Archive-name: music/gloria-estefan/english-faq
Posting-Frequency: Quarterly Last-Modified: 1995/09/28 Version: 1.5 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Gloria Estefan / Miami Sound Machine FAQ ________________________________________ Gloria Maria Fajardo was born September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. She came to Miami less than two years later when her parents were forced to flee from the government of Fidel Castro. The day after her 21st birthday she married Emilio Estefan (born March 4, 1953), the leader of the Miami Sound Machine. Gloria has a teenage son, Nayib (born September 2, 1980) and an infant daughter, Emily Marie (born December 5, 1994). DISCOGRAPHY Main Albums Comment 1. Live Again / Renacer (1977) ....... The ultra rare debut album -- released in two different sleeves 2. Miami Sound Machine (1978) ........ Two versions exist -- one in Spanish and the other in English 3. Imported (1979) ................... Half English, half Spanish songs 4. MSM (1980) ........................ First album for a major label 5. Otra Vez (1981) ................... IMO the best of the early works Entirely in Spanish 6. Rio (1982) ........................ Gloria wrote/co-wrote every song but one. Entirely in Spanish 7. A Toda Maquina (1984) ............. Pretty much the Spanish version of Eyes of Innocence 8. Eyes of Innocence (1984) .......... The crossover album 9. Primitive Love (1985) ............. Included Conga! and two other Top-10 singles 10. Let It Loose (1987) ............... Also known as "Anything for You" in Europe. Went 5x platinum in UK. 11. Cuts Both Ways (1989) ............. Many believe this is the best album 12. Into the Light (1991) ............. The "come-back" album following Gloria's accident 13. Greatest Hits (1992) .............. Included four original songs 14. Mi Tierra (1993) .................. Grammy award winning album. All original songs. Entirely in Spanish 15. Christmas Through Your Eyes (1993) A Christmas album 16. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1994) Cover songs from the 60-70's. 17. Abriendo Puertas (1995) ........... A fiesta of Latin musical styles | Compilation Albums 1. Lo Mejor De Miami Sound Machine (1983) 2. 7-Up Presenta Los Hits De Miami Sound Machine (promo 1983) 3. Exitos De Gloria Estefan (1990) Soundtracks 1. Top Gun (1986) Song : Hot Summer Nights 2. Cobra (1986) Song : Suave 3. Rude Awakening (1989) Song : Conga! 4. Goya...A Life In Song (1989) Songs: Picture It Hasta Amarte (Till I Loved You) 5. Goya...Una Vida Hecha Cancion Songs: Hasta Amarte (1992) Los An~os Volaran 6. The Specialist (1994) Song : Turn the Beat Around Videos 1. Miami Sound Machine Video Exitos (1986), 40 minutes 2. Homecoming Concert (1989), 80 minutes 3. Evolution (1990), 74 minutes 4. Coming Out of the Dark (1991), 60 minutes 5. Into the Light World Tour (1992), 100 minutes 6. Everlasting Gloria (1995), 88 minutes | The first seven albums are loosely termed "the Spanish LP's." But it is a bit of a misnomer because only two of them were entirely sung in Spanish. The rest were a mixture of English and Spanish songs. What distinguishes the so-called Spanish LP's from the rest is that they are *very* hard to find. The first two Miami Sound Machine albums are now extremely rare. BACKGROUND Gloria Estefan's early years were not easy. Her father Jose was among the Cuban exiles who participated in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, the unsuccessful attempt to oust Castro from power. Jose spent a year and a half in a Cuban prison, and during this time Gloria and her mother lived in a Cuban ghetto near the Orange Bowl in Miami. Misfortune continued to follow her dad. He was badly poisoned by the defoliant, Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. When her mother went out to make a living, Gloria had to act as nurse and tend to her invalid father. Her one source of comfort was the guitar she had been given when she was 12. She would sing to herself the Top 40 tunes of the day, alone in her room for hours on end. In 1975, at the urging of her mother, Gloria sang some songs at a wedding which was being entertained by a local party band, The Miami Latin Boys. The band leader, Emilio Estefan, was so impressed by her smooth alto voice that he hounded her to join his band. She reluctantly agreed, but only to sing on weekends. No longer all boys, the band was rechristened The Miami Sound Machine. That was the start of MSM's rise to fame. By 1983, the group was well known throughout Central and South America and had produced four albums for a major label, CBS Discos. Then in 1984, Emilio convinced record executives at Epic to release an English only album (Eyes of Innocence) to the US and European markets. The first single, Dr. Beat, became a huge hit on the dance charts. The crossover worked! The next album (Primitive Love) solidified their success. From this album came the single "Conga!" which carried with it a unique distinction. It is the only song in history to appear on Billboard's Pop, Latin, Soul