Volume 9: Cha-Cha De Amor (Capitol 37595)
You know what? Her name was Lola, and brother what a showgirl. But the Copacabana was a people's palace, not some disco fantasy. Her name was Lola, but she likes to be called Cha-Cha...Cha-Cha de Amor.
Cha-Cha had come up from the poor streets of Havana, and was brought over in the early '50s at the invitation of the Arthur Murray dance studios. On the prowl for someone to teach him new dances for a rhythm-crazed populace, Murray thought he had found a meal ticket. The cha-cha-cha was a simple mid-tempo beat that Murray could tell was well-suited for millions of arrhythmic Americans.
It all seemed so right. But when Cha-Cha's troupe auditioned for Murray, he blushed several shades of picante. The women wore long skirts slashed open at the front and trussed high in the waist. Under their gaily colored skirts the women wore absolutely nothing...the group was a little too genuine.
Out of such trial and error, Murray wrought a dancing empire. He found instructors who wore underwear and weren't so frightening authentic. He dumbed down the dance, cut off one cha because he thought it would be easier for Americans to count (one-two-three-cha-cha). And he went from holding private lessons to open enrollment for the uncoordinated masses. A new dance craze was born -- The Cha-Cha.
Recado Bossa Nova - Laurindo Almeida and The Bossa Nova All-Stars
You're My Thrill - George Auld
It Must Be True - The John Buzon Trio
The Carioca - Martin Denny
Whatever Lola Wants - Les Baxter
A Nega Se Vingou - Walter Wanderley
Dark Eyes/It Happened In Monterey - The Mallet Men 80 Drums Around The World
Gopher Mambo - Yma Sumac
Zelda's Theme - Perez Pradov
The Magnificent Seven - Tito Rodriguez
Cha Cha d'Amour - Dean Martin
Desafinado - Laurindo Almeida and The Bossa Nova All-Stars
Bei Mir Bist Du Schon/La Furiosa - Jack Contanzo/Don Swan
Choo Choo Cha Cha - Rinky Dinks
So Nice - Billy May
Rock-Cha-Rhumba - various artists
Sway - Julie London
