Hi Folks - A Tunisian detour before we get back to some more Moroccan material.
I've been obsessing over the song "Sidi Mansour" for a while. To hear me spiel about the song, its global spread, its many cover versions, thefts, and transformations, join me on Gary Sullivan's great Bodega Pop radio program on WFMU's Give The Drummer Radio for The Sidi Mansourgency. You can catch the 3-hour extravaganza live on October 30 from 4PM to 7PM New York time, or anytime thereafter in the archives.
The catchy catchy pop smash by Saber Rebai was what first caught my attention about 20 years ago. Back then, I wondered whether it might actually be a Tunisian Stambeli tune - it had the simple call/response structure and invocation of a wali saint as found in Moroccan Gnawa songs, which are similar and sometime cognate to Stambeli songs. And Saber Rebai's video clip for the song features young ladies dancing around with qraqeb.
Long story short... It's not a Stambeli song, but the Stambeli do have a song dedicated to the wali Sidi Mansour. In light of the dearth of commercial recordings of Stambeli, it is remarkable that there exists a 45 RPM record of Stambeli musicians performing their "Sidi Mansour" song, which Discogs dates to 1961! And it's a delightful recording.
To heard about the origins of the other Sidi Mansour song, you'll have to tune into the program, unless I do a write-up at some point. For now, enjoy this wonderful Stambeli recording.
Stambeli سطنبالي
Ennagham S.T.D. 032 (7") النغم
1961?
01) Cerki N'ghari سركي نغاري
02) Sidi Mansour سيدي منصور