and Dance charts all at the same time. Tours, awards, fame, fortune and good luck followed in a steady stream. That is until the morning of March 20, 1990. As Gloria slept in her tour bus which had stopped along a Pennsylvania Interstate highway, a speeding semi-truck smashed into it from behind. She knew immediately that her back was broken. A delicate surgery was performed that required two 8-inch titanium rods to be placed on either side of her spine. The operation was a success. She needed 400 stiches to close the 14-inch incision. But within one year of the accident she was performing on stage again. During that time of excruciating pain, Gloria received thousands of letters, telegrams and floral arrangements from well wishers. In 1992 she was able to return the favor by organizing a benefit concert (Hurricane Relief) which raised three million dollars for the victims of Hurricane Andrew. THE MUSIC A common misconception is that Miami Sound Machine was a Latin band that turned into a mainstream American pop band. In truth, MSM had been a pop band from the very beginning, but one with Latin elements mixed in. (However, they could perform old Cuban standards and salsa songs when asked.) The band was a true hybrid of two cultures, the essence of Miami's identity. Songs were typically written for one language and then re-written for the other. But the songs were never translated directly. As a result, the meaning of the Spanish lyrics is often quite different from the English lyrics for the same identical song. The Mi Tierra album (1993) was an attempt to do something artistically different. It is a set of original songs that capture the sound of Cuban music from the 1930's, 40's and 50's, but from a 1990's perspective. Many famous Latin musicians participated in making Mi Tierra -- people like Tito Puente, Israel Lopez "Cachao", Juanito Marquez, Arturo Sandoval, Luis Enrique and several others. The album won the 1994 Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album. Abriendo Puertas (1995) is an innovative blend of regional Latin musical | rhythms. The combinations include salsa, guaguanco, mambo, Colombian | vallenato, merengue, Colombian cumbia, Colombian curralao and Cuban son. | Gloria's hope is that just as diverse musical styles can be united, so too | can all Latinos come together as one. | MUSICIANS Over the life of the Miami Sound Machine many musicians have come and gone. Here are the names of some of the more prominent members. Gloria Estefan - Lead vocalist - Last remaining performer from the original MSM - Writer of most of the MSM ballads Emilio Estefan - Founded the band, percussionist - Now retired as musician and works solely as manager, producer and songwriter Kiki Garcia - Original member, percussionist, left band in 1988 - Wrote Dr. Beat and Conga! among others Juan Marcos Avila - Original member, bassist, left the band in 1985 Merci Navarro Murciano - Original member, vocalist, left the band in 1982 - Gloria's cousin Wesley B. Wright - Guitarist from 1980-85 "The Jerks" - A three man songwriting team from 1984-87 Jorge Casas - Songwriter and Bassist, joined the band in 1987 Clay Ostwald - Songwriter and Keyboardist, joined the band in 1987 John DeFaria - Songwriter and Guitarist, joined band the in 1987 Randy Barlow - Songwriter and Trumpet player, joined band in 1987 Rafael Padilla - Percussionist, joined the band in 1985 Jon Secada - Songwriter and background singer - Now has a successful solo career Cheito Quin~ones - Background singer, brass musician, released | a solo album in 1994 | BOOKS AND MAGAZINES There are two biographies of the life of Gloria Estefan. Both were still in print as of late 1993. "Gloria Estefan" by Grace Catalano (1991) St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-92586-7 "Gloria Estefan" by Rebecca Stefoff (1991) Chelsea House Publishers, ISBN 0-7920-1244-1 For a superb history of the Miami Sound Machine read the following article: "Record Collector Magazine" No. 162, February 1993 pp. 52-62, with US/UK discographies, by Christopher Dirks (Record Collector has back issues available.) Also: "Rolling Stone Magazine" (June 14, 1990), "The Power and the Gloria", by Daisann McLane RECENT NEWS Gloria's next album should be released around April 1996. It is described | as her first English pop album since 1991's "Into the Light," and will | be supported by a world tour planned to begin July 18, 1996. | FAN CLUB ADDRESS Gloria Estefan International Fan Club P.O. Box 4447 Miami, FL 33269 WORLD WIDE WEB PAGES http://nyx10.cs.du.edu:8001/~lwright/ | http://pino.univalle.edu.co/~gbarreto/refs/GE-FAQ.html (Spanish FAQ) MAILING LIST The Gloria Estefan / Miami Sound Machine Internet Mailing List was established in mid-1994. There currently is no digest option for the list. To SUBSCRIBE send e-mail to: conga-request@tango.rahul.net To UNSUBSCRIBE send e-mail to: conga-request@tango.rahul.net To CONTRIBUTE to the list use: conga@tango.rahul.net -- Roy kl7@rahul.net (USA) User Contributions:
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