Chris Montez, born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez in Hawthorne, California to Mexican parents, is best known in the UK for his classic 1962 rocker Let's Dance. Previously unknown on these shores, he had already established a successful touring career in the USA - inspired and influenced by Ritchie Valens (who he had met for 15 minutes as a young teenager), by the age of 17 he was a true Chicano rock pioneer. He toured alongside Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson in 1960 and had his first single She's My Rockin' Baby.
Following the massive success of Let's Dance in the UK, Some Kinda Fun hit the Top Ten at the end of January 1963. This coincided with a UK tour in which Chris headlined over a popular young English group called The Beatles. His press officer for the tour was the even younger Andrew Loog Oldham. Fond memories remain of this tour as Chris recalls: "Paul and George had disappeared for a day or two and when they
returned I asked them where they'd been. They explained to me that they were finishing their first album and played me the tracks several times. I guess I would have been one of the first to hear them". It wasn't always so harmonious, after having various drinkable liquids poured on his head, Chris and John Lennon had a small debate, broken up amicably by fellow tour member Tommy Roe. Chris's beloved jacket also provided the inspiration for the collarless Beatles suits. If only he'd thought about patenting them!
Many of the songs on this compilation, despite being standards, were unknown to Chris, but most were perfected in just a few takes. Songs which would seem
alien to his vocal style became his trademark. In total, Chris Montez recorded four albums for A&M records between 1966 and '69. There is a large helping of standards, from the day and much earlier, played in a rhythmic lounge-jazz bossa style by seasoned west coast studio musicians. Handclaps were de rigeur, and as laid back as Chris's vocals. The blend of styles was new, and the A&M recording quality excellent, still sounding fresh today.
