Baltimora Explained

Baltimora
Background:	group_or_band
Origin:	Milan, Italy
Years Active:	1984–1987
Past Members:	Jimmy McShane^[1] Maurizio Bassi Naimy Hackett

Baltimora was an Italian music project from Milan, active from 1984 to 1987.^[2] They are best known for their 1985 single "Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States. In other European countries, including their native Italy, Baltimora scored a follow-up hit "Woody Boogie" the same year.

History

Early years

In early 1984, Maurizio Bassi, a music producer and musician from Milan, met Jimmy McShane, a native of Derry, Northern Ireland. They decided to form an act fronted by McShane, a trained singer, dancer and actor, who had previously tried to break into the West End theater scene and toured with Dee D. Jackson.^{[3] [4]} McShane and Bassi chose the name Baltimora when, one evening together, McShane took a map of the United States, closed his eyes and happened to place his finger on Baltimore. They changed the final letter to an 'a' to make the name more in keeping with the act's Italian roots.^[5]

Bassi recruited prominent Italian sessionmen to record their first album, including Giorgio Cocilovo on guitar and Gabriele "Lele" Melotti on drums. Fellow Italo disco producer Tom Hooker has claimed that Baltimora's lead vocals were performed by Maurizio Bassi,^[1] as he'd done with Carrara, with McShane sometimes providing the backing vocals.^{[6] [7]} The bulk of Baltimora's song writing fell on Bassi and American lyricist Naimy Hackett, though McShane wrote the lyrics to their track "Survivor in Love".^[8]

Success with "Tarzan Boy"

Baltimora's first single, "Tarzan Boy", was released in April 1985, and became a huge European success, peaking at No. 6 on the Italian single chart and entering the top 5 in numerous European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Norway.^{[9] [10]} The song eventually made it to the United Kingdom charts, where it reached No. 3 in August 1985.^[11]

"Tarzan Boy" was released in Canada in October 1985 and peaked on the Canadian charts at No. 5 by the end of the year.^[12] However, it took a while for the single to enter the Hot 100 single chart in the United States (where it was released on EMI). When it did, it remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six months, peaking at No. 13 in February 1986.^[13] Baltimora performed on the American TV show Solid Gold, which helped further their success in America. The second single, "Woody Boogie", which also gained notable success, entered the top 20 in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.^{[10] [14]}

Baltimora's first album, Living in the Background, was released in Europe at the end of 1985 and in United States in 1986. Despite the success of "Tarzan Boy", Living in the Background only charted moderately, entering the top 20 album charts only in a few countries in Europe, including Sweden,^[15] reaching the no. 49 spot on the US charts.^[16]

When Baltimora's second album, Survivor in Love (1987) and the single "Key Key Karimba" failed to chart, Baltimora lost label support and Bassi decided to disband.

Jimmy McShane died of an AIDS-related illness in March 1995.^[17]

Studio personnel

• Maurizio Bassi

session arranger, musician, producer, and songwriter from Milan, Italy.^[18]

• Gaetano Leandro is an Italian pop keyboardist known for his collaboration with American singer Amii Stewart.^[19] He joined the group in the studio for the Survivor in Love album, supplementing Bassi's keyboards.
• Giorgio Cocilovo (born 1956) is an Italian jazz fusion guitarist and music teacher from Milan.^[20]
• Claudio Bazzari (Milan, 12 September 1949) is an Italian blues and country rhythm guitarist, he has played in various groups and as a session musician and has collaborated with many artists, including Fabrizio De André and Mario Lavezzi.
• Pier Michelatti is an Italian session bassist, known for his collaboration with Pink Project, Fabrizio and Cristiano De André and Baltimora.^[21]
• Dino D'Autorio (born 1 February 1954) is an Italian pop, rock, jazz, funk and blues bassist, and music teacher/arranger from Penne, Italy.^[19] He replaced Pier Michelatti as Baltimora's bassist in 1987.^[19]
• Gabriele "Lele" Melotti (born 20 September 1953) is an Italian session drummer and percussionist from Bologna, Italy.^[22]

Style

Baltimora's music style is mainly described as Italo disco^{[23] [24] [25] [26]} and sometimes as new wave,^{[2] [27]} including their first album, Living in the Background.^[28]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions			Certifications
		CAN ^[29]	SWE ^[30]	US
Living in the Background	Released: 4 September 1985 Label: EMI Format: CS, CD, LP	49	18	49	CAN: Gold^[31]
World Re-Mix	Released: 1986 Label: EMI Format: CS, LP	—	—	—
Survivor in Love	Released: 1987 Label: EMI Format: CD, LP	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		ITA ^[33]	AUT ^[34]	CAN ^[35]	FRA ^[36]	GER	NED ^[37]	SWE	SWI ^[38]	UK ^[39]	US
"Tarzan Boy"	1985	6	2	5	1	3	1	2	4	3	13	CAN Gold FRA Gold^[40] UK Silver^[41]	Living in the Background
"Woody Boogie"		18	—	—	—	20	32	4	15	114	—
"Living in the Background"		—	—	96	—	—	—	—	—	—	87
"Juke Box Boy"	1986	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Key Key Karimba"	1987	37	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Survivor in Love
"Global Love"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Call Me in the Heart of the Night"	1988	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes and References

