Menudo (band)

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For the Mexican soup, see menudo (soup).
Menudo

The 2007 line-up of Menudo. L-to-R: José Bordonada Collazo, Monti Montañez, Emmanuel Velez Pagan, Carlos Olivero, Chris Moy.
Background information
Origin Puerto Rico
Genre(s) Latin pop, Teen pop, Pop rock
Years active 1977 - 1990
Label(s) Epic Records (2007 - 2008), McGillis Records
Former members
Ricky Martin
Abel Talamantez
Robi Draco Rosa
Rene Farrait
Johnny Lozada
Xavier Serbia
Miguel Cancel
Ricky Melendez
Rawy Torres
Angelo Garcia
Ruben Gomez
Charlie Masso
Ray Reyes
José Bordonada Collazo
Monti Montanez
Emmanuel Velez Pagan
Carlos Olivero
Chris Moy

Menudo is a Puerto Rican boy band that was formed in the 1970s by producer Edgardo Diaz, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Puerto Rican teen musical group of the era.

During its course, the band had several radio hits. Their success led them to also release two feature films: Una Aventura Llamada Menudo and Menudo: La Película.

The band was a starting point for stars like Ricky Martin, and Robi Draco Rosa, who were members during their youth.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

Menudo was founded by producer Edgardo Diaz in the late 70s. After the success he had with the management of the Spanish teen-group La Pandilla (from 1973-1976), Diaz returned to Puerto Rico to form a new group. As opposed to La Pandilla, his idea was to form an all-boys group where the members would rotate as they grew older, with the intention to keep the group young. A member would be replaced when he reached his 16th birthday, his voice changed, grew facial hair, or got too tall.

The first incarnation of the group included two sets of brothers: Diaz's cousins Ricky Melendez, Carlos Melendez, Oscar Melendez, and Fernando Castano and Nefty Sallaberry. The name of the group came after an incident during their second rehearsal, where Díaz's sister entered the driveway of the house they were at, and puzzled by finding five young boys dancing and singing in the garage, she loudly exclaimed: "¡Qué mucho menudo hay aqui!" ("What a lot of young folk we have here!"); the phrase stuck, and the group was thus named Menudo.

In the next few years, Menudo toured Puerto Rico performing at shopping malls, fiestas patronales (a citywide yearly celebration), and other events. In 1977, they released their first album titled Los Fantasmas. The title track was a hit for the group, and they were able to get even a regular TV show on Telemundo Canal 2 every Saturday night. After that, they followed with a second album called Laura.

[edit] Success in the 1980s

During the late 70s, the group released several albums that were moderately successful, during which new members replaced the original ones. However, it was in 1982, that the album Quiero Ser launched the group into stardom. The line-up of the band at this time was Rene Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbia, Miguel Cancel and Ricky Meléndez, the only remaining original member. The album included hit songs like "Subete A Mi Moto", "Ella A-A", "Claridad", "Mi Banda Toca Rock", and a Spanish version of ABBA's song "Voulez-Vous".

The group became very popular throughout Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, including Brazil, a difficult place for Latin pop acts. During that time, Diaz was able to afford a Lockheed JetStar that had belonged to American President Richard Nixon and the Shah of Iran. The plane carried Menudo's name on both sides of the fuselage and made it the first boy band ever with its own private jet. The group also had a fan base in Spain and the rest of Europe.

During this boom of popularity, terms like "Menuditis" and "Menudomania" surfaced in the popular language, much like the Beatlemania years before. Their popularity was such that they even starred in their own feature film called Una Aventura Llamada Menudo. The film starred Gladys Rodríguez as "Señora Mía", and included songs like "Clara" and "Señora Mía".

In 1983, the Menudo signed a 6-year multi-million dollar contract with RCA International. Their American fan base grew, especially among the young, as evidenced by "Menudo on ABC", a series of four-minute music spots that aired during the Fall 1983 season of the American Broadcasting Company's youth-oriented Saturday morning programming block[1]. They also sang the theme song for ABC's Rubik, the Amazing Cube and performed regular music videos during Rubik's half-hour show. During this year, they also released their Spanish album A Todo Rock.

In 1984, Johnny Lozada was replaced by Robby Rosa (now known as Robi "Draco" Rosa). With Robby, Menudo released their first English album Reaching Out which featured the theme track "Like a Cannonball" for the Hollywood movie Cannonball Run 2 and their first Portuguese album Mania, both featuring versions of some of their Spanish hits. Tours took place in the U.S. and Brazil during the first half of 1984.

In July 1984, Ricky Melendez, who was the only original member remaining, left the group in a huge concert held in his birth town, Caguas, Puerto Rico. He became the only Menudo member to last eight years in the group. He was replaced with who would become the group's most popular alumnus around the world, Ricky Martin. With Martin, Menudo continued to achieve success, and their popularity even reached parts of Asia including Japan and the Philippines. Menudo also made English commercials for Pepsi, Scope, McDonald's and Crest during that time. They also did a guest appearance on the popular American children's program, Sesame Street.

