Chris Montez anyone?

Is anyone here a Chris Montez fan? I have been listening to his late 60's albums for a couple of years now. He sang in a hushed almost female like style and his songs had a light/breezy feel to them. He had a hit early on with a song called "Let's Dance" which was covered by The Ramones on their debut but that was more rock-n-roll in style and far removed from the stuff I'm talking about. A&M's Herb Alpert encouraged Montez to record in this new style. Sondre Lerche is a huge fan and even did a version of the standard "The More I See You" in the style in which Montez had done it.

Fans of Acid House Kings, Bebel Gilberto and Belle & Sebastian might dig this stuff!

Face that I Love!!!

Also,

He's one of my favorites ever, so forgive the forecast hijacking of this thread

Yes! I love that song too. With songs this light and such a sweet image, I wonder if Montez got his ghetto pass revoked in the barrio?

Haha, I was just thinking, he's the only Mexican I relate to as a Mexican (well, HOOS too, I guess)

Call Me:

Blame it on the bossa nova:

CHRIS MONTEZ - HOW HIGH THE MOON

Whoa, I never heard this. Predating the A&M days I guess?

Kathy Young & Chris Montez

I wonder more of those twee kids (fans of Belle & Sebastian, C86 et al) don't know about Chris?

Yeah, his limited appeal these days is confusing.

For me, his appeal mostly lies in the syncopation of his production, with a distant second of the elongated notes ala Brian Wilson, followed by his flat singing.

Just, you know, 'the ride home from the beach as sun begins to get low' music.

Should note I love Let's Dance just as much as his A&M days, but in a totally different way of course.

I remember when I finally heard "Let's Dance" after knowing the Ramones version I was surprised but not shocked, just because it made such sense as to why the bruddas had picked it in the first place -- it's a great, poppy song, it needs no further justification than that!

The point you just made about his flat singing is spot on. Somehow it still pulls me in. Can you suggest any other singers who recorded in this style of production and/or singing?

I can't think of anything similar. There is some obscure song on youtube billed as "chris montz soundalike", but it didn't sound like him at all to me. Just standard doo-wop falsetto.

Frankie Anthony - Goin To The River ( Chris Montez sound alike )

I discovered Montez's A&M days at the same time I discovered this song, so to me, they are similar, but not sure if it's what you're looking for

Keith - 98.6

This "Keith" thing is really cool. Who the hell is he?

I found it on a sunshine pop compilation when I was getting a handful of those. I've read he had a hit with this in the UK, but I'm not British.

Youtube comments make it sound like it was a hit too, but I grew up on 50s/60s oldies radio, and I never heard of him.

Then again, beyond Let's Dance, I was unaware of Chris Montez too. I owned both Let's Dance and Face I Love for almost two years before I realized he was the same guy.

Not to turn this into the sunshine pop thread, but a last couple gems I discovered on those compilations a few years back:

Lesley Gore covered 98.6 in a big and brassy way

Eddie grant's early band, The Equals, gained notoriety in the Disco revival crowd a few years back thanks to Map of Africa cover, but found this song on a sunshine pop retrospective

The Equals - Michael And The Slipper Tree (1969)

Thanks for the tips! Now I remember why I re-registered onto this site again.

Wasn't he in Andrew Loog Oldham's stable?

He was in Herb Alpert's stable, to my knowledge. Beyond that, I haven't dug deep enough to know.

another am classic I got from CBS fm around the same time is Brian Hyland's Sealed With a Kiss, not the same thing, but a melancholy oldie that more hipsters should love, ironically or not.

Keith's "98.6" was an American hit, a top 10 in fact. He had a couple of other top 40 hits around the same time.

Equivalent to Chris Montez: Astrud Gilberto?

not sure why keith wasn't canonzied on oldies station in florida

sealed with a kiss was staple in michigan and florida

i love his stuff in some sort of ironic way: i made a comp and called it "who did he fuck to get a record contract?" i suspect herb...

one day, i too will understand irony

not sure why keith wasn't canonized on oldies station in florida

'cause 98.6 makes people think of a bad humidity reading?

Plus, I'm an ex-Floridian & that's where I heard the song for sure. I don't know if I've ever heard it anywhere else.

"Tell It to My Face" is an interesting follow-up that was part of the "gypsy-pop" mini-trend along with songs like Cher's "Bang Bang" & "Behind the Door."

I loved the Gypsy-pop minitrend! "Little Man"! And to a lesser degree a couple of years later, "Early in the Morning."

As for Chris Montez, I never could stand "Let's Dance" but adore "Call Me." But yeah, that reedy thinness of his vocal is a rare thing, and I'm starting to think I like the song in spite of it. I'd like "Call Me" even better if, say, Karen Carpenter had sung it.

^^^ You should check out Vikki Carr's version of "Call Me." Might be what you're looking for.

I want to reaffirm my love (LOVE) for his debut A&M album.

UGH.

another am classic I got from CBS fm around the same time is Brian Hyland's Sealed With a Kiss, not the same thing, but a melancholy oldie that more hipsters should love, ironically or not.

― dan selzer, Friday, January 23, 2009 12:27 AM (5 months ago) Bookmark

Dan, have you heard other Hyland? Whereas I think of Sealed with a Kiss as late 50s/entering 60s teen pop (ala the point of American Graffiti), and everyone praises Gypsy Woman, I found his "On the East Side", which falls in line PERFECTLY with the Chris Montez/lazy sunset/Sunshine Pop thing.

btw The More I See You was our "first dance" song at our wedding

the only other hyland I know/have is Come with Me and Gypsy Woman.

why oh why was that American bandstand version of "call me" yanked? It was so great.