Songfacts®:

• The first single from Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns, "Buena" was released on Stiff Records in Europe, and included on their self-titled 1980 album, which was their first American release. In our interview with Joe King Carrasco, he explained that he wrote the song with his frequent songwriting partner, Johnny Perez. Said Carrasco: "It was out in Pico and Crenshaw, which is a pretty rough area of LA back in 1979. It was pretty cold. When people answer their phone in Spanish, they go, 'Bueno,' but we changed it to 'Buena,' and thought 'Wow, that's a really good idea for a song.' I had that melody, so we started working from that point. When he says, 'Buena,' we always answer the phone 'Bueno,' and that's where it came from, answering the phone." (Here's our full interview with Joe "King" Carrasco.)