makossa" on "Latin-Soul-Rock," a cover of the 1972 hit by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, and the remaining six cuts on the Live At Yankee Stadium albums were all recorded at the Fania All Stars' debut in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opening the new Roberto Clemente Coliseum. For the rest of "Latin-Soul-Rock," the band and its invited guests, Dibango, Jorge Malo Santana, Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer, reconvened at Good Vibration Sound Studios to record the material they were supposed to have performed at Yankee Stadium."
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: CONGO BONGO - Fania All Stars ( YANKEE STADIUM )
Pedro Barriera - Dec 23, 2012
-snip-
December 26, 2019: This video replaces the one that was originally embedded in this post but is no longer available.
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ADDITIONAL USAGE
In researching the phrase "Congo Bongo", I also learned that "Congo Bongo" was the title of an early 1980s video game, and is the name of vacation lodges in Costa Rica.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Bongo
"Congo Bongo (J: Tip Top (ティップタップ Tippu Tappu?)) is an isometric platform arcade game released by Sega in 1983. The game has come to be seen as Sega's answer to the highly successful Donkey Kong game that was released two years prior. The player takes the role of a red-nosed safari hunter who tries to catch an ape named "Bongo"... Like Donkey Kong, the levels are composed of a series of four single screens that loop in a higher difficulty when completed… Despite being a commercial failure when it was initially released [4] Congo Bongo has been ported to nearly every major gaming platform of the day, including SG-1000, MSX, Intellivision,[5] ColecoVision, Commodore 64 (twice - by Sega in 1983 and by U.S. Gold in 1985), IBM PC, Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers."
From http://www.flipkey.com/puerto-viejo-vacation-rentals/p181667/ for information about the Costa Rican vacation houses.
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ADDENDUM
I want to add a comment about the cultural context that I bring to this song.
I admit that I had a negative reaction to the words "Congo Bongo" and I tried to figure out why that was so. After some thought, I realized that I had that negative reaction as a direct result of the 1960s American cartoon King Leonardo And His Short Subjects in which "Bongo Congo" was given as the fictitious name for an African nation. The link for the post that I published about "Bongo Congo" is given above.
Furthermore, my initial reaction to the "Bongo Congo" song title caused me to wonder if the the composer of this "Congo Bongo" song was influenced by the definitely culturally offensive 1947 "Bongo Bongo Bongo" song and/or the 1960s cartoon series based in the fictitious African nation of "Bongo Congo". It's possible that the "Congo Bongo" name had nothing at all to do with either of those sources. Still, I have to struggle against a negative reaction to that title. However, I'm aware that people from other cultures probably don't have the same reactions to this song title because they don't have the same negative associatons from the 1947 song and frivolous if not actually negative associations from the cartoon show that I bring to that "Congo Bongo" title.
****
Thanks to the Fania All Stars for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the composers of "Congo Bongo", the authors who I quoted, and the publisher of this soundfile on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on recordings entitled "Congo Bongo". This post showcases a sound file of the 1973/1974 recording "Congo Bongo" by The Fania All Stars.
Information about that group is included in this post. This post also includes an excerpt of an article about the first performance of "Congo Bongo" by that group.
Part II of this series showcases a sound file of the 2003 song entitled "Congo Bongo" by Ghanaian vocalist Blakk Rasta.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/blakk-rasta-congo-bongo.html for that post.
For a related post, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/bongo-bongo-bongo-i-dont-want-to-leave.html.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE FANIA ALL STARS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fania_All-Stars
The Fania All-Stars is a musical ensemble established in 1968 by the composer, Johnny Pacheco, as a showcase for the musicians on the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time.[1]
In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, an Italian-American lawyer with a love for Latin melodies, and Johnny Pacheco, a composer and bandleader, born in the Dominican Republic. Masucci later bought out his partner Pacheco from Fania Entertainment Group Ltd., and was the sole owner for many years until his death in December 1997.
Throughout the early years, Fania used to distribute its records around New York. Eventually success from Pacheco's Cañonaso recording would lead the label to develop its roster. Masucci and Pacheco, now executive negotiator and musical director, respectively, began acquiring musicians such as Bobby Valentín, Larry Harlow and Ray Barreto.
In 1968, Fania Records created a continuously revolving line-up of entertainers known as the Fania All-Stars. In 1971 they recorded Fania All-Stars: Live At The Cheetah, Volumes 1 and 2. It exhibited the entire All-Star family performing before a capacity audience in New York's Cheetah Lounge.
Following sell-out concerts in Puerto Rico, Chicago and Panama, the All-Stars embarked on their first appearance at New York's Yankee Stadium on August 24, 1973... Live at Yankee Stadium was included in the second set of 50 recordings in the List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, solidifying the All-Stars as "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."
