"Mambo No. 5" is a mambo and jive dance

Jive (dance)

In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance...

 song originally recorded and composed by Pérez Prado

Perez Prado

Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Cuban bandleader, musician , and composer. He is often referred to as the 'King of the Mambo'.His orchestra was the most popular in mambo...

 in 1949.

The song's popularity was renewed by Lou Bega

Lou Bega

David Lubega , also known as Lou Bega, is a German musician of Italian and Ugandan descent, and is famous for his song "Mambo No. 5 ". This song is a remake of the Perez Prado instrumental from 1949...

's sampling of the original, released under the same name on Bega's 1999 debut album A Little Bit of Mambo

A Little Bit of Mambo

-French edition track listing:-Credits:All music and lyrics by Lou Bega, Zippy Davids, Frank Lio and Donald Fact, except:Track 1 – Mambo No. 5 : music by Perez Prado, lyrics by Lou Bega and Zippy Davids;...

.
Bega's cover was a hit in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia, where it reached #1 in 1999. It stayed at #1 in Australia for eight weeks, ultimately becoming the best-selling single of the year.