"My Chiffon is Wet, Dahling! My Wig is Wet!": A Very Quick Post about Sir Monte Rock III [Something Interesting #23]

Updated: Oct 31

It’s been a while since I last wrote here but I’m not completely gone – just focusing on finding new topics, carving time to actually write posts, and keeping my head on my shoulders. In the meantime, here’s a brief Something Interesting to pass a few minutes.

A couple months ago, I had a specific song stuck in my head. As mentioned in a much older post, I have a weird fascination with disco and the song in question is one of the earliest (and strangest) examples of the genre: “Get Dancin'” by Disco Tex and the Sex-o-lettes:

Figuring there had to be more on who Disco Tex was, I ended up finding out that it was a persona for a performer normally known as Sir Monte Rock III. I couldn’t find a whole lot written about him other than a few interviews but I learned the following while digging around:

He was born and raised in New York City to a Puerto Rican family;
He was initially a hairdresser to celebrities;
He started performing in the 1960s and made a number of late-night TV appearances prior to cutting “Get Dancin'” in 1974;
He was a fixture on the NYC cabaret scenes and known for reinventing his acts;
Howard Stern was/is a huge fan of his;
Being an enigma is part of his act (see some of the videos to better understanding…);
He’s officially ordained as a minister; and
He’s now in Las Vegas and in his 80s as of writing this post.

He seems to be quite a colorful character and I’m honestly surprised there isn’t more on him out there, despite the fact he might’ve wanted it that way. My understanding is that there’s supposed to be a documentary called Entreprewhore: The Legend of Monti Rock but all I’ve seen of it is a Facebook page. In lieu of that, YouTube has a number of his late-night appearances and some short news clips that make for good viewing, especially if you have an interest or curiosity about how variety shows worked during that era or just the man himself.