****
ARTICLE EXCERPT
From https://www.fania.com/content/latin-rock-soul
"By 1973 Fania Records' flagship super-group, the Fania All Stars, were on a roll. Their two-volume album Live At The Cheetah (1971) had became the biggest selling live Latin recordings up to that point and the 1972 movie Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa), prominently featuring clips from the Cheetah concert, was opening doors abroad. Despite advice to the contrary, label boss Jerry Masucci (1934-1997) took the bold step of booking New York's massive Yankee Stadium for a salsa concert on Friday, August 24, 1973. They thought we were crazy, said Masucci. But I rented the place for one night for $180,000 cash. His gamble paid off, because the event attracted a crowd of about 45,000.
It was a condition of the stadium rental that the performers should stay on the platform stage and the audience remain in the stands, located far away from the stage. All went according to the stipulation during performances from Típica 73, El Gran Combo and Mongo Santamaría's group. However, midway through the Fania All Stars' rendition of "Congo Bongo," an incendiary conga duel between Ray Barretto and Mongo written by Larry Harlow and Heny Alvarez, the audience could no longer contain themselves, and charged the stage. Police intervened, the lights went up and the event had to be abandoned with about five numbers still to perform.
1974's "Latin-Soul-Rock" was the first album to include material from this historic concert, namely the tracks "Congo Bongo" and "El Ratón." The two-volume Live At Yankee Stadium, released the following year, featured four more songs from the concert. The live recording of "Soul Makossa" on "Latin-Soul-Rock," a cover of the 1972 hit by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, and the remaining six cuts on the Live At Yankee Stadium albums were all recorded at the Fania All Stars' debut in San Juan, Puerto Rico, opening the new Roberto Clemente Coliseum. For the rest of "Latin-Soul-Rock," the band and its invited guests, Dibango, Jorge Malo Santana, Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer, reconvened at Good Vibration Sound Studios to record the material they were supposed to have performed at Yankee Stadium."
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: CONGO BONGO - Fania All Stars ( YANKEE STADIUM )
Pedro Barriera - Dec 23, 2012
-snip-
December 26, 2019: This video replaces the one that was originally embedded in this post but is no longer available.
****
ADDITIONAL USAGE
In researching the phrase "Congo Bongo", I also learned that "Congo Bongo" was the title of an early 1980s video game, and is the name of vacation lodges in Costa Rica.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Bongo
"Congo Bongo (J: Tip Top (ティップタップ Tippu Tappu?)) is an isometric platform arcade game released by Sega in 1983. The game has come to be seen as Sega's answer to the highly successful Donkey Kong game that was released two years prior. The player takes the role of a red-nosed safari hunter who tries to catch an ape named "Bongo"... Like Donkey Kong, the levels are composed of a series of four single screens that loop in a higher difficulty when completed… Despite being a commercial failure when it was initially released [4] Congo Bongo has been ported to nearly every major gaming platform of the day, including SG-1000, MSX, Intellivision,[5] ColecoVision, Commodore 64 (twice - by Sega in 1983 and by U.S. Gold in 1985), IBM PC, Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers."
From http://www.flipkey.com/puerto-viejo-vacation-rentals/p181667/ for information about the Costa Rican vacation houses.
****
ADDENDUM
I want to add a comment about the cultural context that I bring to this song.
I admit that I had a negative reaction to the words "Congo Bongo" and I tried to figure out why that was so. After some thought, I realized that I had that negative reaction as a direct result of the 1960s American cartoon King Leonardo And His Short Subjects in which "Bongo Congo" was given as the fictitious name for an African nation. The link for the post that I published about "Bongo Congo" is given above.
Furthermore, my initial reaction to the "Bongo Congo" song title caused me to wonder if the the composer of this "Congo Bongo" song was influenced by the definitely culturally offensive 1947 "Bongo Bongo Bongo" song and/or the 1960s cartoon series based in the fictitious African nation of "Bongo Congo". It's possible that the "Congo Bongo" name had nothing at all to do with either of those sources. Still, I have to struggle against a negative reaction to that title. However, I'm aware that people from other cultures probably don't have the same reactions to this song title because they don't have the same negative associatons from the 1947 song and frivolous if not actually negative associations from the cartoon show that I bring to that "Congo Bongo" title.
****
Thanks to the Fania All Stars for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the composers of "Congo Bongo", the authors who I quoted, and the publisher of this soundfile on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Che Che Kule - Origin, Lyrics, & Videos
Edited by Azizi Powell
Revised April 18, 2026
This pancocojams post includes information, comments, YouTube examples, and text examples of the song which may be most widely known worldwide as "Che Che Kule".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the Ghanaian people for the folk song "Kye Kye Kule". Thanks to all those who are who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these YouTube sound files and videos and thanks to all those Thanks also to all those who published these examples on YouTube.
