Dámaso Pérez Prado
| Pérez Prado | |
|---|---|
Pérez Prado album il Re del Mambo (The King of Mambo)
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dámaso Pérez Prado |
| Also known as | "Prez" Prado |
| Born |
December 11, 1916 Matanzas, Cuba |
| Died | September 14, 1989 (aged 72) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Genres | Mambo |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, arranger, bandleader, composer |
| Labels | RCA Victor |
| Associated acts | Sonora Matancera, The Pérez Prado Orchestra |
| Notable instruments | |
| Vocals, piano, keyboards | |
Dámaso Pérez Prado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeɾes ˈpɾaðo]; December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, singer, organist, pianist and composer, who also made brief appearances in films. He is often referred to as the King of the Mambo. He became known and professionally billed as Pérez Prado, his paternal and maternal surnames respectively.
Pérez Prado became a naturalized citizen of Mexico in 1980. 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.
Pérez 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 at the time. He also worked with casino orchestras in Havana for most of the 1940s. He was nicknamed "El Cara de Foca" ("Seal Face") by his peers at the time.
In 1949 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! ("Say it!") in many of the perceived grunts). In 1950 arranger Sonny Burke heard "Qué 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 Pérez to launch a US tour. His appearances in 1951 were sell-outs and he began recording US releases for RCA Victor.
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