Go back to the very funny Men in Coats video I posted and watch the first three minutes. It’s Mambo music from Cuba. The first tune is “Mambo Jambo,” and here’s a recording of it by Prado Perez, from 1959, the year Castro took over.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JAN/MamboJambo.mp3]Great stuff! OK, now go back to the K3 New Year video and listen from 0:08 to 0:20. It’s some of the same music used by Men in Coats. See? I said you’d heard it before.
Mambo was big in the late 40’s into the 50’s, and one of its biggest names was this guy, whose studio later gave the green light to Star Trek.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/JAN/ILoveLucy.mp3]
Perez’s sound was sort of a throwback to the big bands. Ya know, that Lucy song sounds almost like strains of it can be heard in the Star Trek theme.
There’s a short of the 3 Stooges where Curly and a lady are dancing a mambo, rhumba or other type of Latin dance with comedic results and on my sister’s VHS tape the music was very clean and the bass was booming and I was like, “Wow, this is a rocking tune for this era!”. If anyone reading this knows the tune, the musicians, if it was recorded live with the episode’s orchestra performing and if it is available on CD by any perforner, please write in. I know the short is likely on DVD but I’d like the instrumental too.
LOO-SEEE! They play a lot of Lucy re-runs here during the midday (even preempting “Days of our Lives” on one of the NBC affiliates!) Right around Christmas, I came across one I’d never seen where Little Ricky was in a school pageant along with Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred. Usually I don’t have much patience for Lucy, but this episode was completely charming. What was silly about it was they were cringing at Vivian Vance’s singing voice and it was just lovely! And my GOD! everybody forgets what incredible gams Lucy had. With a wife that beautful, why did Desi cheat so much? I always pondered that same question about JFK.