"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was originally recorded by the Canadian vocal quartet The Four Lads on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40082. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10. It was the group's first gold record.[3][4]
Cover versions
Frankie Vaughan
Frankie Vaughan's 1954 version for HMV reached the UK charts that year with a peak position of No. 11.[5]
Col Joye's Joy Boys
Col Joye's backing band recorded an instrumental version on the Festival Records label, which peaked No. 16 in November 1960 according to the former brand of the ARIA Charts, ending up as No. 95 for the 1961 year-end ranking.[6]
One of the best-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG), who released it on their album Flood in 1990. It was released as the second single from that album in the same year. TMBG's version is at a faster tempo than the original. The music video was featured in the first season of MTV's Liquid Television. TMBG's version of the song is prominently featured in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode "Tiny Toon Music Television", as the soundtrack to a segment featuring Plucky Duck as a private detective hired to find a missing statue. It was also used as the theme in the 1992 thriller Black Magic starring Judge Reinhold. It later appeared in the first season of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, as well as an ending to an episode of The Simpsons, "Mobile Homer". The single reached number 61 on the UK Singles Chart in 1990.[9] TMBG later recorded an electronic version of the song for their 2011 compilation album, Album Raises New and Troubling Questions.
The Sacados
A Spanish language version called "Estambul" was recorded by Argentine synth-pop trio The Sacados in 1990. The song was included on their debut album "Te pido + respeto" (1990).
The Trevor Horn Orchestra
An orchestra version was recorded for the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile, starring Julia Roberts. It used as a background music.
Bart & Baker
Electro Swing duo Bart & Baker covered the song for their album "The Jet Lag EP" (2012).[10] Another version called "Istanbul 2016" was included on their curation album "Best Of Electro Swing By Bart & Baker" (2016).[11]
Bette Midler
Bette Midler performed the song as part of her 1976 special for Home Box Office, "Live at Last." It appears on the album of the same name.[12]
PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey used a loop of the song as inspiration for the title track of her album Let England Shake. Her release Let England Shake – Demos revealed that The Four Lads original recording was used as a constant sound bed under Let England Shake with PJ Harvey singing lyrics from the song at the end of demo.[13][14]
Muppets
In Season 2, Episode 4 (U.S. release October 12, 1997) of the television series Muppets Tonight, portions of the song were performed by a quartet of rats in kaftans and fezzes.[15]
Live performance cover versions
The Doox of Yale, an a cappella group at Yale University, perform the song at the end of most of their concerts. The song has been in the repertoire of the group since 1953 (when they were known as "The Duke's Men").
During the 2000s, the song was performed live by Australian Klezmer/Gypsy Jazz band Monsieur Camembert, appearing on the album Live on Stage.
^Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940–1955. Record Research.
(Source gives 10/17/1953 as the date that it reached the Billboard charts, see p. 23)
^Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (2005 ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 531. ISBN1-904994-00-8.
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