Lujon

"Lujon"
Song
Released	1961 (1961)
Genre	Easy listening[1]
Length	3:17:00
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter	Henry Mancini[2]

"Lujon" (also known as "Slow Hot Wind") is a musical piece by Henry Mancini.^[3]

Background

Its name comes from the lujon percussion instrument heard on the recording.

Henry Mancini recording

It appeared on his 1961 album Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, but was an original piece of music that had nothing to do with the Mr. Lucky television program.^[4] It was included in the soundtracks for the films The Big Lebowski, Sexy Beast, W.E., and Two Lovers. Mancini would later record a jazz/swing version of "Slow Hot Wind" and include it on his 1975 album Symphonic Soul. The song reached No. 38 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1976.^[5]

Other versions

• With lyrics by Norman Gimbel, titled as "Slow Hot Wind" (or "A Slow Hot Wind"), the song was recorded by Johnny Hartman (1964 album The Voice That Is!), Sarah Vaughan (1965 album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook), Sérgio Mendes & Brazil '66 (1966 album Herb Alpert Presents), Roseanna Vitro (1991 album Reaching for the Moon), Julee Cruise (2002 album The Art of Being a Girl), and others.
• The song was remixed as "Ocean Beach" by Black Mighty Orchestra on the compilation album Chilled 1991–2008.
• "Lujon" is featured in the 1996 album Sacrebleu by Dimitri from Paris, Track 19, renamed "Epilogue".
• Belgian trip hop band Hooverphonic recorded a version of the song overlaid with vocals, "No More Sweet Music".^[6] from the 2005 eponymous album.
• "Lujon" was recorded by Les Deux Love Orchestra and appears on the album King Kong (2008), featuring members of Mancini's original orchestra.

In popular culture

• "Lujon" appeared in the 1998 movie The Big Lebowski where lead character Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski was enticed by porn producer Jackie Treehorn to go after Bunny Lebowski for the money Treehorn loaned her. The song is played in Treehorn's bachelor pad while he drugs The Dude.^[7]
• It also appeared in the 2000 film Sexy Beast in a dream-like sequence involving Gal and his wife.
• "Lujon" appeared in the 2008 movie Two Lovers during a restaurant sequence.
• It is used in the 2004 film Never Die Alone, in a scene by the pool.
• The track appears on DJ Cam's 2001 downtempo album Honeymoon and in the 2011 film W.E. by Madonna.
• It is used in Ron Howard's 2016 documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week to introduce manager Brian Epstein.
• DJ and producer Nightmares on Wax sampled the song during his 2013 London Boiler Room set.^[8]
• R&B singer Amber Mark sampled "Lujon" on her 2020 single "Generous."^[9][10][11]
• American rapper Tyler, the Creator sampled "Slow Hot Wind" performed by Penny Goodwin on "Hot Wind Blows" from his 2021 album Call Me If You Get Lost.

References

1. "Henry Mancini - Mr. Lucky Goes Latin [Original Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
2. "ACE Repertory - T0700977941 / 420100447". ASCAP.
3. "Lujon". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
4. Caps, John (February 15, 2012). Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music. University of Illinois Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-252-09384-5.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 154.
6. "Hooverphonic – (No) More Sweet Music". HUMO (in Dutch). November 19, 2005.
7. "The Big Lebowski: 8 Classic Soundtrack Moments to Celebrate The Dude's Return to Cineworld". Cineworld. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
8. Boiler Room (September 16, 2013). Nightmares On Wax Boiler Room London DJ Set. Retrieved September 26, 2024 – via YouTube.
9. Smith, Sophie (March 5, 2020). "Amber Mark Channels Old Hollywood In 'Generous' Video". uDiscover Music. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
10. Heidt, Dustin (January 31, 2020). "Listen to Amber Mark's Simmering New Single 'Generous'". Variance Magazine. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
11. "Generous by Amber Mark on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved December 20, 2020.