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.
Qué Rico El Mambo
Pérez Prado Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
El Estado En Que Estamos
: El Estado En Que Estamos
(Jefs)
En secuencia se desliza el momento violento lento
yo solo siento un...
Y pasado a la historia la sangre corria y ten~ia las
el rincon mas sagrado un esclavo de por vida
la conciencia atrapada calma susurraba en la
madrugada agitada no es facil no es facil
perforado infectado sellado craneo imposible
imposible aceptar borrar olvidar para acabar
no ni lo intentes no hay cambios ebrio enfermo
es el estado de este estado el estado en que estamos.
Llueve granizos bajo una tormenta invisible y escribe
marca talla modela cada movimiento no hay falla
para el que se cubre con la costumbre que pudre
pero sufre el cuerpo que con brazos abiertos
sobre muertos lanza su pensamiento
siento lento el advenimiento el estado en que estamos
no admite cambios.
Tipeado por Salvador Toro
para comentarios escribe a storo@ona.fi.umag.cl
--------NO OLVIDES TU RAZA INDIGENA-----------------
The lyrics to Pérez Prado's song "Qué Rico El Mambo" are not related to the above lyrics by La Pozze Latina. It seems that this is a mistake, and the two are unrelated. "Qué Rico El Mambo" is an upbeat instrumental song that celebrates the mambo dance style, popular in the 1950s. The song's melody is characterized by its catchy rhythm and energetic percussion, with trumpets, piano, and saxophone joining in to create a lively, infectious tune.
Interestingly, Pérez Prado was born in Cuba in 1916 and began his career as a pianist and arranger. He eventually began leading his own orchestra in the 1940s and became a prominent figure in the mambo music scene. "Qué Rico El Mambo" was one of his most popular songs and helped popularize the mambo dance craze across Latin America and the United States.
Overall, the lyrics to "Qué Rico El Mambo" are more about the music than any particular message or story. As an instrumental song, the music speaks for itself, and listeners are invited to dance and enjoy the lively rhythms. The song has become a classic of Latin American music and helped to define the mambo genre.
Line by Line Meaning
En secuencia se desliza el momento violento lento
The slow violent moment slides in sequence
yo solo siento un...
I only feel one...
Y pasado a la historia la sangre corria y ten~ia las aceras de mi barrio
And the blood flowed and stained the sidewalks of my neighborhood, a thing of the past, now part of history
el silencio inundaba hasta el rincon mas sagrado
The silence flooded even the most sacred corner
un esclavo de por vida
A slave for life
la conciencia atrapada calma susurraba en la madrugada
The trapped conscience whispered calmly in the early morning
agitada no es facil no es facil
It's not easy, it's not easy in the midst of the turmoil
perforado infectado sellado craneo imposible imposible aceptar
Perforated, infected, sealed, impossible, impossible to accept
borrar olvidar para acabar no ni lo intentes no hay cambios
To erase, to forget, to end it, not even to try, there are no changes
ebrio enfermo es el estado de este estado el estado en que estamos
Drunk and sick, that's the state of this state, the state we're in
Llueve granizos bajo una tormenta invisible y escribe marca talla modela cada movimiento no hay falla
Hail falls under an invisible storm and it writes, marks, sizes, models every move without fail
para el que se cubre con la costumbre que pudre pero sufre el cuerpo
For those who cover themselves with the customs that rot but their body suffers
que con brazos abiertos sobre muertos lanza su pensamiento
Who with open arms throws their thoughts on the dead
siento lento el advenimiento el estado en que estamos no admite cambios
I feel the slow advent of the state we're in that doesn't admit changes
Tipeado por Salvador Toro para comentarios escribe a storo@ona.fi.umag.cl
Typed by Salvador Toro, for comments write to storo@ona.fi.umag.cl
NO OLVIDES TU RAZA INDIGENA
DON'T FORGET YOUR INDIGENOUS RACE
Writer(s): Damaso Perez Prado
Contributed by Jayce E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Carloskiota
+Oscar Antezana Sejas
Yo (a mis 57 años) ya no escucho, ni leo,
ni me importa, ni creo lo que diga el "hemisferio norte" pues ellos se
auto mencionan como los destacados en todas las áreas. Ellos escribieron
siempre la historia de la humanidad a su favor pero poca propaganda se hacen de
los 50 millones de personas (la gran mayoría civiles inocentes entre ellos
niños) que murieron en "una sola guerra (2ª G.M.) y las guerras más
sangrientas con mayor cantidad de muertes las provocó el "1ºmundo"a través
de la historia. Ni todos los adelantos científicos y tecnológicos que pudieran
haber realizado paga las millonarias vidas que truncaron y truncan en la
actualidad!. El resto del mundo viviría en paz y armonía sin esos países piratas-guerreros,
parásitos, invasores, de políticas opresoras expansionistas.
@liquitosoto4287
Tony Pro probably had one of the coolest and in your face character intros in Scorsese’s entire filmography.
@roseclique
AMEN
@Otavera11
Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas too.
@getaraiza4861
Shsysysysy
@roseclique
que rico MAMBO
@LeJobastre1215
More like Sally Bugs
@odaalarteporeldr.pedrosanc7966
Pérwez Prado aunque no creo el mambo fue quien lo elevó a la categoria mundial y
fue su REY; fue un genio de nuestra Cuba
@guillermoleiton.6100
Quien creo el manbo ??.?
@emilioverdu8360
Pérez Prado cada vez que lo oigo me acuerdo de mi padre nación Cuba pero no fue bien acogido paso a Méjico y murió un México gracias
@vikkigonzalez4773
Cubano por nacimiento y mexicano por eleccion.
El amo a México y México lo amo a el.
Vivio y murio entre nosotros.