Dance Mania

by Tito Puente & His Orchestra, Tito Puente

Overview

Dance Mania, Tito Puente's best-known and best-selling album, came ten years into his career, but at a time (1957) when the craze for mambo and Latin music was beginning to crest. (Another landmark LP, Perez Prado's Havana 3 A.M., had been released the previous year, and Prado's "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" had hit number one in 1955.) Recorded as part of a just-signed exclusive contract with RCA and appearing in vibrant sound as part of the label's Living Stereo series, Dance Mania exploded with a series of tight arrangements, propulsive playing, and the features of new additions in vocalist Santos Colon and conguero Ray Barretto (who helped, in part, make up for the recent loss of Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria to Cal Tjader's group). Puente didn't dilute his sound for Dance Mania -- unlike the many commercial crossover LPs that were released by both established groups and ad hoc studio collectives -- but his hard mambos here were performed at tempos that encouraged dancing by more staid LP-buyers, slightly slower than the high paces of his Tico sides or Palladium shows. Brassy and swinging, yes, and certainly as precise as a great Latin band could get, but not as torrid as Spanish Harlem dancers would be accustomed to. Most were Puente originals, spanning mambo and cha-cha and guaguanco, and Dance Mania built the foundation for great Latin LPs to come. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	05/24/2024
Label:	Dol
UPC:	0889397108649
Rank:	172703

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tito Puente & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Tito Puente   Primary Artist,Marimba,Timbales,Bandleader,Percussion,Vibraphone
Ray Barretto   Guest Artist,Percussion
Rafael Palau   Saxophone
George Lopez   Trumpet
Ray Rodriguez   Percussion
Otto Olivar   Choir/Chorus
Gene Rapett   Trumpet
Frank Lo Pinto   Trumpet
Santos Colon   Choir/Chorus,Vocals
Julio Collazo   Percussion
Jerry Sanfino   Saxophone
Bernie Glow   Trumpet
Jimmy Frisaura   Trumpet
Vitin Aviles   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Jose Ramon Martinez   Composer
Jessy Guerra   Composer
Chico O'Farrill   Composer
Benjamin Cole   Composer
Felix Reina   Composer
Domingo G. Echevarria   Musicologist,Digital Remastering,Reissue Coordinator
Francisco Aguabella   Composer
Lew Brown   Composer
Samuel Lopez   Reissue Coordinator
Dick Baxter   Digital Remastering
Santos   Composer
Ray Henderson   Composer
Ray Santos   Composer
Osvaldo Estivill   Composer
Mickey Crofford   Engineer
Harry Sepulveda   Reissue Coordinator
Brown   Composer
Amancio d'Silva   Composer
Bruce Hailstalk   Research
Marty Holmes   Composer
Pepe Delgado   Composer
Julio Collazo   Composer
Paul Misraki   Composer
Miguel Matamoros   Composer
Mongo Santamaria   Composer
Tito Puente   Leader,Arranger,Composer
Buddy DeSylva   Composer
Cachao   Composer