Pérez was actually his surname, he became known by the paternal and maternal surnames "Pérez Prado."
His orchestra was the most popular in mambo. His son, Pérez Prado, Jr., continues to direct the Pérez Prado Orchestra in Mexico City to this day.
Perez was born in Matanzas, Cuba, his mother Sara Prado was a school teacher, his father Pablo Pérez a journalist at El Heraldo de Cuba. He studied classical piano in his early childhood, and later played organ and piano in local clubs. For a time, he was pianist and arranger for the Sonora Matancera, Cuba's best-known musical group. He also worked with casino orchestras in Havana for most of the 1940s, and gained a reputation for being an imaginative (his solo playing style predated bebop by at least five years), loud player. He was nicknamed "El Cara de Foca" ("Seal Face") by his peers at the time.
In 1948 he moved to Mexico to form his own band and record for RCA Victor. He quickly specialized in mambos, an upbeat adaptation of the Cuban danzón. Perez's mambos stood out among the competition, with their fiery brass riffs and strong saxophone counterpoints, and most of all, Pérez's trademark grunts (he actually says "¡Dilo!", or "Say it!", in many of the perceived grunts). In 1950 arranger Sonny Burke heard "Que rico el mambo" while on vacation in Mexico and recorded it back in the United States as "Mambo Jambo". The single was a hit, which caused Perez to launch a US tour. His appearances in 1951 were sell-outs and he began recording US releases for RCA Victor.
Perez is the composer of such famous pieces as "Mambo No. 5" and "Mambo No. 8". At the height of the mambo movement, in 1955, Perez hit the American charts at number one with a cha-cha version of "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" (composed by French composer Louiguy). This arrangement, featuring trumpeter Billy Regis, held the spot for 10 consecutive weeks. The song also went to number one in the UK and in Germany. Perez had first covered this title for the movie Underwater! in 1954, where Jane Russell can be seen dancing to "Cherry Pink". In 1958 one of Perez's own compositions, "Patricia", became the last record to ascend to #1 on the Jockeys and Top 100 charts, both of which gave way the following week to the then newly-introduced Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also went to number one in Germany, and in the UK it reached number eight.
His popularity in the United States matched the peak of the first wave of interest in Latin music outside the Latino communities during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s.[7][8] He also performed in films in the United States and Europe, as well as in Mexican cinema (Rumberas film), always with his trademark goatee and turtle-neck sweaters and vests. With the end of the 1950s, his success waned, and the years gave way to new rhythms, like rock 'n roll and then pop music. His association with RCA Victor ended in the 1960s, and his recorded output was mainly limited to smaller labels and recycled Latin-style anthologies. In the United States he was referred to as "Prez" Prado.
[edit]Later life
In the early 1970s Perez permanently returned to his apartment off Mexico City's grand Paseo de la Reforma to live with his wife and two children, son Dámaso Pérez Salinas (known as Perez Prado, Jr.) and daughter María Engracia. His career in Latin America was still strong. He toured and continued to record material which was released in Mexico, South America, and Japan. He was revered as one of the reigning giants of the music industry and was a regular performer on Mexican television. In Japan, a live concert recording of his 1973 tour was released on LP in an early 4-channel format known as Quadraphonic.
In 1981 Perez was featured in a musical revue entitled Sun which enjoyed a long run in the Mexican capital. In 1983 his brother Pantaleón Pérez Prado died, and the press erroneously reported the death of bandleader Pérez Prado.[citation needed] His last United States appearance was in Hollywood on September 12, 1987, when he played to a packed house. This was also the year of his last recording. Persistent ill health plagued him for the next two years, and he died of a stroke in Mexico City on September 14, 1989, aged 72.
During his lifetime, a cast of musical luminaries passed through his orchestra, including:
Alex Acuña, percussion
Pete Candoli, trumpet
Beny Moré, vocals
Johnny Pacheco, percussion [later flute]
Armando Peraza, percussion
Mongo Santamaría, percussion
"Patricia" was later featured in
the striptease scene in Federico Fellini's 1960 film La Dolce Vita
background music for a pool party in the 1969 film Goodbye, Columbus
the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, first aired on May 13, 1990.
a long-running series of famous TV commercials for the Royal Mail in the UK (using the slogan "I Saw This and Thought of You") between 1996 and 2003
the closing credits of HBO's Real Sex series
the 2000 Clint Eastwood movie Space Cowboys
His mambo records and the joyous dancing they caused are described in a late chapter of Jack Kerouac's seminal novel, On the Road (1957).
