Margarita "Cha Cha" Sierra: Cha Cha Twist (Warner Brothers)

Margarita "Cha Cha" Sierra
Here again we have another example of the twist mania that was pouring over the country in the early 60s. This time around, we have what appears to be a cross-breeding of the twist, and another popular dance craze, the cha cha. Or maybe it's called that because "Cha-Cha" was the name of a character this Spanish singer-dancer-actress played on a short-lived series called "Surfside 6." The label lists Miss Sierra as a star of Warner Brothers Television and a look at her credits on the Internet Movie Database reveals only "Surfside 6" and a 1957 appearance on the Jack Paar show. It also reveals that she died of heart disease at only age 27.

So, how do I describe this thing? Well, for one thing it's got a typical big production sound of the period as if they really didn't know or feel rock 'n' roll in their bones. But then, ol' Margarita comes and sauces up the works. "1-2-cha cha cha/Cha cha twist," she purrs and she keeps this Spanish-flavored purring delivery all the way through the record. She also has this habit of going "EEE-YOO" in between the verses. EX: "Let's do the cha cha twist. EEE-YOU." Then, there's a nice little guitar break in between Miss Sierra's vocalizing. We also get a standard 1960s mens' chorus starting things off with "Let's do the cha cha twist" and popping up with that ever so often. But it's Margarita's purring and panting that moves this into the memorable.

This was something I found in a 50-cent bin at a record show here in Indy over the weekend. While I didn't find anything too spectacular, I did find a number of interesting items, of which this was one. Thus, "It's Great Shakes" pays a little tribute to a long-forgotten starlet.....or more likely, someone I'd never even heard of until now. Such is life.