Watermelon Man
Mongo Santamaría · 1963 · from the album Watermelon Man! · written by Herbie Hancock
A jazz tune, a conga player, and a Top 10 hit: the record that's sometimes called the beginning of boogaloo.
- congas
- boogaloo
- Latin jazz
- cha-cha-chá
Why it matters
Herbie Hancock wrote Watermelon Man as a jazz tune. When he stood in with Cuban conga player Mongo Santamaría's band at a Bronx club, they played it, and the crowd loved it. Santamaría recorded it in December 1962, and it came out in early 1963 on Battle Records.
It reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mixing Afro-Cuban rhythm with R&B, it's sometimes considered the beginning of boogaloo, and it's in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
What to listen for
- Mongo Santamaría's congas, right up front: this is what the conga sounds like when it leads the band.
- A cha-cha-chá beat on the Latin side, with a drummer playing an R&B backbeat on the other. Listen to how the two fit together.
- It's slower than salsa and steady all the way through: a relaxed groove for practicing timing and body movement.