Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez)
One of the leading rockers in the Los Angeles Hispanic community after the tragic death of Ritchie Valens, Chris Montez later mellowed out under the tutelage of Herb Alpert and tallied several MOR-style hits. His first smash was on Monogram in 1962, "Let's Dance." It was a grinding rocker with roller-rink organ. Montez changed his attitude after signing with A&M. With Alpert producing, Montez adopted an easygoing approach on "Call Me," "The More I See You," and "Time After Time," all solid sellers in 1966. The formula quickly faded, however, and his final chart entry came the following year with "Because of You."
Born in Los Angeles, California, United States, Montez grew up in Hawthorne, California, in a Mexican-American family and was influenced by the Latino-flavored music of his community and the success of his musical hero Ritchie Valens whom he met briefly at a show in 1958. He studied music composition at El Camino College.
In 1962, he 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 in the US and to No.2 on the UK Singles Chart (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 sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs.
Montez toured with Clyde McPhatter, Sam Cooke, The Platters, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. The Beatles opened London, York and Northampton concerts for him while Montez was performing with Tommy Roe.Montez commented "Who are these guys The Beatles? I try to keep up with the British scene, but I don't know their work."
Montez returned to the recording studio in 1965, this time at A&M Records.[1] Montez was searching for the same rock and roll formula that would replicate the success of "Let's Dance". During a recording session, A&M co-founder Herb Alpert (who co-produced Montez's first A&M album) suggested that Montez try a different approach: a middle of the road, soft ballad sound. Though reluctant at first, Montez agreed to go along with his mentor's suggestion.
"Call Me" (a Tony Hatch composition first recorded by Petula Clark) 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.
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 singles for Montez: the title track, plus "There Will Never Be Another You".
Montez recorded three more albums for A&M: Time After Time, Foolin' Around, and Watch What Happens.[1] 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.
Let's Dance And Have Some Kinda Fun ! ! ! (1963)
01. Chris Montez - Let's Dance
02. Chris Montez - I Ran
03. Chris Montez - You're The One
04. Chris Montez - (Let's Do) The Limbo
05. Chris Montez - Rock'N Blues
06. Chris Montez - Chiquitita Mia
07. Chris Montez - Some Kinda' Fun
08. Chris Montez - Say You'll Marry Me
09. Chris Montez - All You Had To Do (Was Tell Me)
10. Chris Montez - I Feel Like Dancing
11. Chris Montez - No, No, No
12. Chris Montez - Tell Me ( It's Not Over)
Time After Time (1966)
01. Chris Montez - Time After Time
02. Chris Montez - I Wish You Love
03. Chris Montez - Sunny
04. Chris Montez - Keep Talkin'
05. Chris Montez - Our Day Will Come
06. Chris Montez - The Girl From Ipanema
07. Chris Montez - Lil' Red Riding Hood
08. Chris Montez - Going Out Of My Head
09. Chris Montez - What A Diff'rence A Day Made
10. Chris Montez - Elena
11. Chris Montez - Yesterday
12. Chris Montez - Just Friends
The More I See You (1966)
01. Chris Montez - The More I See You
02. Chris Montez - Fly Me To The Moon
03. Chris Montez - The Shadow Of Your Smile
04. Chris Montez - The Very Thought Of You
05. Chris Montez - One Note Samba
06. Chris Montez - There Will Never Be Another You
07. Chris Montez - Call Me
08. Chris Montez - Day By Day
09. Chris Montez - How High The Moon
10. Chris Montez - Hey Baby
11. Chris Montez - You, I Love You
12. Chris Montez - Little White Lies
Foolin' Around (1967)
01. Chris Montez - Foolin' Around
02. Chris Montez - On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)
03. Chris Montez - The End Of A Love Affair
04. Chris Montez - Once I Loved (O Amor Em Paz)
05. Chris Montez - Girl Talk
06. Chris Montez - Because Of You
07. Chris Montez - I'm Glad There Is You (In This World Of Ordinary People)
08. Chris Montez - Once In A While
09. Chris Montez - Dindi (Jin-jee)
10. Chris Montez - A Taste Of Honey
11. Chris Montez - I Didn't Know What Time It Was
Watch What Happens (1968)
01. Chris Montez - Love Is Here To Stay
02. Chris Montez - The Face I Love
03. Chris Montez - I Will Wait For You
04. Chris Montez - Watch What Happens
05. Chris Montez - We'll Be Together Again
06. Chris Montez - Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
07. Chris Montez - Where Are You Now
08. Chris Montez - Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)
09. Chris Montez - Spooky
10. Chris Montez - Nothing To Hide
11. Chris Montez - The Look Of Love
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