His songs "Caballo Negro", "Lupita", and "Mambo n.8" are featured in the film Santa Sangre (1989) by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
His recording of "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)" features in the films Deal of the Century (1983), Cookie (1989) and Parents (1989).
In the decade after his death, the popularity of Perez's music was on the rise again. CD reissues of his RCA recordings continue to sell steadily. "Guaglione" peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1995,[6] following its use in the Guinness television commercial Anticipation.
"Mambo No. 5" was featured in another Guinness commercial in 1999, the same year Lou Bega took his sampled cover version of that same song to the top of the UK chart,
The soundtrack to the 1999 movie Office Space features two of his performances, "Mambo No. 8" and "The Peanut Vendor."
The soundtrack to the 2004 movie Diarios de Motocicleta features Perez's "Qué rico el mambo", more commonly known as "Mambo Jambo".
Avant-garde musician Nurse With Wound released a compilation entitled Funeral Music for Perez Prado in 2001. The album's title track exceeds 30 minutes.
Mambo No. 5
Pérez Prado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I weight two hundred pounds
All the girls they love me
'Cause I know my way around
I was standin', I was standin' on the corner
Of Rampart and Canal
I was watchin', watchin'Watchin' those people gather
Wah wah wah, wah wah
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
Wah wah wah
Wah waaa-ah wah
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
Wah wah wah
I'm goin', I'm goin' goin' away
And I'm goin', goin' to stay
'Cause we be in this fast life
Can't stand this, goin' away.
The lyrics to Perez Prado's song Mambo No.5 capture the essence of the musician's larger than life persona as the "fat man" who is loved by all the girls because he knows his way around. The opening line of the song acknowledges his size, weighing in at two hundred pounds. Though it could easily be seen as a negative, in the context of the song, it only adds to the persona of the jolly music maker.
The song's lyrics then take us to a street corner, where the singer is watching people gather. The background lyrics repeat with a signature mambo beat that keeps the head bobbing and the hips swaying. There is an energy in the song that builds as the music progresses, culminating in the repeated "wah wah wah" that becomes almost primal in nature. The final lines of the lyrics suggest that the "fat man" is going away, but is going to stay because he cannot stand to leave this fast life. It is an ode to the thrill of living life in the moment and enjoying the energy of the people around you.
Line by Line Meaning
They call, they call me the fat man
I am referred to as the fat man by everyone around me
'Cause I weight two hundred pounds
My weight is the reason behind everyone calling me the fat man
All the girls they love me
I am adored by girls in general
'Cause I know my way around
I have ample knowledge to satisfy and please them in every way
I was standin', I was standin' on the corner
I was positioned and waiting on the junction
Of Rampart and Canal
The junction I am referring to is located at Rampart and Canal Street
I was watchin', watchin'
I was observing and observing
Watchin' those people gather
I was observing the gathering of the people
Wah wah wah, wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah waah, wah wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah waaa-ah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah wah, wah wah wah
No particular meaning
Wah wah wah
No particular meaning
I'm goin', I'm goin' goin' away
I am leaving for good
And I'm goin', goin' to stay
I have decided to leave permanently
'Cause we be in this fast life
I am not comfortable living in the fast-paced life
Can't stand this, goin' away.
I am departing because I cannot bear this anymore
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANTOINE DOMINO, ANTOINE 'FATS' DOMINO, DAVE BARTHOLOMEW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@yolymarmonzon4539
Cubano de nacimiento y Mexicano de corazón,,, gracias maestro por tu aporte a la música,, saludos desde Venezuela !!
@r.hillution4525
Se dan cuenta que se puede ser mexicano
Por eso dicen que no nada más
El mexicano nace en México
@gb4478
Cubano! 🇨🇺
@NexityMx
Decía Chabela Vargas que los mexicanos nacemos donde se nos da la gana.
@Tumama-b3i
Hay llego Perez Prado.
El gran combo los .... de
@antoniogonzalez1007
🤮🤢🤮🤢
@alejandrovelazquez4470
70 años tiene esa canción.... Uffff. Mis respetos para ese artista, director y compositor
@cogitoergosum66
Pérez Prado engrandeció nuestra Latinoamérica, los genios hacen la historia y cambian nuestra visión del mundo. Saludos desde Brasil.
@serviciomecanicocatalan6688
te amo cuba soy mexicano no solo por el mambo tambien por el son, el cha cha cha , la trova, las decimas, etc. Perez Prado es solo un boton de la gran riqueza musical de la Mayor de las Antillas ,excelentes musicos, excelentes orquestas , hermosa gente la cubana, unicos en el mundo. Javier
@juanricardovalenzuelaleon1367
Ñññññññ ññ ñ