Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez on January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from
rock & roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
to
pop standards
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...
and
Latin music
Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...
. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as his 1962 hit " Let's Dance", which reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. When his early music's popularity began to fade, he switched to a more traditional role as a popular singer of soft ballads, scoring hits with “
The More I See You
"The More I See You" is a popular song composed by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon. The song was first published in 1945.
Other recordings
"The More I See You" has been subsequently recorded by many artists, notably by:
* Bing Crosby ...
” and “ Call Me" in 1966. He has also recorded in Latin styles. Over the intervening years, he has continued to work in all three modes.
Early life
Born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States, Montez grew up in
Hawthorne, California
Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88, ...
, in a Mexican-American family and was influenced by the Latino-flavored music of his community and the success of
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed ...
. He studied music composition at
El Camino College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.recorded the single " Let's Dance" on Monogram Records (written and produced by Jim Lee). It went to No.4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100
chart
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...
in the US and to No.2 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
(spending four weeks there). The follow-up, "Some Kinda Fun", was a lesser hit in the US, but reached No. 10 in the UK in January 1963. Nonetheless, both
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.
Montez toured with
Clyde McPhatter
Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...
,
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...
,
The Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
opened London,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...
concerts for him while Montez was performing with
Tommy Roe
Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter.
Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...
. Montez commented "Who are these guys The Beatles? I try to keep up with the British scene, but I don't know their work."
1966 comeback
Montez returned to the recording studio in 1965, this time at
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
. Montez was searching for the same
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
formula that would replicate the success of "Let's Dance". During a recording session, A&M co-founder
Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
(who co-produced Montez's first A&M album) suggested that Montez try a different approach: a middle of the road, soft
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
sound. Though reluctant at first, Montez agreed to go along with his mentor's suggestion.
" Call Me" (a
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer.
Early life and early career
Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...
composition first recorded by
Petula Clark
Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades.
Clark's professional career began during the ...
) was the first single released from his 1966 A&M album, ''The More I See You''. The title single from the album, sung in a soft, very high tenor range and played on primarily adult-formatted radio stations, confused some disc jockeys, who were unfamiliar with Montez's past work. The track became popular and has been used many times in movies, notably '' Frantic'', starring
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
.
Released in November 1965, "Call Me" entered the Easy Listening Top 40 in ''Billboard'' that December, entering the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1966; that March "Call Me" peaked on the Easy Listening chart at No. 2 and on the Hot 100 at No. 22.
''The More I See You'' album yielded two additional
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
singles for Montez: the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
, plus "
There Will Never Be Another You
"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Mack Gordon that was written for the Twentieth Century Fox musical ''Iceland'' (1942) starring Sonja Henie and John Payne. The songs in the film featur ...
".
Later years
Montez recorded three more albums for A&M: ''Time After Time'', ''Foolin' Around'', and ''Watch What Happens''. None of these albums mirrored the success of ''The More I See You''. The title track " Time After Time", did reach No. 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but no other singles made the top 40. Subsequent singles hit below the top 40, or only on the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening Top 40. Following the release of ''Watch What Happens'' in 1968, Montez left A&M Records.
In November 1972, Montez charted a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
hit in Brazil: "Loco Por Ti (Crazy About You)".
Montez resurfaced in 1974 at
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
, with the release of ''The Best of Chris Montez'', a mix of both old and new recordings.
Montez recorded one more album for CBS: ''Raza: Ay No Digas'', which did well internationally, but failed to make an impact in the US. His final album, with exclusively Spanish-language material, was ''Cartas de Amor'', released on the independent label AYM in 1983.
"Let's Dance" appeared on the soundtrack of
John Landis
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...
's ''
Animal House
''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...
''. In 2013, the song was used as a
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...
for a
DSW Shoe Warehouse
Designer Brands Inc. is an American company that sells designer and name brand shoes and fashion accessories. It owns the Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) store chain, and operates over 500 stores in the United States and an e-commerce website.
T ...
commercial.
Montez today
In July 2008, Frozen Pictures announced plans to produce a documentary musical film on Montez's life and career. The film, ''El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story,'' was previewed by Montez, director
Burt Kearns
Burt Kearns is an American author, television and film producer, writer and director, and journalist, known for his work in reality television and his controversial 1999 tabloid television memoir, '' Tabloid Baby''.
His latest book, a biography ...
and producer
Brett Hudson
Brett Stuart Patrick Hudson (born January 18, 1953) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was the youngest member of the musical group the Hudson Brothers, which was formed by his older brothers, Mark and Bill, in 1965. He is now a ...
at the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival in
Paso Robles
Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot ...
Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Pacific Palisades, California.
Montez has worked within the Mexican-American communities in the US, especially his native California, promoting education and healthy living. His work was recognized in San Antonio, Texas, on September 16, 2011, with the First Annual SOPA (Stop Obesity Promote Activity) Wellness Award. It was among four awards given to national celebrities.
In 2012, Montez was named a distinguished alumnus of
El Camino College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.
Mona Lisa
The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
" (
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...
,
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...
) – 2:50
#" You're So Fine" (Lance Finney, Willie Schofield) – 2:07
#"Yesterday I Heard the Rain" (Armando Manzanero,
Gene Lees
Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music ...
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...
,
Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...
) – 2:01
#"Dolores, Dolores" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 2:37
#"Ay No Digas (Oh, Don't Tell Me)" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 2:40
#"
A Little Bit of Soap
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
" (
Bert Russell
Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece ...
) – 2:12
#"When Your Heart is Full of Love (Your Eyes Begin to Overflow)" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 3:28
#"Somebody Loves You" (Chris Montez, Billy Mershel) – 2:52
#"Come On, Let's Go" (
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed ...
) – 2:10
*Produced by: Billy Meshel
*Recorded at: Sound Ideas Studio, N.Y.
*Record Label: CBS
*Released: 1972