Rico Mambo
| "Rico Mambo" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Breakfast Club | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | ZE Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dan Gilroy | |||
| Producer(s) | Steve Bray | |||
| Breakfast Club singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Rico Mambo" is a 1984 single by the American band Breakfast Club. Written by the band's lead singer Dan Gilroy and originally produced by drummer Stephen Bray, it was re-recorded for the band's eponymous 1987 album with production by Deodato.
Early releases[edit]
Breakfast Club signed with ZE Records, first issuing the "Rico Mambo" in 1984 as a standalone single with "Walk It Off" as a b-side. Distributed by Island Records, the single saw release as both 7″ and 12″ singles on five continents,[1] but failed to chart anywhere.
With its inclusion on the successful Breakfast Club in 1987, the new version of the song saw release in Europe and Australia by MCA on both 7″ and 12″ singles, this time with "Tongue Tied" as a b-side.[1] It again failed to chart.
Later popularity[edit]
In 1989, ZE Records re-released the 1984 "Rico Mambo" as part of the Zetrospective: Dancing in the Face of Adversity compilation. Reviewer Robert Christgau praised the album as "the first postmodern dance music—dance music with a critical spirit", but dismissed "Rico Mambo" as "cheesy".[2]
The 1984 version of "Rico Mambo" was first released in the Philippines in 1985[1] and became one of Maricel Soriano's signature dance numbers. In 2007, the Philippine CPDRC Dancing Inmates performed "Rico Mambo" at their prison in Cebu first in October[3] and again in November,[4] the latter as part of the television series Pinoy Big Brother with contestants Riza Santos, Megan Young, Gaby dela Merced, Victor Basa and Mcoy Fundales. Both videos use the 1984 recording of the song. It has been one of the prisoners' most-viewed routines with over a million views on YouTube for each of the videos.[3][4]
In 2019 a "Club Mix" and a "Club Mix Radio Edit" of the 1984 version were released on music streaming services.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Mambo / Walk It Off Rico Mambo" at Discogs (list of releases)
- ^ "Zetrospective: Dancing in the Face of Adversity" at the Consumer Album Guide. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ a b Áine Mangaoang. Dangerous Mediations: Pop Music in a Philippine Prison Video. Bloomsbury, 2019. p. 195. ISBN 9781501331558
- ^ a b "PBB Celebrity Housemates (Restored after 3 years!!!)" (13 November) and "'Rico mambo' 2" (7 October 2007) at YouTube.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Rico Mambo (Club Mix)" and "Rico Mambo (Club Mix Radio Edit)" at Spotify.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
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