The style was a fusion of popular African American rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music with mambo and son montuno, with songs in both English and Spanish.
Boogaloo was a result of this search, a marriage of many styles including Cuban son montuno, guaguancó, guajira, guaracha, mambo, and American R&B and soul.
Styles like doo wop also left a sizable influence, through Tony Pabón (of the Pete Rodríguez Band), Bobby Marín, King Nando, and Johnny Colón.
Though boogaloo did not become mainstream nationwide until later in the decade, two early Top 20 hits came in 1963: Mongo Santamaría's cover version of the Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man"[3] and Ray Barretto's "El Watusi".
Hits by other groups included Johnny Colón's "Boogaloo Blues", Pete Rodríguez's "I Like It like That",[1] and Héctor Rivera's "At the Party".
[7] The closing marked the end of mainstream mambo, and boogaloo ruled the Latin charts for several years before salsa began to take over.
That included boogaloos by long-time veteran, mambo-era musicians such as Eddie Palmieri and his "Ay Que Rico" or Tito Puente's "Hit the Bongo".
The explosive success of salsa in the early 1970s saw former giants like Puente and the Palmieri Brothers return to the top, while most Latin boogaloo bands went out of business (Joe Bataan being a notable exception).
[10] In Cali, Colombia, boogaloo, salsa and pachanga are played by disc jockeys like Heynar Alonso and others in FM and AM radio stations and dance clubs.