David Lubega (a.k.a. Lou Bega ) (born April 13 1975), is an Italo-German and Ugandan musician famous for his song "Mambo No. 5". This song is a remake of the Perez Prado instrumental from 1949. Bega added his own words to the song and sampled the original version extensively.

LOU BEGA TICKETS BTS Tickets Rush Tickets Journey Tickets Shakira Tickets Bryson Tiller Tickets Earth, Wind and Fire Tickets

Career

Bega's mother is from Sicily (Italy) and his father is Ugandan. His father went to Germany in 1972 to study biology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. ^[1] Until age six, Bega spent the most time with his mother in Italy. Then they lived permanently in Munich, where Bega attended German primary school. At age 15 he lived in Miami for one-and-a-half years. Bega also lived in Uganda for half a year. ^[2] Currently he lives in Berlin. ^[3]

Bega started his musical career as a rapper. At age of 13 he founded a Hip hop group with two other boys. Their first CD was released in 1990. When Bega lived in Miami he discovered Latin American music. Back in Germany, the German producers Goar Biesenkamp (better known as Goar B) and Achim Kleist (Syndicate Musicproduction) recognized Bega's talent. Bega signed a recording contract to the label Lautstark . ^[4]

His first single "Mambo No. 5" became an instant worldwide hit charting at #1 in most European countries including Germany ^[5], UK ^[6] and France ^[7] and at #3 in the United States. In France "Mambo No. 5" spent twenty weeks at #1, ^[8] which is an unbroken record to date. It was also used by the British television broadcaster, Channel 4 for their coverage of Test Match cricket between 1999 and 2005. ^[9]

On July 19, 1999 he released the album A Little Bit of Mambo . It peaked at #3 in the USA. In Germany, Bega's native country, it also peaked at #3. In the UK the album peaked only at #50. A Little Bit of Mambo peaked at #1 in the album charts of Austria, Canada, Finland, Hungary, the Middle East, Portugal, and Switzerland. ^[10] The second single, "I Got a Girl", charted well entering the Top 10 in some European countries including France, Finland and Belgium ^[11].

Bega's second studio album Ladies and Gentlemen was released on May 28, 2001. Neither, the album nor the singles attained the great commercial success of A Little Bit of Mambo . "Baby Keep Smiling" is on this album, a duet with Compay Segundo from Buena Vista Social Club. ^[12] A Little Bit of Mambo includes a version without him. Bega covered also the famous song "Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody" on Ladies and Gentlemen .

In the computer game Tropico, Lou Bega is one of the characters someone can choose as their dictatorial persona. He was included as part of a licensing deal that also saw Bega's song "Club Elitaire" integrated into the German release of Tropico. ^[13] Also, in the Ubi Soft/Disney Interactive video game Walt Disney's The Jungle Book Rhythm n' Groove , Lou Bega participates in a challenge with his namesake. The player dances as King Louie, attempting to dance to Lou Bega's rendition of "I Wanna Be Like You". Doing so will unlock a video of him with children dancing to the aforementioned song. ^[14] Bega also wrote the theme song for the French cartoon series Marsupilami .

Lou Bega works as a co-lyricist for the German Euro-Trance band Groove Coverage. ^[15]

His third studio album, Lounatic , was released on May 10, 2005. The first single released was "Bachata" followed by "You Wanna Be Americano" and "Conchita".

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions
		US	UK	DE	AT	CH	FR	NL	FI	SE	NO	AU	NZ
1999	A Little Bit of Mambo	3	50	3	1	1	8	17	1	20	3	—	28
2001	Ladies and Gentlemen	—	—	54	31	23	109	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	Lounatic	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions												Album
		US	UK	DE	AT	CH	FR	NL	FI	SE	NO	AU	NZ
1999	"Mambo No. 5"	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	A Little Bit of Mambo
	"I Got a Girl"	—	55	19	19	20	5	31	2	12	—	31	48
	"Tricky, Tricky"	74	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	55	—	—	—
2000	"Mambo Mambo"	—	—	—	—	—	11	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001	"Gentleman"	—	—	35	16	62	54	—	—	—	—	—	—	Ladies and Gentlemen
	"Just a Gigolo"	—	—	94	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	"Bachata"	—	—	100	—	—	69	88	—	—	—	—	—	Lounatic
	"You Wanna Be Americano"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	"Conchita"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Compilations

• 2002: King of Mambo
• 2004: Mambo Mambo - The Best of Lou Bega

Awards

• 1999: "Best International Song", Festivalbar (for "Mambo No. 5")
• 2000: "International Song of the Year", NRJ Music Awards (for "Mambo No. 5")
• 2000: "Single of the Year (National)", ECHO (for "Mambo No. 5")
• 2000: "Best National Artist in Foreign Countries", ECHO

In 1999 Lou Bega was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" (for "Mambo No. 5").

References

1. Lou Bega's official website
2. Interview with Lou Bega (in German)
3. Another interview with Lou Bega (in German)
4. Artists under contract to ''Lautstark''
5. Suchergebnis (Search)
6. Uk Top 40 Hit Datebase
7. LOU BEGA - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)
8. French single chart
9. BBC News: "Mambo hit knocks fans for six"
10. Chart positions of ''A Little Bit of Mambo'' and ''Mambo No. 5''
11. LOU BEGA - I Got a Girl
12. Album credits of ''Ladies and Gentlemen'' on artistdirect.com
13. Official website of the PC game "Tropico" (in German)
14. videogames.yahoo.com
15. Songs Bega has written