Happy Monday, it's all downhill now til next weekend. LOL. Have a great week!!!
Gloria Estefan was born Gloria María Fajardo on September 1, 1957 is a Cuban American singer and songwriter. Named the "Queen of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 of best selling music artists with over 90 million albums sold worldwide,with 15.5 million of those alone in the United States.
She has won five Grammy Awards and had several number one hits on multiple music charts, becoming among the most successful crossover performers in Latin music to date.
Parents
Estefan’s father, José Fajardo, was a personal bodyguard to former Cuban president Fulgencio Batista's wife in the 1950's. He was taken prisoner by Fidel Castro's forces when they invaded the palace on January 1, 1959, held as a political prisoner for five months, and joined his wife and daughter in Miami, Florida upon release (Estefan in "Reader's Digest," September 2007). Two years later, Fajardo was captured during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and held prisoner until an exchange was arranged by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Fajardo then served multiple tours of duty as an officer in the United States Army in Vietnam, where he is thought to have been exposed to Agent Orange. He developed multiple sclerosis, and was nursed by his daughter for many years. He died in 1980.
Gloria’s mother, Gloria García Pérez de Fajardo, now living in Miami, ran a school in Cuba in the 1950s for kindergarten students.
Exile
Gloria Estefan was 16 months old when she and her mother fled to Miami following the Cuban Revolution. Like most Cuban exiles, Estefan is an ardent opponent of communism in general and of the Castro regime in particular. She has often spoken of her desire for a post-communist Cuba.
She was the first pop star invited to perform for the Pope, singing "Más Allá" as part of the celebration of Pope John Paul II's 50th anniversary in the priesthood. When she and John Paul II met, she asked him to pray for a free Cuba. She also supported the unsuccessful effort to keep young Elián González in the United States.
Estefan’s first public musical performance was at a large Cuban wedding when her future husband, Emilio Estefan, Jr. asked her to join what was then called "The Miami Latin Boys." With the addition of Estefan, the band's name was changed to Miami Sound Machine. Gloria became romantically involved with the Miami Sound Machine's band leader, Emilio Estefan, in 1976. She and Emilio married on September 2, 1978. They have a son, Nayib (born September 2, 1980) and a daughter, Emily Marie (born December 5, 1994).
1984-1988: The Miami Sound Machine Superstardom
In 1984, Miami Sound Machine released their first Epic/Columbia album, Eyes Of Innocence which contained the dance hit "Dr. Beat" as well as the ballad "I Need Your Love". Their more successful follow-up album Primitive Love was released in 1985 launching three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Conga" (U.S. #10), "Words Get In The Way” (U.S. #5), and "Bad Boy" (U.S. #8) became follow up hits in the U.S. and around the world. "Words Get In The Way" reached #1 on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, establishing that the group could perform pop ballads equally as well as dance tunes. The song "Hot Summer Nights" was also released that year and was part of the blockbuster movie Top Gun.
Primitive Love is the 9th studio album released by the Miami Sound Machine, and their second English language studio album. It was released in 1985.
The Miami Sound Machine - Bad Boy's
This album was a follow-up to the band's previous releases in every sense; in the music, in rhythms and in Gloria Estefan's vocals. Previous releases by Miami Sound Machine had failed to achieve much in the way of crossover success. However, with the release of Primitive Love in 1985, their distinctive sound was finally being heard by a wider audience, both in the United States and abroad.
This album was the band's first appearance on the American albums chart, reaching #23 on the Billboard 200. The album ended the year on the 1986 Billboard Year End Charts at number ten.
All the singles released from this album reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Conga" peaked at #10; "Bad Boy" reached #8; "Words Get in the Way" was the highest-charting single from this album, at #5; and "Falling in Love (Uh-Oh)" climbed to #25.
As of 2008, the album has sold over 5 million copies world wide
In 1988, Estefan took top billing as the band’s name changed to Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine. Beginning in 1989, the group's name was dropped altogether along with the firing of the Miami Sound Machine band members. Estefan was credited as a solo artist, though the ever-changing line-up of Miami Sound Machine continues as her backing band to this day.
In 1989, after the worldwide chart success of single "Anything For You", their Let it Loose album was repackaged as Anything For You. It became the band's first UK #1 album, selling over a million copies. It was the biggest selling album of the year in The Netherlands, staying at #1 for 22 weeks. The album also took top honors in Australia and Canada, launching Estefan to superstar status.
In late 1989, she released her best-selling album to date, Cuts Both Ways. The album included the hit singles "Don't Wanna Lose You" (a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit), "Oye mi Canto (Hear my Voice)", "Here We Are", "Cuts Both Ways" (#1 on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart) and "Get on Your Feet." Cuts Both Ways went platinum within its first month of release in the U.S. Success followed in the UK where it debuted at #1, with Gloria being the first act in 10 years to have two # 1 albums on the UK albums chart in one year. Cuts Both Ways then shot to #1 in Australia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and other countries, selling over ten million copies worldwide.
While touring in support of Cuts Both Ways on March 20, 1990, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, Estefan was critically injured, suffering a fractured spine when a speeding semi-truck crashed into her tour bus. She was taken to Community Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit and was admitted overnight. The next day, Estefan was flown by helicopter to New York City, where surgeons at the Hospital for Special Surgery permanently implanted two titanium rods to stabilize her spinal column. Her grueling rehabilitation required almost a year of intensive physical therapy, but she achieved a complete recovery. She returned to an international tour ten months after the accident.
2008-Present: Idol Gives Back and European Tour
2008 Gloria appeared at the seventh season of American Idol program performing for the special charity episode Idol Gives Back, performing live at the Kodak Theater her legendary anthem "Get on Your Feet" along with Sheila E.. The performance was recorded and was released at the American iTunes stores where the video of the performance become in the most downloaded video of Estefan's reaching the number twenty of the store Top 100 videos, as the song became the most downloaded song of Estefan in just one day.
In the United States, Gloria has sold 15.5 millions copies of albums, ranking within the Top 200 best selling-artists at the States in a poll made on May 24, 2008.
Estefan became in the headliner at the opening of the new venue of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino, her three-days SOLD OUT concerts, the only US concerts appearance scheduled for this year, including one at the Memorial Day are the last on the United States until she moves to Canada to perform at the Casino Rama, and to start her upcoming European tour in late August. The tour begins in Marbella, Spain, and Gloria will also be appearing at Wembley Arena in London on September 10th 2008, Rotterdam on the 5th September, and Belfast on the 8th September. Other Spanish dates are yet to be announced.
As Always
Peace
^ A longing look south for Estefan | Music | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal
^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=tblTopArt&action=
^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/books/bestseller/1112bestchildren.html?_r=1&oref=login
^ http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/gold06.htm
^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003599531 Billboard.com
^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=tblTopArt&action=
^ http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/hc-estefanrev0525.artmay25,0,6657350.story
Gloria Estefan at University of Miami Famous Alumni.
Gloria Estefan receives her honorary Doctorate of Music along side her husband Emilio from Berklee
4 comments:
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its always refreshing to read about any type of star (movie, music, etc) staying married for so many years to the same person; I always thought she was a classy lady; enjoyed her music
oh my gosh, I just realized she's the same age as me, a few months older she is than me
thanks Chili!! enjoy your week ahead :)
betty
Monday is almost over but hope you had a nice one anyway. Interesting post. Paula
She was definitely one of my all time favorites and still is!
Nancy
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