Bimbo Jet was a French euro disco group led by Claude Morgan and Laurent Rossi (22 May 1948 – 20 August 2015), that gained international fame during the summers of 1974 and 1975 with the song "El Bimbo". "El Bimbo" is popular with street musicians and orchestral composers alike, with Paul Mauriat having capitalized well from his own instrumental arrangement in 1975. The song, in a tango arrangement, was also heard in four of the seven Police Academy films starting from the first film up until Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol as the tango song in The Blue Oyster gay bar scenes. The song "El Bimbo" is used as a theme song for a 1977 Soviet-made anti-war short film named "Polygon" directed by Anatoly Petrov and written by Sever Gansovsky. The lyrics for "El Bimbo" were written by Hal Shaper. "El Bimbo" was released in France in June 1974 on the Pathe-Marconi record label, and in the UK in August 1975. The track went to #1 in France and #12 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold 1.3 million copies in France alone, and throughout the world over three million discs. As well as in France, the tune topped charts in Spain, Italy, Denmark, Turkey. and Lebanon. In Argentina, it was #2, and was a chart hit in Belgium, Switzerland, Mexico, and the United States. The record reached #1 in the Billboard Disco Singles, #5 on the Disco File Top 20 chart, and #43 in the Hot 100 charts in the U.S. In Canada, the song reached #77 in the Top Singles chart, and #31 in the Pop Music Playlist. The group had another hit in mid-1975, particularly in France, with "La Balanga." Laurent Rossi died of a heart attack on 20 August 2015, at age 67. He was the son of singer Tino Rossi.
Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.