Pérez Prado Orchestra
Mexico City, The Federal District, Mexico | Established. Jan 01, 1956 | SELF
Bio
Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Latin music ambassador who ignited the mambo craze in Mexico and the United States in the early 1950s. Prado's sound became the archteype for the big Latin dance band, and also contributed to the development of Latin jazz. “Mambo No. 5” and other classics are the legacy of the original Mambo King.
The original mambo king's signature song is still the most recognized mambo of them all; in 1999 it became a hit with new generations when it was recorded by Lou Bega.
The dance craze was such a crossover success that 1954 was dubbed "The Year of the Mambo" and a number of mainstream singers started cashing in, most notably were Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney and Vaughn Monroe.
Prado died of a stroke in Mexico City in 1989, appointing Jesús Garnica (bass player) as director.
The mambo, reinvigorated under the name salsa, is still the signature dance of Latin popular music. Israel Garnica (son of Jesús Garnica), continues with the legacy and directs the Pérez Prado Orchestra in Mexico City, still having one original band member playing saxophone, they continue to play and have successfully toured Japan for 60 uninterrupted years (1956-2016).
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