Here is the finest single CD collection of the legendary “Brazilian Bombshell”, the forever fruity Carmen Miranda.

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (1909-1955) was the flamboyant Portuguese-born entertainer billed as “The Brazilian Bombshell”. She was a zany creature of almost pure fantasy, known for her high-speed Latin-American dancing, tongue-twisting singing and for her towering headdresses of fruit – one of the enduring images of the Forties.

Retrospective’s tribute to this legend presents 28 hits, beginning with her first Brazilian successes. Already a star in Brazil, where she was raised, she created an international sensation in a 1939 film with Mama yo quiero (I want my mama) and South American Way. She went on to star in a string of movies that were vehicles for her spectacular dancing and lively singing, often in a delightful pidgin English (such as her theme song I, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi).

Foremost among many exotic delights is a glorious version in Portuguese of Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Her biggest chart success came when she teamed up with The Andrews Sisters for Quanto le gusta.