Mongo Santamaría

Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and boogaloo dance crazes of the 1960s. His biggest hit was his rendition of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man", which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. From the 1970s, he recorded mainly salsa and Latin jazz, before retiring in the late 1990s.

7 April 1922

Born on the same birth day (7 April): Andrew Hampsten • Charlie Thomas (musician) • Ed Lafitte • Edwin T. Layton • Hodding Carter III • Josh Hader • Julius Hirsch • Kelli Young • M. Balasundaram • Marju Lauristin • Michèle Torr • Pascal Dupuis • Pascal Olmeta • Rafaela Gómez • Roger Vergé • Roland Wilson (economist) • Sandy Powell (costume designer) • Spencer Dryden • Zvika Hadar

Born in the same month (April 1922): Alistair MacLean • Allan Watkins • Carl Amery • Duke Jordan • Gordon Chater • Harold Washington • Jack Klugman • Kingsley Amis • Marc-Adélard Tremblay • Michael Ansara • Parren Mitchell • Sheila Scott • Tom Finney • William Manchester • Yevhen Bulanchyk