1. Tom . Hooker . Tom Hooker . Zeljko Vujkovic . Tom Hooker – Interview . Italo-disco.net . September 2001 . 4 January 2018 .
2. Web site: Timothy . Monger . Baltimora . . 21 February 2021 .
3. Book: Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries – Nick Talevski . Omnibus Press . 7 April 2010. 23 June 2012. 9780857121172 .
4. News: Claire . McNeilly . Tragic Derry pop star Jimmy McShane's Tarzan Boy a big hit again thanks to new Wonga ad . . 27 April 2016 . 4 January 2018 .
5. Jimmy McShane (Baltimora) . 23 August 1985 . . TV . RTL II.
6. Web site: Tommy . Marx . One Hit Wonder: Baltimora . . 17 July 2009 . 19 April 2021 .
7. Web site: Tom Hooker . 2004 . Euro-Flash.net . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131109143139/http://www.euro-flash.net/deejays.php?djID=2 . 9 November 2013.
8. Survivor in Love . Baltimora . 1987 . liner notes . ESonCD . 4 January 2018 .
9. Web site: Baltimora – Tarzan Boy . Ultratop. Hung Medien . 7 November 2014 . nl.
10. Web site: Baltimora . Official Charts . https://web.archive.org/web/20141107234135/http://www.officialcharts.de/ersuche.asp?kategorie=chart&interpret_suche=Baltimora&titel_suche=&jahr=&cat=s . 7 November 2014 . dead . de.
11. News: Cheryl . Wanner . Baltimora: Living in the Background . . 59 . 29 March 1986 . 3 January 2021 .
12. RPM 100 Singles . . 43 . 15 . 21 December 1985 . 12 May 2016 .
13. Billboard Hot 100 Singles . Billboard . 1 March 1986 . 98 . 9 . 66 . 0006-2510 .
14. Web site: Baltimora – Woody Boogie . Ultratop. Hung Medien . 7 November 2014 .
15. Web site: Baltimora – Living in the Background . Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien . 7 November 2014 .
16. Web site: Baltimora – Awards . . 30 November 2010 .
17. Book: Talevski, Nick . 2006 . Rock Obituaries: Knocking on Heaven's Door . . 18 . 978-1-84609-091-2 .
18. Web site: Maurizio Bassi . . 7 November 2014 .
19. Web site: Baltimora – Survivor In Love (1987) MP3 . IsraBox . 7 November 2014 .
20. Web site: Giorgio Cocilovo . Dvmark . 7 November 2014 . 17 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141017193753/http://www.dvmark.it/artist_detail.php?id=52 . dead .
21. Web site: Pier Michelatti – Collaborazioni . 7 November 2014 .
22. Web site: Gabriele Melotti . Discogs . 7 November 2014 .
23. Web site: Enrico . Piazza . Francesco . Fusaro . RETROTERRA: Storia dell'Italo Disco . Rockit.it . 16 January 2012 . 1 May 2015 . it.
24. Book: Franco . Fabbri . Goffredo . Plastino . 2013 . Made in Italy: Studies in Popular Music . Italo Disco . 211 . . 978-0-415-89976-5.
25. Web site: Fabio . Morasca . Nord Sud Ovest Est, la seconda puntata: Edoardo Bennato, Lollipop, Gazebo e Dj Francesco . TvBlog.it . 29 July 2013 . 3 May 2015 . si parla del genere Italo Disco e di alcuni suoi rappresentanti: Baltimora, Sandy Marton, Taffy, Ryan Paris, Joe Yellow, Jock Hattle e Den Harrow. . it.
26. Web site: Yannick . Suiveng . Flashback Top 50 : qui était n°1 en octobre 1985 ? . Charts in France . . 30 October 2013 . 18 January 2014 . fr.
27. Book: Glenn . Gaslin . Rick . Porter . The Complete, Cross-referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious: Baltimora . 1998 . Berkley Trade; Boulevard trade pbk . 13 . 978-1572973350 .
28. Web site: 60 Great Albums You Probably Haven't Heard . . 10 November 2013 . 6 June 2015 .
29. Peak positions for Canada:
    • For "Living in the Background": RPM 100 Albums . RPM . 43 . 19 . 1 February 1986 . 12 May 2016 .
30. Web site: Discography Baltimora . Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien . 31 May 2013 .
31. Web site: Gold/Platinum . . 7 November 2014 .
32. Web site: Tarzan Boy: The World of Baltimora . EMI Germany . 10 December 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101210000959/http://www.emimusic.de/produkt/3253892%2C5099994849325/baltimora-tarzan_boy_the_world_of_baltimora.
33. For Italian peaks:
    • For "Tarzan Boy": Hits of the World . Billboard . 28 September 1985 . 97 . 38 . 71 . 14 March 2021 . see last week position.
    • For "Woody Boogie": Hits of the World . Billboard . 9 November 1985 . 97 . 45 . 75 . 0006-2510 .
34. Web site: Discographie Baltimora . Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien . 4 December 2010 . de.
35. Peak positions for Canada:
    • For "Tarzan Boy": RPM 100 Singles . RPM . 43 . 15 . 21 December 1985 . 12 May 2016 .
    • For "Living in the Background": RPM 100 Singles . RPM . 44 . 3 . 12 April 1986 . 12 May 2016 .
36. Web site: Discographie Baltimora . Lescharts.com. Hung Medien . 4 December 2010 . fr.
37. Web site: Top 40: Baltimora . . 31 May 2013 .
38. Web site: The Official Swiss Chart – Search for: Artist: Baltimora . Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien . 4 December 2010 .
39. Web site: Baltimora . . 31 May 2013 .
40. France. Baltimora. single. infodisc. 15 September 2022.
41. Web site: Certified Awards . . 4 December 2010 . 27 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190627040702/https://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx . dead .