Words & Music:
Fred Wise
Dick Manning
This was gonna be the night tonight
I was gonna get to hold you tight
But I guess we didn't plan it right
I never stood a chance, we couldn't dance
Cause there's , no room to rhumba in a sports car
You can't move forward or back
There's no room to do what the beat tells you to
Without throwing your spine outta wack
When a little kiss I want to steal
I hit my head against the steering wheel
Now I know the way a pretzel feels
All I can do is shout...Hey let me out!!
Cause there's , no room to rhumba in a sports car
You can't move forward or back
There's no room to do what the beat tells you to
Without throwing your spine outta wack
What a way to waste a day with you
Nothing happens that can tell the truth
Let's go out and find a telephone booth
Yeah that's a better place, I like more space
Cause there's , no room to rhumba in a sports car
You can't move forward or back
There's no room to do what the beat tells you to
Without throwing your spine outta wack
Recordingdate: 1963/01/23, first released on: Fun in Acapulco (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(mandolin)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(percussion)
(trumpet)
(trumpet)
Availability
Find available albums with No Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car.
I think this is when Elvis movie songs officially jumped the shark. There was no need for this song to fit the scene in the movie. A waste and a tip-off of what was to come.
At least the soundtrack of this film gave us the excellent Bossa Nova Baby and the acceptable title track. As for the rest of the sorry mess led by this song, I think I'll just pretend they did'nt happen.
Listen to 'Rhumba' now listen to 'Memphis Tenn' both recorded in '63. Now listen to anyone again, I know which I'd choose. MT
It was meant for the movies, and nothing more, but it did do damage to Elvis' career. The movies, and the movie songs, should have been selected better. Colonel Parker, had a real talent in Elvis, and he put Elvis in bad situations for the quick cash. When I mentioned that this song and some of the other movie songs, "damaged" his career. I meant, it weakened some of his credibility in the Rock-N-Roll music critic's world. Nothing more. I personally love every aspect of Elvis Presley's amazing career.
Certainly I think this is a terrible song but I don't think it damaged his career. I don't think any particular song damaged his career, unless it's my imagination that I am surrounded by hundreds of people every time I go to Graceland!
Well, I guess there sure is a certain damage to his career by these nonsense songs. Otherwise we wouldn't talk about it some 40+ years after that. Later on we had the throw aways in the 70's. With my six years that I've served in Latin America I really miss some real latin tunes in the movie. Fun In Acapulco has a great mood. As there has You Can't Say No In Acapulco. I would have liked to hear him "do" any other latin theme instead of this one.
I wouldn't go as far to say that it damaged his career. I would however say it did a great amount of damage in that many people refused to take him as a serious artist. As big as he was had he not done this type of rubbish he would have been even bigger. There's many people who dont get whats the big deal about Elvis because of the many soundtracks. This problem dosen't exist with other big names such as Springsteen, Dylan, Smokey Robinson etc.
A song that gets unfair criticism because of it's title and the fact that Jerry Hopkins (acclaimed author of two Elvis biographies) cited it as one of his worst. Actually Elvis does a very good job on this song and it is in the same category as "Almost Always True" in "Blue Hawaii". Fun, well sung and certainly no worse than "We're Gonna Move" from "Love Me Tender". 3 stars. Lyric correction....In the 3rd verse, the line should read "What a way to waste away our youth", not "a day with you". Youth rhymes with truth and booth, you doesn't.
Elvis is the only singer i know who could take an average song and make it cool and fun. He was the greatest then he is the greatest now!
Many people on this site were not born when this album released. I took this album home in late 1963 and I already knew another soundtrack meant another non rock/pop album while other stars of the day were releasing much better material. But when this song ended Side 1, I had to scratch my head and wonder what was going on with Elvis. To compare this with We're Gonna Move is ridiculous.
No one, not even Beatles, recorded only serious songs. This song is very entertaining and suits the movie very well. No it's not Hound Dog we're talking about here, but you can't compare every song Elvis ever did to the classics he recorded. Moviesongs tends to be slandered just cause they're movie songs. The album Fun In Acapulco is among the best soundtracks in my opinion, and all though there are some weak songs on it this is not one of them. I think its a funny song and I enjoy listening to eat, especially the Rumba-beat. The song is pure fun people, enjoy it for what it is! I rate it 3 stars :-)
The title speaks wonders. One of the silliest ever. Elvis should have looked at it and tossed it without ever hearing the demo.
After the 1968 special and the success of If I Can Dream Elvis is quoted as saying 'I'm never goinna sing another song I dont believe in'. I'm sure he had this one in mind when he said that! What a piece of poop.
one of those "worst songs"
What were the writers of this song on when they created this vehicular lullaby? Still, a harmless inoffensive kiddies movie song, and should not be taken seriously. Imagine if all that Elvis had recorded were serious tracks. How rigid would that have been? I never skipped this track when I've watched the movie. But I do much prefer Song of the Shrimp and Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce !! :))
Well. I took this album home in those days. I didn't like the music that was 'in vogue' in those days. It is a song from and used in a movie, so should be judged on that ground. His movies in the sixties are like the "road to. . ." movies. Musical/light hearted movies. I liked it then and even now I occasionally enjoy them Life is heavy enough! In those days my English was poor, so I was not hindered by the texts and just happened to enjoy is wonderful voice. Yes it is not the rockin' years (my fav) but for me (!) not worse than music from other music from those days (surfin'and so on - grrrr).
The weakest recording from another wise great soundtrack album. Two stars.
I've actually ran into people who like this song.
This is a fun song and one I sing along to , I like the whole feel this soundtrack has, but of course it is not a 5 star, I´ll give it 3 . Sometimes I think some people look down on Elvissongs if they are funny or they are from a movie. And it is so easy for us to give good advice from a distance, if Elvis had listen to what people told him before and during his career He would probably not have been so big a star . I am glad That Elvis never saw what people wrote on the internet about his singing ( the moviesongs and most of post71 songs) then he would have discovered that a lot of the fans didn´t have as much indulgence to him as he did have to them.
There is great percussion by Emil Radocchia on this track. I once saw an album with Elvis covers. Jeff Healey did this song. I beat myself on the head for not purchasing the CD. I still wonder what Healey did with a song like this. Turned it into a blues maybe. Not a bad song. I know worse songs by our man.
This soundtrack album with the latin influence is one of my film favourites. Our boy was at the top of his vocal powers, revelling in this genre and I find this track fits in well with the overall feel of the album. I also quite enjoy this one away from the movie in its own right - so 3 stars for vinyl.
This song was part of the magic of early '60s Elvis movies; it was not meant to be a top 40 hit. Rather than driving Elvis' movie career into the ground with progressively worse movies in the mid '60s, he should have done a few roles in non-Elvis movies.
I've always liked this fun movie song and Elvis' rendition of it was stellar.
For some unknown reason, there isn't a website that lists the fully accurate lyrics to this song.
"What a Way to Waste a Day with You, Nothing Happens That Can Tell the Truth" are totally incorrect lyrics.
"What a Way to Waste Away Our Youth, Nothing Happens Here to Tell the Truth" are the lyrics that should be listed in that verse instead.
I think this song works more in the movie than in the soundtrack but its a fun little song with silly lyrics.