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ORIGIN & MEANINGS
"Che Che Kule" (Akan language: "Kye Kye Kule") is a traditional children's game song from Ghana, West Africa.
The Afro-Latin band Osibisa's 1972 recording "Che Che Kule" was one of the first records that popularized the Ghanaian folk song "Kye Kye Kule". Read below for more information about Osibisa. Also read below about Willie Colon's 1967 Salsa record whose chorus includes the words "che che kule".
In the United States "Che Che Kule" appears to be mostly sung while performing the imitative movements like the children's song "Head And Shoulders, Knees And Toes". A Ghanaian man who commented on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that I started indicated that that is how he learned "Kye Kye Kule". However, a Ghanaian woman who commented on that same discussion thread wrote that she remembers it as a ring chasing game similar to "duck duck goose".*
I'm not sure how "Kye Kye Kule" was traditionally played in Ghana or how (and if) that game is played now.
*Read the Mudcat discussion forum comments given below after the showcase videos.
Both "Che Che Kule" and "Kye Kye Kule" are pronounced "Shay Shay KOO-lay".
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FEATURED VIDEOS
Unfortunately, I have not yet found any videos of Ghanaian children singing or playing any "Kye Kye Kule" games.
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube, with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: a Salsa version of "Che Che Kule"
Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon- "Che Che Cole" and "Machito"
Posted by jnyc101 / January 23, 2007
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Example #2: Osibisa - Che Che Kule (Heads)
Uploaded by Feralbt on Sep 16, 2008
-snip-
Osibisa is a band, founded in London in the year 1969 by four African and three Caribbean musicians, who peaked in popularity in the 1970s. They were one of the first widely popular African band.
I believe that Osibisa's "Kye Kye Kule" was the record that first popularized "Che Che Kule" in the United States and in other Western nations.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osibisa for information about this Afro-Pop band. Here's a quote from that page:
"Osibisa are a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians.[1] Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, funk, rock, Latin, and R&B. Osibisa were one of the first African-heritage bands to become widely popular and linked with the world music description.
"The name Osibisa was described in lyrics, album notes and interviews as meaning "criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife."
-snip-
"Highlife" is a type of music that originated in Ghana in the 1900s. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana for more information about Ghana. Also, click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife for information about "highlife".
-snip-
Fante (Fanti) is a language that is spoken by a group of the Akan people of Ghana. The Ashanti (Asante) may be the best known Akan people in the United States due to their production of colorful kinte cloth as well as their Sankofa symbol and other adinkra symbols.
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Video #3: Shay Shay Koolay
Shay Shay Koolay
Posted by ElanaMichele, November 03, 2008
South African children performing "Kye Kye Kule".
"Thina, Noroza, and Hope lead Shay Shay Koolay in the field behind Sivuyiseni. Check out www.artworkforyouth.com."
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Example #4: "Kye Kye Kule" performed by American children:
Kye Kye Kule - Robertson
doitmusically, Sep 24, 2009
The SK class singing a children's song from Ghana.
-snip-
Added Jun 10, 2020. This video replaces another 2009 video of American children singing Kye Kye Kule (also given as "Che Che Kule". That video is no longer available.
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Video #5: The Ghana Bigshots - Kyekye Kule - AFH603
Afrikafestival Hertme, Published on Sep 17, 2014
Probably the best “young band” in Ghana at the moment, the Ghana Bigshots present their first album ‘Tu Na Me Nsa’ in April 2014. Originally formed in 2008, the band came to its present line-up 2 years ago, and has since then steadily improved.
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ADDED NOVEMBER 2017
Video #6: Ghanian Song for Kids' Music Class - Kye Kye Kule.AVI
Tema Lee, Published on Oct 29, 2012
Here's a very good Ghanian activity song you can teach your preschool and kindergarten kids. This class was taught by Laura Etemah.
-snip-
The woman's last name suggests that she is from Ghana or the Ivory Coast (i.e. an Akan speaker which I believe is the population from which this song originated.)
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COMMENTS ABOUT THE GHANAIAN FOLK SONG "KYE KYE KULE"
Here's a comment from a guest on a discussion thread that I started on "Che Che Kule":
"Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 06:43 PM
Im from ghana and I have to say that Kofi is a ghana name and alot of the words in the song i can understand. I have been singing this song since I was a child. My mother knows it, my grandmother knows it and my great grand mother knows It. I recently caught the spanish verson on the radio and started singing along right away. I was very surprised someone else from another part of the world had made a song with my childhood play song. The song has been around for a least a few centuries Its not surprising that there have been different versions made."