During that time, Menudo held a successful tour in Brazil, performing in front of hundreds of thousands of fans. However, there were allegations that the tour was poorly organized. In a concert in Rio de Janeiro, the capacity was 60,000 but 70,000 tickets were sold. Two women died. In São Paulo, a 100,000 capacity stadium was sold-out with 200,000 people. In a stadium in Campinas, a city of São Paulo, it rained, and the concert, as a result, was delayed 4 hours.

The group continued to release several albums in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Menudo also went on to perform the new theme for Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea on Nickelodeon.

In 1985, the film, Mixed Blood, featured scenes in which Menudo was indirectly showcased, such as one with a Menudo poster on a wall and one where characters shopped at a "Menudomania" store.[citation needed]

[edit] Internal conflicts and image change

In 1987, the group started facing some internal conflicts. First, Robby Rosa quit without warning, becoming only the second member to do so in the group. Apparently, he had written a song and presented the idea to management. They turned him down and supposedly mocked him, which prompted him to leave. They did this so that they could use Robby's song without compensating him. Robby's lawyer prevented them from using his song. Also, the group was dropped from RCA International due to low record sales. As a result, they signed a contract with Melody International Mexico.

At this point, the group underwent a complete image makeover, changing their look to a more rough, rugged, rock-like look. This was also applied to their music which had been described before as bubble-gum pop. They released the Spanish album Somos Los Hijos del Rock, followed by an English-Tagalog album for the Philippines titled In Action. Some time later, they released another English album titled Sons of Rock, on which Menudo scored an international Engish hit "You Got Potential". Concert tour promoter and record executive Darrin McGillis promoted Menudo on a widely successful, forty city U.S. tour with the release of the new English album on Sutra Records.

In July 1989, after 5 years with the group , Ricky Martin left and was replaced by Rawy Torres. Ricky Martin's last concert with Menudo was in the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group continued with their career releasing the album Los Ultimos Heroes. This production reestablished Menudo's popularity in Latin America, especially in Venezuela, where a 5-part miniseries was shot to promote the album.

[edit] Legal issues and line-up changes

Despite their newfound success, the group kept on facing problems when member Angelo Garcia left the group breaking his contract with Menudo. Angelo's lawyer found a loop hole in Puerto Rico Law that made contracts with minors null and void if one does not get a work permit from the Department of Labor of Puerto Rico which is recognized by U.S.law. With a clear release of the contract he signed with World Wide Entertainment Co. under the direction of international record executive Darrin McGillis, (receiving a $37,500.00 signing bonus). Some time after, Menudo hired their first non-Puerto Rican member Adrian Olivares of Mexico.

Another unfortunate incident for the group occurred in November, 1990, when members Ruben Gomez and Sergio Blass were detained at Miami International Airport with possession of marijuana. The management immediately fired them and replaced them.

In 1991, all the members (except Adrian) announced that they were leaving the group and were signing with music producer Pedro "Papo" Gely. Members Rawy and Robert would go on to form the Puerto Rican teen group Euphoria. The parents of former members of the band then said that they would file charges for sexual abuse of their children against Edgardo Diaz, Jose A. Jimenez and Orlando Lopez.[2][3]. It is unclear if any of the charges were proven or not.

Edgardo Diaz left Puerto Rico and held auditions in Miami, Florida, signing Miami teens, Alexis Grullon, Ashley Ruiz, Andres Blazquez and Pecos, Texas resident, Abel Talamantez. The first album with the new line up was Detras de tu Mirada.

Menudo continued to work releasing an English single called "Dancin, Movin, Shakin", which would be the first of several English recordings under the direction of Darrin McGillis Music Company World Wide Entertainment Co. McGillis Records. They also continued to travel through Latin America.

After several albums released, in 1997 the group released their last Spanish album under the name of Menudo, entitled Tiempo De Amar. The album was very successful producing several hit singles. After that, the rights and the name Menudo was sold and the band changed the name to MDO. A self-titled Spanish album was released, increasing the group's popularity in Latin America and the U.S. MDO has continued to release albums despite some changes in management (see main article: MDO.) Johnny, René, Miguel, Charlie, Ray and Ricky are organizing a "reunion tour", which they expect to lauch in 2009, making presentations in Colombia, Panama, Peru, Venezuela and the United States.[4]

[edit] 2000s

In 2000, MDO released their album Subir Al Cielo with critical success. The album lead track "Te Quise Olvidar" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for several weeks and became the group signature' song. The group follow-up singles "Sin Ti" and "Me Huele A Soledad" also went top 10 in the U.S., showing that they are a real group.

In 2002, former members Sergio, Ruben, Robert, Angelo and Rawy reunited under the name "Los Ultimos Heroes" giving numerous concerts in Venezuela.

