Elvis Presley’s ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ Couldn’t Stop a Record Label From Tanking
Elvis Presley‘s “Bossa Nova Baby” was originally by a group that performed one of the most famous tunes of the 1950s. A songwriter explained how the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll rescued the song from obscurity. Despite the song’s eventual success, it wasn’t able to stop a record label from going under.
Elvis Presley’s ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ was recorded by the band behind ‘Love Potion No. 9’
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were a songwriting duo known for writing Elvis tunes such as “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “She’s Not You.” They also co-wrote other hits, such as The Clovers’ classic hit “Love Potion No. 9.” In the 2009 book Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography, Stoller discussed the evolution of their career. “We started our own label called Tiger Records,” he recalled. “This meant that we would not only produce, but we would press, and, through independents, distribute our own records.” Leiber and Stoller found this duty problematic.
“Nonetheless, we recruited the members of The ‘Love Potion No. 9’ Clovers and their new lead singer, Roosevelt ‘Tippie’ Hubbard, and had them do ‘Bossa Nova Baby,'” Stoller said. “Billboard loved it, chose it as ‘Pick of the Week,’ but the public never heard it. We knew nothing about the crass commercial necessity of securing airplay. The single bombed, and so did our attempt to build up a label.”
How an Elvis Presley movie saved the song from obscurity
Stoller discussed Elvis’ cover of the tune. “Elvis rescued the tune later by recording it for Fun in Acapulco and pushing it into the Top 10, but of course, Elvis was on RCA, not Tiger,” he said.
“Given our uncertain finances, there wasn’t much left in Tiger’s tank, so we folded the label,” he added. “But less than a year later, bruised but not defeated, we resuscitated Tiger and added a sister label, Daisy Records.”
How ‘Bossa Nova Baby’ performed on the charts and impacted a recent hit movie
“Bossa Nova Baby” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for a total of 10 weeks. The hit appeared on the soundtrack album for the film Fun in Acapulco. That soundtrack reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for a solid 24 weeks. Fun in Acapulco isn’t remembered as much as other Elvis films such as Viva Las Vegas, Jailhouse Rock, and Blue Hawaii, so “Bossa Nova Baby” might be its biggest contribution to popular culture.
“Bossa Nova Baby” also appeared on the 2003 hits compilation Elvis: 2nd to None. That record reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 16 weeks. “Bossa Nova Baby” appeared on the soundtrack of the Ashton Kutcher/Natalie Portman romantic comedy No Strings Attached. The single also made headlines in 2022 when it was used in a mashup with the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” from Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
“Bossa Nova Baby” is a great song and Elvis helped bring it into the spotlight.
