Artist:Chakachas
Song:Jungle Fever
Album:Funk Gold
Jungle Fever was a top ten pop hit in 1971. The most notable thing about this song is the moaning and heavy breathing which is probably why it was a big dance club hit. Chances are pretty good you heard it in the 1997 film Boogie Nights. Chakachas were a band of Belgian studio musicians. They started out in the late 50s as a cha cha band led by Gaston Bogaerts. After some local success, they split up in 1965. They reformed in 1970 and that's when they recorded Jungle Fever. By this time it looks like Chakachas was led by a guy who called himself Bill Ador. He also used the name Willy Albimoor. His real name was Willy Noel de Moor. He wrote and arranged Jungle Fever. He liked to record Cuban dance music. The singer doing the heavy breathing was Kari Kenton. I'm not sure about the rest of the band as I don't have detailed credits and I think this version of Chakachas was different from the early 60s version. Jungle Fever was on Polydor. After the heavy breathing got the song banned by the BBC, it became a big hit in Europe and in US dance clubs. Jungle Fever reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Chakachas last recorded in 1977 and Bill Ador died in 2004. But Jungle Fever has had a long life. It appeared in the 1997 film Boogie Nights and the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It is also frequently sampled by hip hop guys. You can get Jungle Fever on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Here's a video for Jungle Fever by Chakachas.
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