by Thom JurekAny music fan that digs the Latin music sounds of the 1970s from late pachuco soul to Latin funk and disco and salsa, or, any serious fan of sampledelia in hip-hop circles knows the single "Jungle Fever" by Chakachas. It was a truly infamous hit in the United States in 1971 and 1972, mainly for the moaning, breathy, sexual overtones of its female vocalist (though there are some male grunts in the mix too) but it was also beat crazy. The band that created this smash, were, to all but hardcore music connoisseurs, virtually unknown. That's OK, its record company at the time Polydor, wanted it that way. That's because this group from Belgium was almost completely white, made up nearly entirely of Northern European men (with the notable exception being vocalist Kari Kenton who was of Cuban origin), most were either Dutch or Belgian. Chakachas have a curious history. Formed in the late '50s by pianist Nico Gomez and percussionist Gaston Bogaert, they were imitators of the Latin sounds that were taking the world by storm at the time, from cha cha, to mambo to hybrid exotica to rhumba. They made records and seldom played outside Brussels or its environs. They disbanded in 1965 and Gomez began making his own albums (most are killer and are now very collectible), often using former bandmates as session players. Later in the decade, other groups from the region began making Latin-style recordings and making some headway in sales and in the press. The group's producer, Roland Kluger, convinced all but Gomez to return and recorded the Jungle Fever LP, of which the title track was buried at the dead end of side two. Polydor nonetheless issued the cut as a single and the rest is history, except for one interesting fact: they understood the record would die if anybody knew this band was white. For an appearance at the Apollo, they hired a group of African-American men to impersonate the band on-stage. Since no known photos of the real Chakachas existed, they were in the clear. ... Read More...