"Conga" is a song by American band

Miami Sound Machine Miami Sound Machine was an American Latin pop band of Latin-influenced music that featured the vocals of Cuban-born recording artist Gloria Estefan (née Fajardo). Established in 1975 by Emilio Estefan, the band was originally known as the Mia ...

, led by Gloria Estefan, released as the first single from their second English-language album, '' Primitive Love''. The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique Garcia. The song first appeared on August 31, 1985, as part of the album. The single was released in Australia on September 9, 1985. "Conga" became a worldwide success and is recognized as the Miami Sound Machine and Gloria Estefan's

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. The single reached the top 10 in various countries, including the United States, where it was the band's first charting single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the Netherlands.

Background

According to Gloria Estefan in an interview in the Netherlands television show RTL Late Night,Fragment on YouTube
/ref> Conga was written after the band had performed "Dr. Beat" in a club called Cartouche in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, the Netherlands. "Conga" is written in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...

. In 2001, "Conga" was re-recorded as a new remix titled "Y-Tu-Conga". It includes additional lyrics taken from " Dr. Beat" and " Rhythm Is Gonna Get You". It was released on Estefan's fourth compilation album and released as a promo single in Spain. A version of "Conga" arranged with Brazilian rhythms and instrumentation and renamed "Samba" is included in Estefan's 2020 album '' Brazil305''. A remix of "Conga" featuring

Leslie Grace Leslie Grace Martínez (born January 7, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. For her work as a singer, she has received three Latin Grammy Award nominations. She starred as Nina Rosario in Jon M. Chu's film adaptation ''In the H ...

and Meek Mill was released in 2021 as a Bacardi sponsored and

Boi-1da Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da (a play on Boy Wonder) is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. He is an in-house producer for Drake's OVO Sound label and has prod ...

produced single.Bacardi remixes 'Conga' with Meek Mill, Leslie Grace in UGC push
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Commercial performance

The single was released in 1985 and became a worldwide hit, reaching number 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and winning the Grand Prize at the 15th annual " Tokyo Music Festival" in Japan. The single was certified Gold by the

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in the U.S. for shipments of 500,000 copies. However, it wasn't a hit in the United Kingdom, failing to chart on the top 75, though it was Silver by the BPI on February 7, 2025. Furthermore, early airplay at radio stations WPLJ and Z100 in New York and hometown Top 40 radio station Y-100 helped spark interest in the song in early 1986. The television show "Miami Vice" and its subsequent success on NBC in the U.S. also helped spark interest in the song. In ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine's year-end chart in 1986, "Conga" finished at number 40. Conga (Single – 1985/1986)
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Music video

The video is set in the fictional Miami night club "Copacabana", hosting a reception for an unspecified ambassador. The classical pianist serenading the crowd proves to be a complete bore, and the MC hastily asks Gloria and the Miami Sound Machine to perform "Conga" in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the reception. Even though Gloria protests that this is not an appropriate setting for the sexually charged song, she performs it anyway. Despite the initial shock of his wife, "Conga" becomes a hit with the ambassador and the club as the other attendees break out into a frenzied dance. Clips of the original video feature in the video of Estefan's 2020 reworking of the song, "Samba".

Formats and track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conga (Song) 1985 singles Miami Sound Machine songs Gloria Estefan songs Songs about dancing Number-one singles in Spain RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Enrique Garcia (songwriter) 1985 songs Epic Records singles