Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sir Monti Rock III

I saw THIS question raised on another list I belong to a couple of weeks ago ...

Do any of you remember Sir Monti Rock III?

But before I could even pull something together to put up on the web, I saw that answers were already coming in:

Of course I remember! -- Disco Tex and The Sex-O-Lettes. I think the "hit" was "Get Dancing." I remember playing it on the radio, although I don't remember what year it was, so I don't know if it was 'KB or not. But I do remember the song was fun, and Monte made Elton John and Liberace look conservative.
Don Berns

The single was a hit in late 74, early 75 ... I probably played it during my short stint on WYSL, then.

Take care,
Bob

Monti Rock the 3rd I believe was a hairdresser (1st), a chef? (2nd), and a singer (3rd) but I forgot he had a hit with “Get Dancing.) He was also known as Disco Tex (and the Sex-O-Lettes). "Get Dancing".
-- Dennis

Sir Monti Rock III is alive and well and living in Las Vegas. Remember his line(s) in Saturday Night Fever? "This is Monti, your delicious DJ -- turn yourselves in, baby!"
John Bisci
www.lancasterheroes.com
Sir Monti Rock III (Real Name: Joseph Montanez) had two Top 40 Hits as Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes in 1975: Get Dancin' (which actually made The National Top Ten) and I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo, which hit #23. Both are camp, over-the-top, horribly hard to listen to, God-Awful semi-disco tracks that definitely fall into the Forgotten Hits category ... by all appearances, conventional oldies radio won't touch them!!! (Quite honestly, I'm not so sure that these tracks need to be resurrected!!! lol In fact, along with Rick Dees' Disco Duck, Disco Tex's recordings are a pretty fair representation of disco music at its absolute worst!!! At the very least, nothing short of "Disco Gone Wrong"!!!) But the truth is these recordings were EXACTLY what they were intended to be ... they were SUPPOSED to be completely outrageous and out of control ... and that's what made them so unique at the time!

Prior to his chart success, Sir Monti Rock III was probably best known as a hair-dresser ... in fact, at one point, he owned a chain of hairdressing salons ... and he became an internationally known celebrity for his flamboyant behavior. (He even managed a few movie roles during his fifteen minutes of fame!) Believe it or not, his hit singles were produced by the legendary Bob Crewe ... you've just gotta wonder what he was thinking at the time!!! (Novelty hits??? Or just part of the crowd he was hangin' out with back then?!?!?)

You can check out all the latest on Monti's comings and goings at his website here:
Click here: Monti Frame


(In fact, how cool is this?!?!? If you're interested, you can even hire Sir Monti Rock III to perform your wedding ceremony!!! Yep, I think folks'll remember that event!!!)
-- Kent Kotal