Johnny Rodrigues (born João Rodrigues; 12 November 1951 – 2001) was a Capeverdean singer who had a number one single in the Netherlands and Belgium in 1975 with Hey mal yo. The single was released as Johnny & Orquesta Rodrigues, although there was no real 'orquesta'. Biography Johnny Rodrigues was born on 12 November 1951 on the Cape Verde Isles, then a Portuguese colony. In the early 1970s he and his family moved to the US as they wanted to dodge the draft by the Portuguese army which was involved in an independence war with separatists in Angola, another Portuguese colony. During a holiday in The Netherlands in 1974, Johnny ended up in discothèque Ma Belle Amie as a DJ. Owner Tee-Set singer/producer Peter Tetteroo discovered Rodrigues and chose to make a single. Everything that was recorded under the name of Johnny & Orquesta Rodrigues was in actual fact played by the Tee-Set band members. Together they recorded Hey Mal Yo. In the discos, the number was an absolute smash hit, not in the least aided by Johnny’s accompanying simple yet striking little dance. It was soon embraced by the all the audiences. Hey Mal Yo was an arrangement of an old Portuguese folk song (O Malhão) about a poor boy that loves to loaf about and dreams of marrying a rich girl. It turned into a massive number 1 hit in The Netherlands (over 150.000 copies sold) and Belgium that turned gold in both countries. Also, in many other European countries the single reached the charts. Thanks to the enormous success of Hey Mal Yo Johnny was given the opportunity to record an album. The second single Hasibaba was released, with its infectious chorus Ha-Si-Ba-Ba reached number 19 in the Dutch Top 40 charts. Two years later his final hit Uma Casa Portuguesa was released, which got stuck on the 31st place in the charts. This latter song is especially famous in the rendition of the Queen of Fado, Amalia Rodrigues, after which he faded into obscurity. He died in 2001 in Cape Verde. Copy? During its chart run, doubts were raised about the origin of Rodrigues's song and whether he actually sang on it. Dutch newspaper Het Vrije Volk wrote in April, 1975 that Johnny's rendition was an note-by-note copy of an earlier version of the song, performed by Brazilian singler Roberto Leal, originally released in 1973 as