In early 2003, MDO officially broke up on amicable terms. The members wanted to pursue other projects. Edgardo Diaz introduced the new MDO in January 2005.

In 2004, Edgardo Diaz announced that he will be bringing a new group with the Menudo formula into the music industry. Initially expecting this new group to be named Menudo, he surprised the press and general public by naming them Tick Tock.

Also in 2004, former Menudo members Roy, Raymond, Ruben, Sergio and Andy Blasquez reunited under the name and banner: Menudo: La Reunion. They were based and focused primarily on a series of 'Brazilian' tours. Sergio left due to his prior commitment with "Los Ultimos Heroes," and was replaced with 'Anthony Galindo.'Andy would later be replaced by former MDO member 'Caleb Aviles' before disbanding in late 2005, early 2006.

In January 2005, producer Edgardo Díaz introduced the new MDO with four new members: Daniel Rodríguez, Luis Montes, Elliot Suro, and Lorenzo Duarte. The first three were among the contestants of Puerto Rican reality/talent show Objetivo Fama. This latest incarnation of the group achieved great success with their single "Otra Vez" which took them all across Latin America.

Also, in 2005, former Menudo members Rene, Johnny, Miguel, Ricky, Charlie, and Ray reunited once again to perform the songs that Menudo popularized during their era under the name & banner El Reencuentro: Momento del Adios making this their farewell tour. Plans are on the way to bring this production to Latin American and the U.S. Also in 2005, Sergio, Angelo, Robert, Rawy and Adrian Olivares reunited again under the name Los Ultimos Heroes after their successful reunion concerts in 2002.

In 2006, former Menudo: La Reunion members, Anthony and Ruben reunited and formed the duo Blacksheep and continue touring in Brazil. To date the duo has grown a large fan base in both Brazil and Latin America.

In 2007, a re-release of the 1992 "making of" video for "Dancin, Movin, Shakin" was released on McGillis Records. Entitled Triple Threat DVD/CD Combo[1], the box set includes the video on DVD for the first time, along with two music CDs, Latin Teen Stars and Dance Music All Night Long, featuring hit songs by Menudo, ex-Menudo members Angelo Garcia and Ruben Gomez, and The Cover Girls, with songs mixed and produced by Bad Boy Bill and Lewis Martineé. The single, "Dancin Movin Shakin", was released digitally on iTunes in May 2009.

[edit] The New Menudo

In 2007 it was announced that Menudo would return after signing a multi-album contract with SonyBMG label Epic Records.

The recasting of the band was profiled in a MTV reality series entitled Making Menudo that had launched as a primetime series on October 25, 2007, but was later pushed to afternoons due to low ratings [5]. The series ended on November 20, 2007. The new members were José Bordonada Collazo, Chris Moy, Emmanuel Vélez Pagán, José Monti Montañez, and Carlos Olivero.

[edit] Menudo dropped by Epic Records

 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

Charlie Walk[2] attempted to reinvent the 1980s group and failed, releasing only two singles "Lost" and "More Than Words" that had meager record sales.[citation needed] SonyBMG did not renew his contract because of this,[citation needed] in addition to dropping Menudo from its label effective December 2008.[citation needed]

[edit] Menudo lawsuit over tradename

In March 2009, Oscar Llord who claims ownership in the trademark Menudo has filed a half million dollar lawsuit against current Menudo marketers who claim legal rights to Menudo, the defendants Jeffrey Weiner and Menudo Entertainment LLC. The suit seeks the return of the tradename Menudo and money damages in excess of ($500,000.00). Lawsuit was filed in Miami Dade County Circuit Court and is currently pending Weiner and Menudo Lawsuit Miami Florida March 2009.pdf View Lawsuit Here

In June 2009, Menudo Entertainment filed suit in New York City's Supreme Court against Oscar Llord for $5 million dollars. They claim Llord sold them rights to Menudo that he never had in the first place. NY Post Newspaper Link

Both the lawsuit in Miami and in New York City are currently pending disposition.

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Videos

  • 1992 The Making of Dancin, Movin, Shakin (VHS)
  • 2007 Triple Threat DVD/CD Combo [Menudo, and Ex-Menudo's Angelo Garcia, Ruben Gomez] (DVD)
    • Contains the DVD release of The Making of Dancin, Movin, Shakin and the CDs Latin Teen Stars and Dance Music All Night Long

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953954,00.html
  2. ^ Charlie Montgomery, Bob Temmey. "Menudo Monkey biz: Parents charge men who own group abused their boys & cheated ‘em out of a fortune". Globe Magazine.  online scan of newspaper
  3. ^ "Pal: Abuse shattered teen idols". The New York Daily News.  online scan of newspaper
  4. ^ "Vuelve la "menuditis"" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2008-08-13. http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/musica/espectaculosasi/vuelve_la_menuditis/219103. Retrieved on 2008-08-17. 
  5. ^ Tubular: Three big helpings of Menudo, with a twist

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menudo_(band)"
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