Hitmaker of 1999 iteration of Mambo No 5 returns to creating music six years later to pay tribute to scatting legend, Scatman John
Lou Bega
Let's begin by admitting that for the major part of the research that this reporter put in for this interview, Lou Bega's 1999 commercial chartbuster Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of...) served as a mental background score of sorts. That's as much as saying that Bega — along with his women, Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina and oh, Sandra in the sun — kept us in high spirits throughout the process. It takes us by no surprise then that the German singer-songwriter instantly picks this track's genre as one among the most cherished ones he has dabbled in (and he has dabbled in abundant.) "People across the world react to Mambo very well. They are joyful and happy [when listening to the genre]," says Bega, who serenaded fans in Romania to Mambo numbers last week. He moves on to new territories in the next few days.
2019 marks the sixth year since Bega rendered a single, and 20th since he became one among the most popular names of the '90s with A Little Bit Of. Even though 1999 earned him the kind of stardom he had, until then, only aspired for, he remembers the year with a hint of grief as well. "My father died three weeks before the release of the song. He never got to see his son finally make it," says the Grammy Award nominee. Much like his father, Bega's music idol, Scatman John (I'm A Scatman fame) too succumbed to brain tumour in 1999. "I never got a chance to meet him. I had always liked his approach. He was an unlikely [addition] to the top music charts then. He was a stutterer, which was considered a weakness, and he was older than the regular [pop icons]." And apart from drawing parallels between the fate that had met John and his own father, Bega sees many a similarity between him and the scatting legend. "We liked to be outsiders, and create [sounds] that are distinctive. You could recognise [our voice when pitted against] other artistes." It's only fitting then that Bega end his dry run at the singles charts with a song that doubles up as a tribute to John.
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Appropriately titled Scatman & Hatman, the recently released number marries 1994's I'm A Scatman with vocals by Bega. Created by employing DAT tapes and voice recordings of John after collaborating with the latter's team, Bega's latest track has all the sprightly elements one would associate with a promising contemporary tune. "I wanted to show the new generation that the old [horses] can still jump high. The '90s symbolised a time when things were more [melodious]. We wanted to give the current generation a touch of the '90s; travel through time, and just say 'hi' to them." The young lot, he opines, lives a life harder than his own. "They live in two worlds; the real world and the Internet. So it is tougher." However, he also doesn't underplay the umpteen opportunities this medium offers in enhancing their careers. "One can have a studio at home and produce music on the mobile phone. Anyone can do it, so that's a democratic process. If you're talented and know how to reach people, you can be successful. Between record labels and [producers], we had to negotiate all the time."
Arriving at the 1999 chartbuster
Bega's A Little Bit Of was set against Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado's instrumental number, Mambo No 5. Bega had heard it during a year-long outing in Miami at the age of 16, before employing it to make the track
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