David Miranda - Gloria (in Spanish, Them)

From '' Gloria / Es Lupe '' Label: Palma Records – 15021 Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single Country: US Tracklist A Gloria B Es Lupe David Miranda (El Imperial), David Miranda (The Imperial) With backing band: The Plagues (Bill, Larry, Ken, John, & George) ------------------------ "Gloria" is a rock song classic written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964 as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its "G--L--O--R--I--A" chorus. It is very easy to play (three-chord) and thus is popular with those learning to play guitar. The song continues to be played by thousands of bands from famous recording artists to unknown garage bands. Humourist Dave Barry joked that "If you drop a guitar down a flight of stairs, it'll play 'Gloria' on its way to the bottom." One explanation for the timeless popularity of the song was offered in Allmusic's review by Bill Janovitz: The beauty of the original is that Van Morrison needs only to speak-sing, in his Howlin' Wolf growl, "I watch her come up to my house/She knocks upon my door/And then she comes up to my room/I want to say she makes me feel all right/G-L-O-R-I-A!" to convey his teenage lust. The original Latin meaning of the name is not lost on Morrison. Them never varies from the three chords, utilizing only dynamic changes to heighten the tension. "Gloria" was rated number 69 on Dave Marsh's list in the 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. He described the song as "one of the few rock songs that's actually as raunchy as its reputation." In his book Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles, Paul Williams said about the two sides of the "Baby Please Don't Go/Gloria" recording: "Into the heart of the beast... here is something so good, so pure, that if no other hint of it but this record existed, there would still be such a thing as rock and roll.... Van Morrison's voice a fierce beacon in the darkness, the lighthouse at the end of the world. Resulting in one of the most perfect rock anthems known to humankind. History Morrison said that he wrote "Gloria" while he performed with the Monarchs in Germany in the summer of 1963, at just about the time he turned eighteen years old. He started to perform it for audiences at the Maritime Hotel when he had returned to Belfast and joined up with the Gamblers to form the band Them. He would ad-lib lyrics as he performed, sometimes stretching the song to fifteen or twenty minutes in duration. After signing a contract with D**k Rowe and Decca, Them went to London, where they had a recording session at Decca Three Studios in West Hampstead on 5 July 1964, including "Gloria" as one of the seven songs recorded that day. Besides Morrison, present were Billy Harrison on guitar, Alan Henderson on bass, Ronnie Millings on drums and Patrick John McCauley on keyboards. Rowe brought in session musicians Arthur Greenslade on organ, Jimmy Page on guitar, and Bobby Graham on drums, since he considered the Them members too inexperienced. There remains some dispute about whether Millings and McCauley were miked up, but Alan Henderson contends that Them constituted the first rock group to use two drummers on a recording. Acclaim In 1999 it received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. In 2000 it was listed as number 81 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. In 2004 it was ranked No.208 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Gloria" was also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll twice: by Patti Smith and by Shadows of Knight. Cover versions The Gants The Bobby Fuller Four Shadows of Knight Status Quo (The Spectres) AC/DC Patti Smith Eddie and the Hot Rods Santa Esmeralda Jimi Hendrix Joe Strummer's band The 101ers The Doors (from Alive, She Cried) The New Zealand Band The Pleazers U2 David Bowie Energy Orchard Shane MacGowan Rick Springfield Popa Chubby Tom Petty The Tragically Hip Bill Murray Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams covered the song in a medley with the Christmas carol "Angels We Have Heard on High" on their live Christmas album A Very Slambovian Christmas, released in 2008. Bruce Springsteen closed his concert at the Hershey Park Stadium on August 19, 2008 with a cover of "Gloria", proclaiming, "Let's take it back to where it all started!" Billie Joe Armstrong sings the chorus of G-L-O-R-I-A at the ending of the song, "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" on the 2009 Green Day album 21st Century Breakdown. Anthony Kiedis sings G-L-O-R-I-A during the song "Venice Queen". 13th Floor Elevators was made a cover live in 1966 Bon Jovi Simple Minds Grateful Dead R.E.M. Rickie Lee Jones Johnny Thunders Blue Magoos. #garagerock #mod

Added 3 Aug 2026