Pop Music with a Latin Beat

There were all kinds of dance rhythms in this first era of rock and roll — including Latin ones.  The cha-cha, with its distinctive beat, is a dance of Cuban origin, which became popular in the 1950s and 60s. Rydell’s “The Cha-Cha-Cha” went to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962.

Bobby Rydell (Robert Louis Ridarelli b.1942), from Philadelphia, is a singer, drummer, and performer. Rydell had hits in the 1960s with “Wild One” and “Volare” and starred in the film Bye Bye Birdie. He continues to perform internationally today.

Here are the lyrics to “The Cha -Cha-Cha” by Bobby Rydell:

Baby, baby come on sway me, drive me crazy
Do the cha, cha, cha
Somethin’s missin’ when we’re twistin’, let’s start kissin’
Do the Cha, Cha, Cha

And when you see the Wah-Watusi (Wah, wah) you’d go a’ha, ha, ha
The Hully Gully isn’t nothin’ (Wah, wah, wah)
When you compare it to the cha, cha, cha

So, oh, baby come-a, come-a sway me, drive me crazy
Do the Cha, Cha, Cha, come on and sing it now

Mmmm, let’s start kissin’, do the Cha, Cha, Cha

The Locomotion in the ocean and I go ha-ha-ha
The Mashed Potatoes ain’t the greatest
When you compare it to the Cha, Cha, Cha

So, oh, baby come-a, come-a sway me, drive me crazy
Do the Cha, Cha, Cha, and let me hear it again

And, I like to Cha, Cha, Cha
(La, la, la, la) Come on and do the Cha, Cha, Cha

For others song by Bobby Rydell: “Wildwood Days and “Wild One.”

If you are interested in learning more about Bobby Rydell, here is an interview with him about his autobiography Bobby Rydell: Teen Idol on the Rocks.

For More Golden Oldies Music                

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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