"Mambo No. 5" is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 and released the next year. German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under the same name on his 1999 debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo. In 2026, Pérez Prado's original recording of the song was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its "cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation's recorded sound heritage."
Lou Bega version
German singer Lou Bega recorded a cover of the song and released it in April 1999 as the first single from his debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo (1999). His version became a summer hit during 1999 in most of Europe. Later that year, it experienced success in the United Kingdom, North America, and Oceania. In France, it set a record by staying at number one for 20 weeks. The song reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 2 November 1999, giving Bega his only top-40 and top-ten hit in the United States. The Lou Bega version was number-one on the Hot 100's component chart for airplay for six weeks. Meanwhile, a knock-off cover from "Latin Lou and the Mambo All Stars" made the top 40 on the chart for sales, reaching number 33.
Critical reception
Elisabeth Vincentelli from Entertainment Weekly rated the song with a B minus, adding, "All of a sudden, mambo is hot again, and the unlikely city of Munich is on the Latin-music map. For this we have to thank the Ugandan-Italian Bega and his German producing team, who have hit pay dirt by tacking new lyrics onto an old Pérez Prado song. While purists scream murder, the upbeat tune and bouncy, '80s-style synthesizers will rule weddings for years to come."
Copyright dispute
The song became the subject of a seven-year copyright trial between Prado's estate, the music publisher Peermusic, and Bega's producers. Bega had only used riffs (which by German law cannot be registered for copyright) from Prado's original and written the entire lyrics, so Bega's producers went to court in order to gain access to all the song's proceedings from Peermusic representing Prado's estate. However, after seven years the Federal Court of Justice of Germany ruled in favor of Peermusic and Prado's estate in 2008, based upon the fact that Bega's producers had sought a royalty agreement with Peermusic prior to releasing the song. Because of Bega's significant contributions to his version, the court's final ruling declared it a new song co-written by Prado and Bega.
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Mambo No. 5", directed by Joern Heitmann, features Lou Bega singing and dancing with flappers. An alternate music video aired on Disney Channel, featuring clips from various Disney films and television series, with newly recorded lyrics by Bega dealing with the featured characters.
Disney Mambo #5
Lou Bega also recorded a version of the song for Walt Disney Records, titled "Disney Mambo #5", which was released in February 2000. The lyrics were rewritten to be more kid-friendly, replacing the girls' names with those of characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy, as well as altering references to sex and alcohol. The song was released on the albums Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 2 and La Vida Mickey.
A music video was also created for play on Disney Channel, featuring Bega performing the song with a jazz ensemble interspersed with footage of Mickey and his friends from the Mickey Mouse Works TV show.
Track listings
- CD single
- "Mambo No. 5" (radio edit) – 3:39
- "Mambo No. 5" (extended mix) – 5:14
- "Mambo No. 5" (enhanced CD-ROM video) – 3:42
- Maxi single
- "Mambo No. 5" (radio edit) – 3:39
- "Mambo No. 5" (extended mix) – 5:14
- "Mambo" (Havanna club mix) – 5:48
- "Mambo" (The Trumpet) – 6:01
- 7-inch 45 rpm single
- "Mambo No. 5" (radio edit) – 3:39
- "Beauty on the TV-Screen" – 4:03
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Mambo No. 5"
!Chart (1999)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)
|1
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Czech Republic (IFPI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Denmark (Tracklisten)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (European Hot 100)
|1
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Greece (IFPI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Hungary (Mahasz)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Italy Airplay (Music & Media)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)
|1
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Mambo No. 5"
!Chart (1999)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Brazil (Crowley)
|14
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (RPM)
|7
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)
|22
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|Europe Airplay (Radio Top 50)
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Europe Border Breakers (Media & Media)
|2
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Germany (Media Control)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|Spain (AFYVE)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden (Hitlistan)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|4
|-
!scope="row"|UK Airplay (Music Week)
|32
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100
|42
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)
|30
|-
!scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)
|19
|-
!scope="row"|US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)
|38
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (2000)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)
|86
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|82
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)
|53
|-
!scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)
|70
|}
Decade-end charts
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Decade-end chart performance for "Mambo No. 5"
!Chart (1990–1999)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)
|18
|}
Certifications and sales
Release history
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Release dates and formats for "Mambo No. 5"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|
|-
!scope="row"|Germany
|19 April 1999
|rowspan="3"|CD
|Ariola
|
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden
|
|-
!scope="row"|United States
|17 August 1999
|12-inch vinyl
|rowspan="2"|RCA
|
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
|23 August 1999
|
|
|-
!scope="row"|Japan
|22 September 1999
|CD
|
|
|}
Bob the Builder version
On 3 September 2001, BBC Records released a novelty version of the song sung by British actor Neil Morrissey, who provided the voice of Bob for children's television show Bob the Builder. It features background vocals from Rob Rackstraw and Kate Harbour, who voiced several other characters on the show. This cover radically changed the lyrics to fit the theme of the show, making numerous references to construction, repairs and roadway maintenance, as well as the show's characters. The women's names from Bega's version are also replaced with types of construction supplies and building tasks, e.g., timber, saw, waterproofing and tiling.
Chart performance
On 9 September 2001, the song debuted at number one on the UK singles chart, Following the 11 September attacks, the song was removed from the BBC Radio 2 playlist due to its lyrics about building construction, with the station's executive music producer Colin Martin describing the song as being "too frivolous in light of the news that was breaking". The song earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 October 2001 for shipping over 400,000 units. It remained in the top 50 for 10 weeks in total.
- "Mambo No. 5"
- "Super Spud" (Spud's dub)
- "Mambo No. 5" (karaoke mix)
- "Mambo No. 5" (video CD-ROM)
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Mambo No. 5"
!Chart (2001)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Mambo No. 5"
!Chart (2001)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|26
|-
!scope="row"|Ireland (IRMA)
|42
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|17
|}
Certifications
Release history
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Release dates and formats for "Mambo No. 5"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
|3 September 2001
|
|BBC
|
|-
!scope="row"|Australia
|22 October 2001
|CD
|Universal Music Australia
|
|}
Ome Henk parody
In 1999, Dutch TV character Ome Henk (Frank van der Plas) took a parody of the song called "Mambo Nr 6" to number 17 on the Dutch Top 40. The lyrics referred to the medicine prescribed to him, which causes hallucinations of the girls he mentions in the song. A parody of commercials for the fictional product is also heard.
Legacy
- The original recording by Pérez Prado was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
- This song was initially selected as the theme song of the 2000 Democratic National Convention, but this plan was scrapped due to the possibility of people associating the song with Monica Lewinsky, who had a central role in the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, with the chorus, "A little bit of Monica in my life".
- The Lou Bega version has become associated with the England cricket team and Test cricket after it was used by UK broadcaster Channel 4 as the theme for their live coverage of England Test matches between 1999 and 2005; the music also accompanied the return of cricket to the channel during the 2021 India–England series. Having been particularly famous during the 2005 Ashes series won by England, the song is still played today by the England cricket fans, the 'Barmy Army'.
- Mambo V (Michael Dobson), a character in Ninjago, is named after the song.
- The Florida Panthers, a National Hockey League team, play the song after they score their fifth goal in a game[https://thebrunswicknews.com/sports/national_sports/panthers-looked-like-a-contender-to-actually-become-one-they-had-to-change-everything/article_9bf8dda1-42aa-58a5-adc5-fc7a547f137c.html]
- Prado's version is sampled in the title track of Karol G's Tropicoqueta.
- The song was used in The Boys episode "King of Hell" the playing in the van's radio, filling the awkward silence.