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108069 [Hereafter given as Mudcat "Che Che Kule"]
Editor: "Kofi" is an Akan (language/ethnic group from Ghana, West Africa and Côte d’Ivoire) personal name that means "male born on Friday". Notice the various versions of "kofi sa" that are found in the examples given below.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_namesfor information on Akan day names.
**
[UPDATE May 4, 2015]
Here are two other comments from that Mudcat discussion thread:
Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Jan 08 - 10:25 AM
Here's an excerpt of the email that Quakoo [a Ghanaian man] sent to cocojams.com * about Kye Kye Kule in response to my questions to him about this song:
"I made some enquiries about this song. It is a Ga game but because of our school system which promotes ethnic fusion it has become a national thing. My dad couldn't really tell me the meaning of the words, but said that the words: "Salanga" is a name used by northerners [members of ethnic groups who live in the Northern part of Ghana] (could be Dagomba, Frafra or Gonja) so Kofi Salanga is a northern boy. And when singing the song,with the pronouncement of every sentence you touch your body in ascending and descending order. When you start "kyekye kule" (you touch your shoulders with both hands and those responding kyekye kule will do likewise, continue to your waist, knees and the toes) and this continues till you reach your toes and then you start all over again.
Kyekye kule on national t.v (called Ghana T.V or GTV) was a children's programme, and it was so popular that I never for once missed an episode. It was hosted by an old teacher. It was filled with several other Ghanaian games"...
-snip-
*Cocojams.com is my cultural website that I voluntarily closed in 2014. Quakoo later changed the spelling of his name to Kwaku on that Mudcat forum. He wrote to share that "kye" is the Akan spelling for that word, but he didn't indicate what, if anything, "kye" meant.
"Ga" is the name of an ethnic group in Ghana, West Africa. The Northern region is one of 10 regions in Ghana. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana and other websites for more information about Ghana, West Africa.
**
Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 15 May 09 - 02:22 PM
Here is an email about "Kye Kye Kule" that I received today from a Ghanaian woman, Abena Gyebi:
"Sorry, cocoyam, You see I have always known the Ghanaian children's song Kye kye kule. The Kum adende or Kum aye dei was always part of it. I do not believe it is a later addition; I mean I'm into my fifties and I've always known it with the Kum. Maybe it's because the people you talked to were male. I guess when we as girls were playing kye kye kule they were busy playing football or so.(Or hunting rats?-:)
'Kum' apart from its Akan meaning - to kill- is also the sound made when something falls heavily on the ground,like a child falling or something dropping.
The other version of the game was,instead of running behind the circle and tapping someone on the shoulder, one bent down and dropped a piece of cloth behind one of those sitting in the circle. It was supposed to be done so artfully that the one with the piece of cloth did not notice it.The singing and clapping then got more exciting as the runner got closer and closer to where she had dropped the piece of cloth. If the sitting person still did not notice the cloth, she got a 'boo' or a smack on the shoulder for being inattentive. On the other hand, if she got alerted, she would then run as fast as possible chasing the first runner until the first runner took her place in the circle. Then she would take over the kye kye kule and look for another person behind whom she would drop the piece of cloth. This version of kye kye kule was an adaptation of another children's game we called 'anto akyire'"
-snip-
Abena Gyebi is correct that the only Ghanaians who have given me information about this song are males. I'm very grateful that she has shared this performance information and information about the meaning of the word "Kum" in that song.
****
LYRICS AND PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES IN GHANA FOR THE FOLK SONG "KYE KYE KULE"
Example #1
Kye kule
Kye kye kule.
Kye kye kofi sa x2
kofi salanga x2
Salatilanga x2
kum ayede , kumayede , kumayede
[Source: information given to Azizi Powell by request from Ghanaian man whose name I don't recall; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1980s]
Performance: Hide & Seek game
For more information on the performance information & the meaning of some of the words to this song, visit Mudcat "Che Che Kule"
****
Example #2
Kyekule,
Kyekyekule.
Kyekye kofi sa x2
Kofi salanga x2
Salatilanga x2
kum ayede , kumayede , kumayede
[Source: information given to Azizi Powell by request from Nana Kwesi Afriya, from Ghana (Akan) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2004]
Performance: Ring Game (similar to how "Duck Duck Goose" is performed in the USA)
For more information on the words and the performance information that was shared with me, visit Mudcat "Che Che Kule"]
****
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR THE SONG "CHE CHE KULE" IN THE UNITED STATES
Example #1
Che Che Kule
Che Che Kofisa
Kofisa Langa
Langa te Lange
Kum Adende
Kum Adende. Kum.
