Chris Montez

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Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez, January 17, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, the last of twenty children), is a Mexican American singer.

Montez grew up in Hawthorne, California, influenced by the Latino flavored music of his community and the success of Ritchie Valens.
In 1962, he recorded the single, “Let’s Dance” on Monogram Records. It went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the U.S. and to #2 on the U.K. Singles Chart.

One would expect such an auspicious start to be followed by a number of chart-toppers, but such was hardly the case. Though Montez would tour with Clyde McPhatter, Sam Cooke, the Platters, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, there would be no more hits for Montez until four years later. This was despite a relatively new and highly popular group of Liverpudlians, who called themselves The Beatles, opening a London show for him while performing with Tommy Roe. It was once speculated that John Lennon started a fight with Montez at a London bar, when Lennon allegedly poured a beer over Montez’ head.

With a desire to return to the charts, Montez returned to the recording studio in 1965, this time at A&M Records. Montez was searching for the same rock and roll formula that would replicate the success of “Let’s Dance”. During a recording session, A&M co-founder Herb Alpert dropped in and suggested that Montez try a different approach: a Middle of the road, soft ballad sound.
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