Santa Esmeralda
| Santa Esmeralda | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | USA; France |
| Genres | Disco, Latin pop |
| Years active | 1977–1983; 2002–present |
| Labels | Philips, Pazzazz |
| Past members | |
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The Original Santa Esmeralda José Souc (Spanish guitars, arrangements) Slim Pezin (Electric guitars, arrangements) Christian Padovan (Bass) |
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Santa Esmeralda is a U.S./French Disco group formed in the 1970s; perhaps best known for their hit Disco remakes of the 1960s hits Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood & House of the Rising Sun. The group featured singer Leroy Gómez from 1977 till 1978 & singer Jimmy Goings from 1978 until 1983 when the group disbanded.
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[edit] History
Santa Esmeralda was formed in 1977 by French producers Nicolas Skorsky and Jean Manuel de Scarano; songwriters who had launched their own label with the aim of producing artists who would record their compositions. Upon meeting singer Leroy Gómez in Paris, the duo recruited him for the groups first record Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood which debuted on the independent French label, Fauves Puma. A sudden huge success in Europe, the record was picked up for worldwide distribution by Casablanca Records, the preeminent label of the Disco era.[1]
[edit] Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Originally written in 1964 for Nina Simone, her understated version had failed to chart and the song was picked up by rock group The Animals the following year. The essential nature of the song is Latin and Flamenco, which combined with that urgency lent itself to the disco sensibility in the 1970s. With strident overload of a wall of sound of guitars and horns in the interim riffs, the song became a hit all over again, first topping the U.S. Disco charts and then matching the #15 peak of The Animals' version on the Hot 100. The album was certified Gold. The flip side of the record featured the love ballad You're My Everything which became a radio request song and received much airplay, even though the song never charted. Despite the success of the record, Gomez did not record any subsequent record with Santa Esmeralda's original production team.
[edit] Santa Esmeralda with Jimmy Goings
After the bands first album, singer Jimmy Goings was brought in to replace Leroy Gomez. In 1977 Santa Esmeralda scored a top 20 Disco hit with a dance version of another song made famous by The Animals, "The House of the Rising Sun". In 1978 they recorded the song "Sevilla Nights" for the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack. In addition to their contribution to that hit soundtrack, their album The House of the Rising Sun also appeared on the pop & black charts that year. Following the success of their first two albums, they had a minor club hit with their 1978 album "Beauty" and once again returned to the Disco Top 20 with "Another Cha-Cha/Cha-Cha Suite", which peaked at #16 in 1979. The album featured extensive writing from Goings which would continue for the rest of the bands existence. In 1980, the group released Don't Be Shy Tonight as internal conflict started to form between the producers of the group, this time scoring a hit with C'est Magnifique'. In 1981, the groups producers finally reached a boiling point & parted ways, leaving Skorsky to produce 1981's Hush and 1982's Green Talisman by himself. Don't Be Shy Tonight, Hush & Green Talisman marked the bands foray into experimentation with a wider variety of sounds including Reggae. In 1983, Goings disbanded the group.
Santa Esmeralda also toured extensively throughout the world. During this time the live band included musicians Tony Baker (Guitar), Mick Valentino (Guitar), Charlie Magarian (Bass), Jimmy Sanchez (Drums), Tom Poole (Trumpet) & Reggie Graham (Keyboards).
In 2011, footage of the bands performance at the Festival De Cacion in Vina Del Mar, Chile in 1979 was released on DVD by European company Soul Collectors.[2]
[edit] At present for Santa Esmeralda
In 2002, Gómez, who had been touring with a new incarnation of the group, released Lay Down My Love, an album of new material, and in 2004 Santa Esmeralda - The Greatest Hits, featuring newly recorded versions of the band's disco-era hits, including those which had been sung by Goings. Essentially unaffiliated with the original producers and musicians aside from Gómez, the new releases feature a much more synthesized sound then previous Santa Esmeralda recordings.
The group re-entered the popular consciousness in 2003 when "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" appeared on the soundtrack to the first volume of Quentin Tarantino's homage to the martial arts film genre, Kill Bill.[3]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1977 - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
- 1977 - The House Of The Rising Sun
- 1978 - Beauty
- 1979 - Another Cha-Cha
- 1980 - Don't Be Shy Tonight
- 1982 - Jimmy Goings & Santa Esmeralda - Green Talisman
[edit] The New Santa Esmeralda (with Leroy Gomez)
- 2005 - Gloria