[Source: Pittsburgh Public School District, elementary music song book, mid 1990s]
Performance instruction: a children's movement game similar to how "Head & Shoulders" is played in the USA
****
Example #2
Che Che Koolay
(an echo song from Africa)
Che Che Koolay , (Che Che Koolay)
Che Che Kofinsa, (Che Che Kofinsa)
Kofinsa langa, (Kofinsa langa)
Kata che langa, (Kata che langa)
Koom a dayn-day, (Koom a dayn-day),
Koom a dayn-day, (Koom a dayn-day),
Koom a dayn-day - HEY!
[Performance Activity]
Pat your head,
Wiggle your fingers,
Give your leg a shake
Pat your tummy
Bow down & welcome the day.
[Source: http://www.patana.ac.th/music/Year%201%20Show/Che_Che_Koolay.htm
-snip-
It appears that "Kye Kye Kule" is the only African song, or one of very few African songs that has been included in music books or otherwise taught in various American schools (as per text examples and YouTube videos online, and as per my personal experience. The version given above as Example #2 may be the version that is most often taught to Americans (in the United States).
****
OTHER FORMS OF CHE CHE KULE
SALSA
Puerto Rican musician Willie Colón (born in the USA) and Puerto Rican vocalist Hector Lavoe recorded a version of "Che Che Cole" on several of his albums, including their 1967 "El Malo" album and the album "Cosa Nuestra". A video of that version is found below. Here's the chorus of that Salsa version:
Che che colé, (que bueno e'………)
Che che cofriza, (muerto e' la risa……)
Coqui saranga (ay viene la malanga……)
Caca chilanga, (viene de catanga……)
Ayeiyeee, (a ver e' tu lo ve………)
[as posted by Guest, ada in December 2008 on Mudcat: "Che Che Kule"]
Click
http://www.metrolyrics.com/che-che-cole-lyrics-marc-anthony.html for Spanish words to the complete song as performed by Marc Anthony. That version includes the lines:
"Che che colé,
que bueno e
Che che cofiza,
muerto 'e la risa"
****
FOOT STOMPING CHEERS IN THE USA THAT WERE INSPIRED BY THE SONG "CHE CHE KULE"
I observed one example of children's (African American girls) foot stomping cheer called "Jay Jay Cool Lay" (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, late 1980s). I have also collected several versions of foot stomping cheers called "J. J. Kool Aid". I believe that these cheers were based on the Ghanaian children's song "Kye Kye Kule" (although that doesn't appear to be known by those children). According to comments posted in that Mudcat thread on "Che Che Kule" that I started in 2008, Americanized versions of "Che Che Kule" were performed in various schools in the USA as early as the 1970s, often by African drumming & dance groups. It therefore isn't all that surprising that children would have created a cheer based on their memory of that song. Here's one example of those foot stomping cheers:
Soloist #1: Jay Jay cool lay
Group: Jay Jay cool lay
Soloist: #1 Salesah lahndah
Group: Salesah lahndah
Soloist #1: Step back, Shalanda (or "back, back Shalonda:)
Group: Step back, Shalanda
Soloist: #1 Oosh, my lover boy!
Group Oosh, my lover boy! (or "Oosh Oosh, my lover boy")
Soloist #1: I’m callin on,
I’m callin on
I’m callin on Rhonda!
[Immediately repeat the cheer from the beginning with a new soloist. Substitute the name or nickname of that soloist in the line "I'm callin on ____". Continue until every member of the group has had one turn as the soloist].
-African American girls, ages around 6-12 years (Lillian Taylor Summer Camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1987) audio recorded by Tazi Powell, transcribed by Azizi Powell 1999
-snip-
April 18, 2026- I have been incorrectly spelling the words "cool lay" in this foot stomping cheer. My daughter caught my mistake today when I was telling her about this post. She reminded me that these cheers were never written down so people didn't know how the words were spelled. But she believes that "cool" was spelled with a 'c" because "we were talking about how "cool" (meaning "how up to date with the latest street styles and actions" that the person who was dancing or stepping)person is. Plus we were saying the word "lay" as in "laying down". I had written those words as one word "kukalay". I think I made the mistake the first time because I was thinking of the Australian song "kookaburra" (sits on an old gum tree').
My apology for this mistake.
I collected a written example of a similar version of that foot stomping cheer entitled "J. J. Koolaid" from a woman I worked with who participated in a written survey of rhymes and cheers that I conducted at my job in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. She remembered doing that cheer in the e late 1980s Washington D.C. entitled "J. J. Koolaid".
