"Mambo No. 5" is an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

and

jazz dance Jazz Dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz Dance may allude to vernacular Jazz, Broadway or dramatic Jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that ...

song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician

Dámaso Pérez Prado Dámaso is a Spanish masculine given name. The name is equivalent to that of Pope Damasus I in English. The name also exists in Italian as Damaso, though it is uncommon. People * Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet * Dámaso Berenguer, 1s ...

in 1949 and released the next year. German singer

Lou Bega David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage name Lou Bega, is a German singer. His 1999 song "Mambo No. 5#Lou Bega version, Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached no. 1 in many Europe ...

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

the original for a new song released under the same name on his 1999 debut album, ''

A Little Bit of Mambo ''A Little Bit of Mambo'' is the debut studio album by German musician Lou Bega released in 1999, propelled by the success of the single "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)". Track listing *The Japanese edition has "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of. ...

''.

Lou Bega version

German singer

recorded a cover of the song and released it in April 1999 as the first single from his debut album, ''

'' (1999). His version became a

summer hit In the entertainment industry, a summer hit is a song that is released and peaks in its popularity during summer. In some years, a single pop song will gain widespread international popularity during the summer season, becoming that summer's def ...

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 hit in the United States.

Critical reception

Elisabeth Vincentelli Elisabeth Vincentelli is a French-born, New York-based arts and culture journalist. She is a regular contributor to ''The New York Times’ Arts section''. She served as the chief drama critic for the ''New York Post'' from 2009 until 2016, havin ...

from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' rated the song with a B minus, adding, "All of a sudden,

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 Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

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 Peermusic is a United States–based independent Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. History Ralph Peer, a field recording engineer and Artists and repertoire, A&R representative for Victor Records, went on a scouting trip to Brist ...

, and Bega's producers. Bega had only used

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s (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 The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, legally, a decision by the F ...

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 A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Mambo No. 5", directed by Joern Heitmann, features Lou Bega singing and dancing with

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

s. An alternate music video aired on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

, featuring clips from various

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

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 Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...

, 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 Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

Minnie Mouse Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, w ...

and

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fe ...

, 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

, featuring Bega performing the song with a jazz ensemble interspersed with footage of Mickey and his friends from the ''

Mickey Mouse Works ''Mickey Mouse Works'' (also known as ''Disney's Mickey Mouse Works'' or simply ''Mouse Works'') is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends in a series of anima ...

'' TV show. It was also shown theatrically in front of Disney's ''

The Tigger Movie ''The Tigger Movie'' is a 2000 American animated Musical film, musical comedy-drama film produced by Disney Television Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation with animation production by Walt Disney Animation Japan. The film was written and ...

'', and was later included on the VHS/DVD releases of ''

Fun and Fancy Free ''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy anthology film produced by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen and released on September 27, 1947, by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is a compilation of two stories: ''Bongo'', narrate ...

'' and ''

A Goofy Movie ''A Goofy Movie'' is a 1995 American animated musical comedy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Directed by Kevin Lima, it is based on The Disney Afternoon television series ''Goof Troop'' (1992) created by Robert T ...

''.

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

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Bob the Builder version

On 3 September 2001,

BBC Records BBC Records was a division of the BBC founded in 1967 to commercially exploit the corporation's output for radio and television for both educational and domestic use. The division was known as BBC Radio Enterprises (1967–1970), BBC Records (1 ...

released a novelty version of the song sung by British actor

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor, businessman, narrator, and television presenter. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Rocky in ''Boon (TV series), Boon'', and Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acti ...

, who provided the voice of Bob for children's television show ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...

''. It features background vocals from

Rob Rackstraw Robert Rackstraw (born 31 October 1965) is an English voice actor who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games. Early life Rackstraw grew up in the Sunderland suburb of New Silksworth, and attended Southmoor C ...

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, becoming Bob the Builder's second number-one single on the listing after "

Can We Fix It? "Can We Fix It?" is the name of the theme song from the British children's animated television programme '' Bob the Builder''. It was written by Paul K. Joyce and produced by Hot Animation. Vocals on the song are provided by Neil Morrissey, ...

". In doing so, Bob became the first

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

act to top the UK chart with more than one single. Following the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, the song was removed from the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

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 (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) on 12 October 2001 for shipping over 400,000 units. At the end of 2001, it was ranked as the UK's 17th-best-selling single. In Ireland, the song first appeared on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

at number 13 on 13 September and peaked at number four the following week. It remained in the top 50 for 10 weeks in total. At the end of the year, the song came in at number 42 on Ireland's year-end chart. "Mambo No. 5" debuted at number three on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

on 4 November 2001 and reached number two on 18 November. After staying at the position for another week, the song descended the chart, spending nine more weeks in the top 50. It was Australia's 26th-most-successful hit of the year and shipped over 70,000 copies, allowing it to receive a platinum certification from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA).

Track listing

* CD and maxi-CD single # "Mambo No. 5" # "Super Spud" (Spud's dub) # "Mambo No. 5" (karaoke music) # "Mambo No. 5" (video CD-ROM)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Ome Henk parody

In 1999, Dutch TV character

Ome Henk Ome Henk ("Uncle Henk") is the main character of a Dutch CD, DVD and comic series of the same name. The Ome Henk CDs consist of stories which depend on dialogue and sound effects, and songs, some of which are parodies. Ome Henk is a character c ...

(Frank van der Plas) took a parody of the song called "Mambo Nr 6" to number 17 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica 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 The 2000 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention for the Democratic Party. The convention nominated Vice President Al Gore for president and Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut for vice president. T ...

, but this plan was scrapped due to the possibility of people associating the song with

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...

, who had a central role in the

Clinton–Lewinsky scandal The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Their sexual relationship began in 1995—when Clinton was 49 years old and Lewinsky ...

, with the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, "A little bit of Monica in my life". * The Lou Bega version has become associated with the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

and

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

after it was used by UK broadcaster

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

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 The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors. The ...

won by England, the song is still played today by the England cricket fans, the '

Barmy Army The Barmy Army is a group of British cricket fans known for supporting the English cricket team in both domestic and international matches. The Barmy Army was at first an informal group but was later turned into a company limited by guarantee, ...

'. *

Mambo V The following is a list of fictional characters from the Danish-Canadian animated television series '' Ninjago'' and its sequel, which were produced by The Lego Group. The series features a large ensemble cast of recurring characters. The list inc ...

( Michael Dobson), a character in '' Ninjago'', is named after the song. * The

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

, a

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

team, play the song after they score their fifth goal in a ga

References