Mongo Santamaria - "Watermelon Man" (1963)

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría (April 7, 1917 in Havana, Cuba -- February 1, 2003) was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All Stars, etc. He was an integral figure in the fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with R&B and soul, paving the way for the boogaloo era of the late 1960s. His 1963 hit rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Mongo Santamaria was one of a handful of Cuban congueros ('conga players') who came to the United States in the 1940s and 50s. Other notable congueros who came to the U.S. during that time include Armando Peraza, Chano Pozo, Francisco Aguabella, Julito Collazo, Carlos Vidal Bolado and Modetso Duran.

Santamaria inspired the stage name of Japanese actor Yūsuke Santamaria. Additionally, his name is used as a pun in the film Blazing Saddles. When the character Mongo enters a scene, a Spanish-speaking peasant cries "Mongo! Santa Maria!" before fleeing in terror.

He is buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Mongo
• Santamaria
• Watermelon
• Man
• 1963
• Latin
• jazz
• congos
• TheBacmaster
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[DiVoRaM]

EBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!­!!!!!!!!!!!!



[diwattos]

great song !!

[Butter1700]

@pandajazz23

you are right......for some reason I was thinking Mongo wrode the song....my bad....

[smenne67]

It's BOOGALOO TIME - let's go dance to the Palladium Ballroom yeah!

This is real BOOGALOO

[DiscosDeFama]

Love the story behind this tune. One night Hancock fills in on piano for this band, starts playing this tune. Santamaria joins in on the congas and then the rest of the band follows in and the rest as they say is history

[pandajazz23]

AAH!!! remake of Herbie Hancock tune, funny how most Cuban negate their African heritage but the drums don't lie...

[felitoelpingu]

Long live Cuba and the Cuban music. Viva Cuba!

[leroycampbell54]

mongo you da man.

[chkjns]

@anitashelby I'm here for the music & fail to compliment joe often enough on his great videography, PLUS all the great bio info for the artists he posts. He & other uploaders have helped me create a music hall of fame at my channel, along with my friends & subscribers - it's a real team effort (gee whiz, I'm typing to the beat!)

550 playlists of a century of pop music from around the world, lists for over 350 artists & 111 lists for every year since 1900. Listen like you're back in the day!

[perla51]

I like too much this song!!!!!Hugs Perla.