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
Revised April 18, 2026
This pancocojams post includes information, comments, YouTube examples, and text examples of the song which may be most widely known worldwide as "Che Che Kule".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the Ghanaian people for the folk song "Kye Kye Kule". Thanks to all those who are who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these YouTube sound files and videos and thanks to all those Thanks also to all those who published these examples on YouTube.
****
ORIGIN & MEANINGS
"Che Che Kule" (Akan language: "Kye Kye Kule") is a traditional children's game song from Ghana, West Africa.
The Afro-Latin band Osibisa's 1972 recording "Che Che Kule" was one of the first records that popularized the Ghanaian folk song "Kye Kye Kule". Read below for more information about Osibisa. Also read below about Willie Colon's 1967 Salsa record whose chorus includes the words "che che kule".
In the United States "Che Che Kule" appears to be mostly sung while performing the imitative movements like the children's song "Head And Shoulders, Knees And Toes". A Ghanaian man who commented on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that I started indicated that that is how he learned "Kye Kye Kule". However, a Ghanaian woman who commented on that same discussion thread wrote that she remembers it as a ring chasing game similar to "duck duck goose".*
I'm not sure how "Kye Kye Kule" was traditionally played in Ghana or how (and if) that game is played now.
*Read the Mudcat discussion forum comments given below after the showcase videos.
Both "Che Che Kule" and "Kye Kye Kule" are pronounced "Shay Shay KOO-lay".
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Unfortunately, I have not yet found any videos of Ghanaian children singing or playing any "Kye Kye Kule" games.
These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube, with the oldest example given first.
Example #1: a Salsa version of "Che Che Kule"
Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon- "Che Che Cole" and "Machito"
Posted by jnyc101 / January 23, 2007
****
Example #2: Osibisa - Che Che Kule (Heads)
Uploaded by Feralbt on Sep 16, 2008
-snip-
Osibisa is a band, founded in London in the year 1969 by four African and three Caribbean musicians, who peaked in popularity in the 1970s. They were one of the first widely popular African band.
I believe that Osibisa's "Kye Kye Kule" was the record that first popularized "Che Che Kule" in the United States and in other Western nations.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osibisa for information about this Afro-Pop band. Here's a quote from that page:
"Osibisa are a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians.[1] Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, funk, rock, Latin, and R&B. Osibisa were one of the first African-heritage bands to become widely popular and linked with the world music description.
"The name Osibisa was described in lyrics, album notes and interviews as meaning "criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife."
-snip-
"Highlife" is a type of music that originated in Ghana in the 1900s. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana for more information about Ghana. Also, click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife for information about "highlife".
-snip-
Fante (Fanti) is a language that is spoken by a group of the Akan people of Ghana. The Ashanti (Asante) may be the best known Akan people in the United States due to their production of colorful kinte cloth as well as their Sankofa symbol and other adinkra symbols.
****
Video #3: Shay Shay Koolay
Shay Shay Koolay
Posted by ElanaMichele, November 03, 2008
South African children performing "Kye Kye Kule".
"Thina, Noroza, and Hope lead Shay Shay Koolay in the field behind Sivuyiseni. Check out www.artworkforyouth.com."
****
Example #4: "Kye Kye Kule" performed by American children:
Kye Kye Kule - Robertson
doitmusically, Sep 24, 2009
The SK class singing a children's song from Ghana.
-snip-
Added Jun 10, 2020. This video replaces another 2009 video of American children singing Kye Kye Kule (also given as "Che Che Kule". That video is no longer available.
****
Video #5: The Ghana Bigshots - Kyekye Kule - AFH603
Afrikafestival Hertme, Published on Sep 17, 2014
Probably the best “young band” in Ghana at the moment, the Ghana Bigshots present their first album ‘Tu Na Me Nsa’ in April 2014. Originally formed in 2008, the band came to its present line-up 2 years ago, and has since then steadily improved.
****
ADDED NOVEMBER 2017
Video #6: Ghanian Song for Kids' Music Class - Kye Kye Kule.AVI
Tema Lee, Published on Oct 29, 2012
Here's a very good Ghanian activity song you can teach your preschool and kindergarten kids. This class was taught by Laura Etemah.
-snip-
The woman's last name suggests that she is from Ghana or the Ivory Coast (i.e. an Akan speaker which I believe is the population from which this song originated.)
****
COMMENTS ABOUT THE GHANAIAN FOLK SONG "KYE KYE KULE"
Here's a comment from a guest on a discussion thread that I started on "Che Che Kule":
"Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 06:43 PM
Im from ghana and I have to say that Kofi is a ghana name and alot of the words in the song i can understand. I have been singing this song since I was a child. My mother knows it, my grandmother knows it and my great grand mother knows It. I recently caught the spanish verson on the radio and started singing along right away. I was very surprised someone else from another part of the world had made a song with my childhood play song. The song has been around for a least a few centuries Its not surprising that there have been different versions made."
