Bega, the new Mambo King

September 9, 1999
Web posted at: 4:46 p.m. EDT (2046 GMT)

From Mark Scheerer
CNN Entertainment News Correspondent

A little bit of Sandra in the sun,
A little bit of Mary all night long,
A little bit of Jessica, here I am,
A little bit of you makes me your man.

Lou Bega of Munich is the man behind this single from his album, "A Little Bit of Mambo." The song has been dancing up the United States pop charts after already conquering Germany. His success Stateside precedes his first U.S. show: He's only just now started to rehearse for his first appearances in the United States, and hasn't even had a chance to hire a full band yet.

The 24-year-old Bega found "Mambo No. 5" among the greatest hits of the late Cuban mambo king Perez Prado.

"But," Bega says, "Perez never sang it. That was my chance. I decided to use lyrics, make it accessible to the '90s somehow, and bring it back -- because it's forgotten music."

MULTIMEDIA

Listen to a clip of "Mambo No. 5" Audio clip: 175k MPEG-3 Audio clip: 240k WAV Video clip: 1Mb QuickTime (Courtesy RCA/BMG)

Although not everyone will recognize the song's mambo beat, Bega firmly insists that its rhythm is genuine mambo. "I know a lot of people criticize it," he says, "but you always have criticizers next to you. Of course, it has a lot of me in it, but still, it's mambo."

Critics aren't likely to faze Bega much. The success of his "Mambo No. 5" recording has fulfilled his dreams, taking him and his spats and hats on the road. (He explains his elaborate costumes by saying, "You have to make an impression, especially when you're doing that kind of mambo songs. You cannot wear jeans.")

But this son of a Ugandan father and Sicilian mother is enjoying his moment, fully aware that quirky, dance-related hits can disappear as fast as Los Del Rio did after their 1993 hit, "Macarena."

"I know how it is," he says. "You can never, ever top 'Mambo No. 5' again. I cannot do it. It was a big surprise. It was summertime all over the world. Time of spirits. I don't know. But that's not my goal. I just want to be out there making music."