Buena Vista Social Club (album) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Music

Chan Chan (song)

"Chan Chan" is a son composition by Cuban bandleader Compay Segundo, revolving around two central characters, 'Juanita' and 'Chan Chan'. The song was one of Compay's last compositions and was written in 1987...

", the first song on the album, is a Cuban song composition by Compay Segundo, revolving around two central characters, Juanita and Chan Chan. The song was one of Segundo's last compositions and was written in 1987, already having been recorded by Segundo himself various times.

"El cuarto de Tula" was composed by Gonzales Y Siaba Sergio Eulogio (1916–1989). It is sung by Eliades Ochoa with Ibrahim Ferrer

Ibrahim Ferrer

Ibrahim Ferrer was a popular Afro-Cuban singer and musician in Cuba. He performed with many musical groups including the Conjunto Sorpresa, Orquesta Chepin-Choven and Afro-Cuban All Stars...

and Manuel "Puntillita" Licea joining Ochoa in an extended descarga (jam) section improvising lyrics. Barbarito Torres

Barbarito Torres

thumb|Barbarito Torres.Bárbaro Alberto Torres Delgado, best known as Barbarito Torres , is a Cuban musician best known for his work with the Afro Cuban All Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club. Torres plays the laúd, a traditional Cuban instrument of the lute family that is most associated with...

plays a frenetic lute solo towards the end of the track. Timbales are played by the 13 year old Julienne Oviedo Sánchez. The song is featured in the film "Training Day

Training Day

Training Day is a 2001 crime drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film follows two LAPD narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South and East Los Angeles.The film was a box office success and...

" (2001).

"Dos gardenias" is a bolero

Bolero

Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...

sung by Ibrahim Ferrer. The song was written by Isolina Carrillo in the 1930s and became a huge success in the 1940s. The song was chosen for the album after Cooder heard Ferrer and Rubén González improvising the melody before a recording session. Ferrer learned the song whilst playing with Cuban bandleader Beny Moré

Benny Moré

Benny Moré , or Beny, was a Cuban singer. He is often thought of as the greatest Cuban popular singer of all time. He was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity...

.

"¿Y tú qué has hecho?" was written in the 1920s by Eusebio Delfín

Eusebio Delfín

Eusebio Delfín Figueroa was a Cuban trovador musician: a composer, guitarist and singer. He came from a middle-class family, and was trained as an accountant in Cienfuegos, where his family had moved...

and features his friend Compay Segundo on tres and vocals. Segundo was traditionally a "second voice" singer providing a baritone counterpoint harmony. On this recording, he multitracks both voices. The song also features a duet between Segundo on tres and Ry Cooder on guitar.

"Veinte años" is a bolero written by María Teresa Vera

María Teresa Vera

María Teresa Vera was a Cuban singer, guitarist and composer. She was an outstanding example of the Cuban trova movement....

and is sung on the Buena Vista album by the only female in the ensemble, Omara Portuondo

Omara Portuondo

Omara Portuondo Peláez is a Cuban singer and dancer whose career has spanned over half a century. She was one of the original members of the Cuarteto d'Aida, and has performed with Ignacio Piñeiro, Orquesta Anacaona, Orquesta Aragón, Nat King Cole, Adalberto Álvarez, Los Van Van, the Buena Vista...

, with Segundo providing baritone.

"El carretero" is a guajira

Guajira

Guajira may refer to:* Department of La Guajira, a department of Colombia which includes most of the Guajira Peninsula* La Guajira Desert, a desert which covers most of the Guajira Peninsula...

(country lament) sung by Eliades Ochoa with the full ensemble providing additional instruments and backing vocals.

"Candela" is a popular song written by Faustino Oramas

Faustino Oramas

Faustino Oramas Osorío, El Guayabero, was a Cuban singer, tres guitarist and composer, the last surviving member of the traditional Cuban trova. Most of his repertoire consisted of sons and guaracha-sons, many with double entendres in the lyrics...

with lyrics rich with sexual innuendo. On the album it is sung by Ibrahim Ferrer who improvises vocal lines throughout the track, and the whole ensemble perform an extended descarga.

The title track, "Buena Vista Social Club", was written by bass player Cachaíto’s father, Orestes López

Orestes López

Orestes López was a Cuban musician and bandleader, often credited with popularizing the musical form Mambo, together with his brother Israel "Cachao" Lopez....

. The song spotlights the piano work of Rubén González. It was recorded after Cooder heard González improvising around the tune's musical theme before a day's recording session. After playing the tune, González explained to Cooder the history of the social club and that the song was the club's "mascot tune". When searching for a name for the overall project, manager Nick Gold chose the song's title. According to Cooder, "It should be the thing that sets it apart. It was a kind of club by then. Everybody was hanging out and we had rum and coffee around two in the afternoon. It felt like a club, so let’s call it that. That’s what gave it a handle."

Track listing

"Chan Chan
Chan Chan (song)
"Chan Chan" is a son composition by Cuban bandleader Compay Segundo, revolving around two central characters, 'Juanita' and 'Chan Chan'. The song was one of Compay's last compositions and was written in 1987...

" – 4:16
"De camino a la vereda" – 5:03
"El cuarto de Tula" – 7:27
"Pueblo nuevo" – 6:05
"Dos gardenias" – 3:02
"¿Y tú qué has hecho?" – 3:13
"Veinte años" – 3:29
"El carretero" – 3:28
"Candela" – 5:27
"Amor de loca juventud" – 3:21
"Orgullecida" – 3:18
"Murmullo" – 3:50
"Buena Vista Social Club" – 4:50
"La bayamesa" – 2:54

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Billboard Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...	1
Billboard Top Latin Albums	1
Billboard Top World Music	1
Billboard Tropical Albums Tropical Albums Tropical Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato, which are frequently considered tropical music...	1
Billboard Top 200	80

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	22
U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums	1
U.S. Billboard Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information of the Pop music genre. Established in June 1985, this chart features only full length albums and like all album charts on Billboard, is based on sales. The information is compiled by Nielsen...	1

Sales and certifications

External links