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108069 [Hereafter given as Mudcat "Che Che Kule"]
Editor: "Kofi" is an Akan (language/ethnic group from Ghana, West Africa and Côte d’Ivoire) personal name that means "male born on Friday". Notice the various versions of "kofi sa" that are found in the examples given below.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_namesfor information on Akan day names.
**
[UPDATE May 4, 2015]
Here are two other comments from that Mudcat discussion thread:
Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Jan 08 - 10:25 AM
Here's an excerpt of the email that Quakoo [a Ghanaian man] sent to cocojams.com * about Kye Kye Kule in response to my questions to him about this song:
"I made some enquiries about this song. It is a Ga game but because of our school system which promotes ethnic fusion it has become a national thing. My dad couldn't really tell me the meaning of the words, but said that the words: "Salanga" is a name used by northerners [members of ethnic groups who live in the Northern part of Ghana] (could be Dagomba, Frafra or Gonja) so Kofi Salanga is a northern boy. And when singing the song,with the pronouncement of every sentence you touch your body in ascending and descending order. When you start "kyekye kule" (you touch your shoulders with both hands and those responding kyekye kule will do likewise, continue to your waist, knees and the toes) and this continues till you reach your toes and then you start all over again.
Kyekye kule on national t.v (called Ghana T.V or GTV) was a children's programme, and it was so popular that I never for once missed an episode. It was hosted by an old teacher. It was filled with several other Ghanaian games"...
-snip-
*Cocojams.com is my cultural website that I voluntarily closed in 2014. Quakoo later changed the spelling of his name to Kwaku on that Mudcat forum. He wrote to share that "kye" is the Akan spelling for that word, but he didn't indicate what, if anything, "kye" meant.
"Ga" is the name of an ethnic group in Ghana, West Africa. The Northern region is one of 10 regions in Ghana. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana and other websites for more information about Ghana, West Africa.
**
Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 15 May 09 - 02:22 PM
Here is an email about "Kye Kye Kule" that I received today from a Ghanaian woman, Abena Gyebi:
"Sorry, cocoyam, You see I have always known the Ghanaian children's song Kye kye kule. The Kum adende or Kum aye dei was always part of it. I do not believe it is a later addition; I mean I'm into my fifties and I've always known it with the Kum. Maybe it's because the people you talked to were male. I guess when we as girls were playing kye kye kule they were busy playing football or so.(Or hunting rats?-:)
'Kum' apart from its Akan meaning - to kill- is also the sound made when something falls heavily on the ground,like a child falling or something dropping.
The other version of the game was,instead of running behind the circle and tapping someone on the shoulder, one bent down and dropped a piece of cloth behind one of those sitting in the circle. It was supposed to be done so artfully that the one with the piece of cloth did not notice it.The singing and clapping then got more exciting as the runner got closer and closer to where she had dropped the piece of cloth. If the sitting person still did not notice the cloth, she got a 'boo' or a smack on the shoulder for being inattentive. On the other hand, if she got alerted, she would then run as fast as possible chasing the first runner until the first runner took her place in the circle. Then she would take over the kye kye kule and look for another person behind whom she would drop the piece of cloth. This version of kye kye kule was an adaptation of another children's game we called 'anto akyire'"
-snip-
Abena Gyebi is correct that the only Ghanaians who have given me information about this song are males. I'm very grateful that she has shared this performance information and information about the meaning of the word "Kum" in that song.
****
LYRICS AND PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES IN GHANA FOR THE FOLK SONG "KYE KYE KULE"
Example #1
Kye kule
Kye kye kule.
Kye kye kofi sa x2
kofi salanga x2
Salatilanga x2
kum ayede , kumayede , kumayede
[Source: information given to Azizi Powell by request from Ghanaian man whose name I don't recall; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1980s]
Performance: Hide & Seek game
For more information on the performance information & the meaning of some of the words to this song, visit Mudcat "Che Che Kule"
****
Example #2
Kyekule,
Kyekyekule.
Kyekye kofi sa x2
Kofi salanga x2
Salatilanga x2
kum ayede , kumayede , kumayede
[Source: information given to Azizi Powell by request from Nana Kwesi Afriya, from Ghana (Akan) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2004]
Performance: Ring Game (similar to how "Duck Duck Goose" is performed in the USA)
For more information on the words and the performance information that was shared with me, visit Mudcat "Che Che Kule"]
****
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR THE SONG "CHE CHE KULE" IN THE UNITED STATES
Example #1
Che Che Kule
Che Che Kofisa
Kofisa Langa
Langa te Lange
Kum Adende
Kum Adende. Kum.
