Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez; January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. 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” 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, California, United States,

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."

The More I See You album yielded two additional Top 40 singles for Montez: the title track, plus "There Will Never Be Another You". and, in May 2010, at the Pacific Palisades Film Festival in 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.

Discography

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;

|-

!rowspan="2"|Year

!rowspan="2"|Titles (A-side, B-side)<br /><small>Both sides from same album except where indicated</small>

!colspan="3"|Peak chart positions

!rowspan="2"|Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

!align=centre| US

!align=centre| US AC

!align=centre| UK

|-

|1960

|align=left| "I Lost My Baby"<br /><small>b/w "They Say"</small>

| —

| —

| —

|align="left"|Non-album tracks

|-

|rowspan="3"|1962

|align=left| "All You Had To Do<small> (Was Tell Me)</small>"<br /><small>b/w "Love Me" (Non-album track)</small>

| —

| —

| —

|rowspan="4" align="left"|Let's Dance and Have Some Kinda Fun!!!

|-

|align=left| "Let's Dance"<br /><small>b/w "You're The One"</small>

| 4

| —

| 2

|-

|align=left| "Some Kinda Fun"<br /><small>b/w "Tell Me (It's Not Over)"</small>

| 43

| —

| 10

|-

|rowspan="3"|1963

|align=left|"(Let's Do) The Limbo"<br /><small>b/w "Rockin' Blues" </small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|align=left|"In An English Towne"<br /><small>b/w "My Baby Loves To Dance"</small>

| —

| —

| —

|rowspan="4" align="left"|Non-album tracks

|-

|align=left|"Monkey Fever"<br /><small>b/w "No, No, No" (from Let's Dance...)</small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="2"|1964

|align=left|"All You Had To Do<small> (Was Tell Me)</small>"<br /><small>b/w "You're The One"<br />Both tracks are duets with Kathy Young </small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|align=left|"It Takes Two"<br /><small>b/w "Shoot That Curl"<br />Both tracks are duets with Kathy Young </small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

| 1965

|align=left| "Call Me"<br /><small>b/w "Go Head On" (Non-album track) </small>

| 22

| 2

| —

|rowspan="3" align="left"|The More I See You

|-

|rowspan="3"|1966

|align=left|"The More I See You"<br /><small>b/w "You, I Love You" </small>

| 16

| 2

| 3

|-

|align=left|"There Will Never Be Another You"<br /><small>b/w "You Can Hurt The One You Love" (Non-album track)</small>

| 33

| 4

| 37

|-

|align=left|"Time After Time"<br /><small>b/w "Keep Talkin'"</small>

| 36

| 12

| —

|align="left"|Time After Time

|-

|rowspan="2"|1967

|align=left|"Because of You"<br /><small>b/w "Elena" (from Time After Time)</small>

| 71

| 25

| —

|rowspan="2" align="left"|Foolin' Around

|-

|align=left|"Foolin' Around"<br /><small>b/w "Dindi (Jin-jee)"</small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|rowspan="3"|1968

|align=left|"The Face I Love"<br /><small>b/w "Once In Awhile" (from Foolin' Around)</small>

| —

| 15

| —

|rowspan="3" align="left"|Watch What Happens

|-

|align=left|"Love Is Here To Stay"<br /><small>b/w "Nothing To Hide" </small>

| —

| 38

| —

|-

|align=left|"Watch What Happens"<br /><small>b/w "Where Are You Now" </small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|1971

|align=left|"The End Of The Line"<br /><small>b/w "We Can Make The World A Whole Lot Brighter"</small>

| —

| —

| —

|align="left" rowspan="2"|Non-album tracks

|-

|1972

|align=left|"Loco Por Ti<small> (Crazy For You)</small>"<br /><small>b/w "The Part You Play Best Is Yourself" </small>

| —

| —

| —

|-

|}

Top 40 Netherlands:

  • "Loco Por Ti" (1972) No. 7 NL
  • "Ay No Digas" (1973) No. 3 NL

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" |Album

! colspan="2" |Peak positions

! rowspan="2" |Label

|-

!US 200<br/>

!US CB<br/>

|-

| 1963

| Let's Dance and Have Some Fun

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| London Records

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1966

| The More I See You

| style="text-align:center;"| 33

| style="text-align:center;"| 20

| rowspan="4" | A&M Records

|-

| Time After Time

| style="text-align:center;"| 106

| style="text-align:center;"| 65

|-

| 1967

| Foolin' Around

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|-

| 1968

| Watch What Happens

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

|-

| 1972

| Let's Dance

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| CBS Records

|-

| 1983

| Cartas De Amor

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| A&M Records

|-

|}

Let's Dance album

:Track listing:

  1. "Let's Dance" (Jim Lee) – 2:16
  2. "Mona Lisa" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans) – 2:50
  3. "You're So Fine" (Lance Finney, Willie Schofield) – 2:07
  4. "Yesterday I Heard the Rain" (Armando Manzanero, Gene Lees) – 2:07
  5. "Heart and Soul" (Frank Loesser, Hoagy Carmichael) – 2:01
  6. "Dolores, Dolores" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 2:37
  7. "Ay No Digas (Oh, Don't Tell Me)" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 2:40
  8. "A Little Bit of Soap" (Bert Russell) – 2:12
  9. "When Your Heart is Full of Love (Your Eyes Begin to Overflow)" (Chris Montez, Billy Meshel) – 3:28
  10. "Somebody Loves You" (Chris Montez, Billy Mershel) – 2:52
  11. "Come On, Let's Go” (Ritchie Valens) – 2:10
  • Produced by: Billy Meshel
  • Recorded at: Sound Ideas Studio, N.Y.
  • Record Label: CBS
  • Released: 1972

References

  • The official Chris Montez website
  • "El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story" film page
  • Chris Montez Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2020)