The death of musician Dave “Baby” Cortez, 86, in 2022 has just been revealed—the reclusive Cortez was buried in an unmarked grave on New York’s Hart Island, and his daughter only found out he’d died when his record company contacted her about royalties. While Cortez was best-known for his 1959 hit “The Happy Organ” (!), my sister and I knew him from 1962’s cha-cha number “Rinky Dink.” Our flashy Aunt Mary (she had a platinum bouffant, an inflatable bra, capri pants, and spike-heeled Spring-o-Lators!), taught us to cha-cha to that record, and the sound of it always wings me back to the JFK era. The Detroit-born Cortez was a trained pianist, and began playing back-up in the mid-50s, till he briefly hit the big time (his other numbers included “Happy Weekend,” “Fiesta,” “Hot Cakes!” and “Someone Has Taken Your Place”). Then, he retired from the music biz and vanished from public (and private, apparently) sight. Cortez recalled that he had a hard time working the organ into his music: "I didn't like the vocal, because I'm not a great singer. Usually, when you go into a studio, they have the Hammond organ covered up. People weren't using it then, except in gospel, mostly. I said, 'Let me try this thing here.’”
Rinky Dink (one-two-cha-cha-cha!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3_ks5JFis&list=RDfn3_ks5JFis&start_radio=1
What a disappointment to learn that he died in 2022 and was buried at Hart Island because no one knew this musical genius. I absolutely loved "Rinky Dink" and "The Happy Organ" . Both were songs that bring my spirits up.