[Source: Pittsburgh Public School District, elementary music song book, mid 1990s]
Performance instruction: a children's movement game similar to how "Head & Shoulders" is played in the USA
****
Example #2
Che Che Koolay
(an echo song from Africa)
Che Che Koolay , (Che Che Koolay)
Che Che Kofinsa, (Che Che Kofinsa)
Kofinsa langa, (Kofinsa langa)
Kata che langa, (Kata che langa)
Koom a dayn-day, (Koom a dayn-day),
Koom a dayn-day, (Koom a dayn-day),
Koom a dayn-day - HEY!
[Performance Activity]
Pat your head,
Wiggle your fingers,
Give your leg a shake
Pat your tummy
Bow down & welcome the day.
[Source: http://www.patana.ac.th/music/Year%201%20Show/Che_Che_Koolay.htm
-snip-
It appears that "Kye Kye Kule" is the only African song, or one of very few African songs that has been included in music books or otherwise taught in various American schools (as per text examples and YouTube videos online, and as per my personal experience. The version given above as Example #2 may be the version that is most often taught to Americans (in the United States).
****
OTHER FORMS OF CHE CHE KULE
SALSA
Puerto Rican musician Willie Colón (born in the USA) and Puerto Rican vocalist Hector Lavoe recorded a version of "Che Che Cole" on several of his albums, including their 1967 "El Malo" album and the album "Cosa Nuestra". A video of that version is found below. Here's the chorus of that Salsa version:
Che che colé, (que bueno e'………)
Che che cofriza, (muerto e' la risa……)
Coqui saranga (ay viene la malanga……)
Caca chilanga, (viene de catanga……)
Ayeiyeee, (a ver e' tu lo ve………)
[as posted by Guest, ada in December 2008 on Mudcat: "Che Che Kule"]
Click
http://www.metrolyrics.com/che-che-cole-lyrics-marc-anthony.html for Spanish words to the complete song as performed by Marc Anthony. That version includes the lines:
"Che che colé,
que bueno e
Che che cofiza,
muerto 'e la risa"
****
FOOT STOMPING CHEERS IN THE USA THAT WERE INSPIRED BY THE SONG "CHE CHE KULE"
I observed one example of children's (African American girls) foot stomping cheer called "Jay Jay Cool Lay" (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, late 1980s). I have also collected several versions of foot stomping cheers called "J. J. Kool Aid". I believe that these cheers were based on the Ghanaian children's song "Kye Kye Kule" (although that doesn't appear to be known by those children). According to comments posted in that Mudcat thread on "Che Che Kule" that I started in 2008, Americanized versions of "Che Che Kule" were performed in various schools in the USA as early as the 1970s, often by African drumming & dance groups. It therefore isn't all that surprising that children would have created a cheer based on their memory of that song. Here's one example of those foot stomping cheers:
Soloist #1: Jay Jay cool lay
Group: Jay Jay cool lay
Soloist: #1 Salesah lahndah
Group: Salesah lahndah
Soloist #1: Step back, Shalanda (or "back, back Shalonda:)
Group: Step back, Shalanda
Soloist: #1 Oosh, my lover boy!
Group Oosh, my lover boy! (or "Oosh Oosh, my lover boy")
Soloist #1: I’m callin on,
I’m callin on
I’m callin on Rhonda!
[Immediately repeat the cheer from the beginning with a new soloist. Substitute the name or nickname of that soloist in the line "I'm callin on ____". Continue until every member of the group has had one turn as the soloist].
-African American girls, ages around 6-12 years (Lillian Taylor Summer Camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1987) audio recorded by Tazi Powell, transcribed by Azizi Powell 1999
-snip-
April 18, 2026- I have been incorrectly spelling the words "cool lay" in this foot stomping cheer. My daughter caught my mistake today when I was telling her about this post. She reminded me that these cheers were never written down so people didn't know how the words were spelled. But she believes that "cool" was spelled with a 'c" because "we were talking about how "cool" (meaning "how up to date with the latest street styles and actions" that the person who was dancing or stepping)person is. Plus we were saying the word "lay" as in "laying down". I had written those words as one word "kukalay". I think I made the mistake the first time because I was thinking of the Australian song "kookaburra" (sits on an old gum tree').
My apology for this mistake.
I collected a written example of a similar version of that foot stomping cheer entitled "J. J. Koolaid" from a woman I worked with who participated in a written survey of rhymes and cheers that I conducted at my job in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. She remembered doing that cheer in the e late 1980s Washington D.C. entitled "J. J. Koolaid".
****
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Viewer comments are welcome.
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