The Cuban-born mambo composer and bass player Israel "Cachao" López is widely credited with popularizing the style in the U.S. during the early 1950s, although he was also an important musical figure in his homeland for decades prior to that. Writing and performing with his brother Orestes, he infused his songs with Afro-Cuban rhythms, meshing son, danzón, and other native styles into the new and exciting mambo sound. He has won multiple Grammy awards for his own albums, and guested and collaborated with scores of other Latin performers. He continued to perform and record well into his ninth decade.