Born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez in Los Angeles, California, Montez was brought up in Hawthorne, California. His early musical influences included the latino music played and performed by residents of his neighborhood, as well as Ritchie Valens. After the release of the highly successful "Let's Dance" on Monogram Records, Montez spent several years touring with artists such as Sam Cooke, The Platters, and Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, as well as The Beatles, then relatively unknown outside of Liverpool.
Early in 1963, Montez would score another hit with "Some Kinda Fun". Reaching #43 on the charts, the song utilized the same catchy keyboard instrumentation as did "Let's Dance"; fittingly, both were million sellers, and were awarded gold discs. 1963 also saw the release of Montez's only album on Monogram, Let's Dance and Have Some Kinda' Fun!!!. Shortly before Monogram folded, Montez was paired up with Kathy Young, releasing two singles as the duo Chris & Kathy, most notably surf rock classic "Shoot That Curl". While at Monogram, Montez wrote, or co-wrote, several of his own songs, such as "Chiquita Mia", "Let's Do the Limbo" and "No No No".
Two years later, Montez was practically a non-entity in the music business; however, Herb Alpert, co-founder of A&M Records, cordially invited Montez to resume his recording career at A&M. When Montez attempted to replicate his earlier rock 'n' roll success, however, Alpert personally suggested that Montez try a different approach: a middle of the road, soft ballad sound. While not particularly interested in changing his style of music, Montez decided to trust Alpert's instincts.
"Call Me", a cover version of a Petula Clark song, was the first single from his 1966 album, The More I See You / Call Me, earning Montez his biggest hit in years, eventually reaching #22. The song has since become an easy listening standard. The album's title cut, Montez's second single, was a source of confusion for certain radio disc jockeys who were unfamiliar with Montez' past as a rocker; when back-announcing the song, they would often refer to Montez as being female, likely owing to Montez's falsetto singing style. This confusion would be cleared up by the time the album, bearing Montez's pictures on the front and back sleeve, was released.
Montez would record three more albums for A&M: Time After Time (1966), Foolin' Around (1967), and Watch What Happens (1968). Although quite stylistically similar to his first hit album on A&M, they failed to mirror its success, although Time After Time's title cut and "Because of You" both managed to crack the Hot 100. In 1968, Montez departed from A&M on a three-year sabbatical. In 1972, Montez released a big hit single in Brazil, "Loco por ti". By this time, he had returned to his rock roots, albeit with more noticeable pop influence than before.
Two years later, now with CBS Records, Montez released The Best of Chris Montez, a compilation consisting of both old and new material, the newer bearing little to no resemblance to his past hits. While at CBS, he released one more album: Raza: Ay no digas, which fared well in international markets but failed to make an impact in the US. In 1983, Montez released his final album, Cartas de Amor, all of its songs being sung in Spanish. Although his recording career appears to be behind him, Montez is still an active musician, performing to mostly foreign audiences.
In 2008, Frozen Pictures announced plans to make a documentary on Montez's life and career, El viaje musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story. The film, focusing on Montez's multi-faceted musical career and considerable influence, has been previewed at several film festivals, but has not seen domestic release.
let's do the limbo
Chris Montez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The more I want you
Somehow this feeling
Just grows and grows
With every sigh
I become more mad about you
More lost without you
Can you imagine
How much I love you?
The more I see you
As years go by
I know the only one for me
Can only be you
My arms won′t free you,
And my heart won't try
Can you imagine
How much I love you?
The more I see you
As years go by
I know the only one for me
Can only be you
My arms won′t free you,
And my heart won't try
The lyrics to Chris Montez's "The More I See You" are a beautiful ode to the power of love. The song explores the powerful emotions that arise when someone falls deeply in love with another person. The song's repeated refrain of "the more I see you, the more I want you" speaks to the idea that the more someone gets to know and understand the person they love, the stronger their feelings become.
The first verse of the song sets the stage for the rest of the lyrics, with the singer describing the way his feelings for his loved one continue to grow and develop over time. He becomes more and more "mad" about this person with every sigh, and he acknowledges that he feels lost without them. The second verse intensifies this emotion, with the singer asking the listener to "imagine" just how strongly he loves this person.
The final lines of the song bring everything full circle, with the singer declaring that he knows this person is the only one for him, and that his arms and heart will always be devoted to them. Overall, the beautifully crafted lyrics of "The More I See You" capture the way that love can inspire intense, lifelong devotion.
Line by Line Meaning
The more I see you,
As I lay my eyes on you again and again,
The more I want you
My desire to be with you intensifies with every glance
Somehow this feeling
This overpowering emotion inside me
Just grows and grows
It keeps on increasing without any limits
With every sigh
Whenever I breathe in and out,
I become more mad about you
My obsession with you more and more uncontrollable
More lost without you
I feel more and more directionless without you by my side
And so it goes
This is how it continues without any change
Can you imagine
Can you fathom or guess
How much I love you?
The extent of my affection for you
As years go by
As time passes
I know the only one for me
I am aware that you are the only person for me
Can only be you
There is no one else who can take your place
My arms won′t free you,
I will never let you go from my embrace
And my heart won't try
Even my heart will never attempt to move away from you
Writer(s): Chris Montez
Contributed by Abigail V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Patrick Stocks
The more I see you
The more I want you
Somehow this feeling
Just grows and grows
With every high
I become more mad about you
More lost without you
And so it goes
Can you imagine
How much I love you?
The more I see you
As years go by
I know the only one for me
Can only be you
My arms won’t free you
And my heart won’t try
Can you imagine
How much I love you?
The more I see you
As years go by
I know the only one for me
Can only be you
My arms won’t free you
And my heart won’t try
chezfun
Chris Montez, yes! I've heard this one before Lenny!! Shey :)
1lenny
It's nice to hear from Shey. How's it going? You've been kind of quiet on YT.
I hope everything is ok in your life. Take care and drop in any ole' time :-))
Rock and Roll Trio Monterrey
The apson take the best cover, I like more the apson. "EL barba azul"
Juan Baez
IT SOUNDS MUCH BETTER. IN SPANISH VERSION.
Belshazzar
Los Apson never had an original song that was popular. I like em but the original song will always sound 10x times better, period.
vibri
This version is bad...I like the spanish version way better.