Lo Mejor de lo Mejor [2001]

Performer: Pérez Prado
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Part of RCA Victor's epic series of two-disc, 40-track sets spanning the best Latin music of the 20th century, P�rez Prado's Lo Mejor de lo Mejor features all of his classic recordings, including "Mambo No. 5," "Que Rico el Mambo," and "Patricia." Although there aren't any liner notes, simply listing the recording dates for each song is quite an accomplishment for a Latin collection. Two discs is a lot of music, but RCA Victor deserves kudos for allowing listeners to hear so much great music in one inexpensive collection. ~ John Bush

D�maso P�rez Prado, the original Mambo King, served time as an arranger and pianist in several Havana-based bands in the 1930s. By the '40s, the traditional Cuban danzon style was evolving into newer, African-inspired sounds like the cha-cha and the mambo. With an irresistible syncopated rhythm and sensual, brass-heavy melodies, mambo dovetailed nicely with the popular swing music of the day. Prado began to plant the mambo seeds farther away from home, and by the '50s, the mambo craze had taken hold in the U.S. While Prado was not the first musician to play this music, he wrote and/or recorded some of the biggest mambo hits of the era. Though the craze eventually faded, Prado performed and recorded until his death in 1989.

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