School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Pérez Prado

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Dámaso Pérez Prado was born in 1916 in Matanzas, Cuba, the son of a teacher and a journalist. As a child he studied classical piano and later played organ and piano in local clubs. For a time he was pianist and arranger of the Sonora Matancera, Cuba's best-known dance group. He then founded his own group and in 1946 recorded in Havana, among other things, Trompetiana, a mambo of his own composition and one of the first arranged for big band. He then moved to Mexico, where he developed the genre in several forms.

Music and breakthrough

His 1949 recordings, including Mambo No. 5, won him a contract with RCA Victor in the United States and an eventful career in the 1950s. He was nicknamed the King of the Mambo. In 1955 his mambo arrangement of Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White topped the charts in the United States and England. In 1958 came Guaglione and his own Patricia. His music was also heard in films, including La Dolce Vita. In the 1960s his popularity faded because of new Latin dances such as pachanga and boogaloo. He returned to Mexico in the 1970s, became a citizen there in 1980 and died there in 1989.

Influence

Prado combined the Cuban danzón with the power of a large big band. He used fierce brass, sharp rhythms and short cries, with which the mambo became a worldwide dance. His son still leads the orchestra.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Mambo No. 5 by Pérez Prado. Notice the sharp brass trading off with each other and the short cries between the rhythms.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

Categories: ArtistsMambo