Early Life
Montez grew up in Hawthorne, California, influenced by the Latino-flavored music of his community and the success of Ritchie Valens.
In 1962, he recorded the single "Let's Dance" on Monogram Records (written and produced by Jim Lee). It went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and to #2 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up, "Some Kinda Fun", was a lesser hit. However, 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, and The Beatles opened London, York and Northampton concerts for him while 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".
Read more about this topic: Chris Montez
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