Santa Esmeralda
Encyclopedia
Santa Esmeralda is a U.S.
/French
Disco
group formed in the 1970s, which earned a #1 club
hit
in 1977 with a cover version
of the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
".
of Cape Verde
an descent. Learning how to sing and play the saxophone
, Gómez started his own band at 14, and later joined Tavares
, a local group of brothers who shared his Cape Verdean heritage, and with whom he would go on to tour North America and Europe. In Paris, Elton John
invited him to play sax on his classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
. Amidst this success, Gómez decided to leave Tavares and remain in Europe, getting work as a session player in Paris
. There he met 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. Santa Esmeralda was born of their collaboration, and the album Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, with Gómez on lead vocals, 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
of Los Angeles, the preeminent label of the Disco era.
Essentially a studio act, Gómez was eager to perform, and a touring group was put together including a troupe of dancers, one of whom, by the name of Tequila, would appear on several album and single cover photos and ultimately become his wife.
, her understated version had failed to chart and the song was picked up by rock group The Animals
the following year. The Animals gave "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" an urgent, classic rock
edge and had a #15 Hot 100 hit single. 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 "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
", the love ballad
You're My Everything (co-written by Gómez), became a radio
request song and received much airplay, even though the song
never charted
. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" would be recorded by dozens of other artists, including Elvis Costello
, Joe Cocker
, Cyndi Lauper
and Yusuf Islam, though none to date have enjoyed the massive success achieved by these two hit versions.
", in 1977, although this time lead vocals were handled by Jimmy Goings, who would record for the group's subsequent recordings in the disco era. On the same LP they covered another song played by The Animals
, and composed by Donovan
, "Hey Gyp". In 1978 they recorded
the song "Sevilla Nights" for the Thank God It's Friday
film soundtrack. In addition to their contribution to that hit soundtrack, the group had three of their own albums on the Pop Albums charts that year, including the #25 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood and the #41 The House of the Rising Sun (also on Casablanca), which did equally well on the Black charts. After that they had a minor club hit with "Beauty" and returned to the Disco Top 20 with "Another Cha-Cha/Cha-Cha Suite", which peaked at #16 (1979). After a couple more album
s which failed to produce notable hits (Don't Be Shy Tonight in 1980, Hush in 1981, Green Talisman in 1982), and in the face of an anti-disco backlash in the United States which all but killed the genre and the Casablanca label, the group disbanded.
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
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
group formed in the 1970s, which earned a #1 club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
in 1977 with a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus for the singer/pianist Nina Simone, who first recorded it in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been recorded or performed by many artists, and is widely known by the 1965 blues rock hit...
".
Mr. "Misunderstood"
Leroy Gómez was born in Wareham, MassachusettsWareham, Massachusetts
Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221....
of Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
an descent. Learning how to sing and play the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, Gómez started his own band at 14, and later joined Tavares
Tavares (band)
Tavares are a successful American R&B, funk and soul music group, composed of five Cape Verdean-American brothers from New Bedford, Massachusetts.-Band members:...
, a local group of brothers who shared his Cape Verdean heritage, and with whom he would go on to tour North America and Europe. In Paris, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
invited him to play sax on his classic album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, released in 1973, is the seventh studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John. It has come to be regarded as Elton John's best and most popular album, and is his best selling studio album with worldwide sales of at least 15 million copies.Recorded at the Château...
. Amidst this success, Gómez decided to leave Tavares and remain in Europe, getting work as a session player in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. There he met 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. Santa Esmeralda was born of their collaboration, and the album Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, with Gómez on lead vocals, 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
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
of Los Angeles, the preeminent label of the Disco era.
Essentially a studio act, Gómez was eager to perform, and a touring group was put together including a troupe of dancers, one of whom, by the name of Tequila, would appear on several album and single cover photos and ultimately become his wife.
Repeatedly "Misunderstood"
Originally written in 1964 for Nina SimoneNina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, her understated version had failed to chart and the song was picked up by rock group The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
the following year. The Animals gave "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" an urgent, classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
edge and had a #15 Hot 100 hit single. The essential nature of the song is Latin and Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, 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
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus for the singer/pianist Nina Simone, who first recorded it in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been recorded or performed by many artists, and is widely known by the 1965 blues rock hit...
", the love ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
You're My Everything (co-written by Gómez), became a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
request song and received much airplay, even though the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
never charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" would be recorded by dozens of other artists, including Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
and Yusuf Islam, though none to date have enjoyed the massive success achieved by these two hit versions.
Comings and Goings
Santa Esmeralda also scored a Top 20 Disco hit with a dance version of another song turned into a classic rock staple in a cover by The Animals, "The House of the Rising SunThe House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
", in 1977, although this time lead vocals were handled by Jimmy Goings, who would record for the group's subsequent recordings in the disco era. On the same LP they covered another song played by The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, and composed by Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, "Hey Gyp". In 1978 they recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
the song "Sevilla Nights" for the Thank God It's Friday
Thank God It's Friday
The triple album was, unlike the movie, a commercial success. It contained contributions from some of the biggest names in disco at the time, including Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Thelma Houston, The Commodores, and many others....
film soundtrack. In addition to their contribution to that hit soundtrack, the group had three of their own albums on the Pop Albums charts that year, including the #25 Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood and the #41 The House of the Rising Sun (also on Casablanca), which did equally well on the Black charts. After that they had a minor club hit with "Beauty" and returned to the Disco Top 20 with "Another Cha-Cha/Cha-Cha Suite", which peaked at #16 (1979). After a couple more album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s which failed to produce notable hits (Don't Be Shy Tonight in 1980, Hush in 1981, Green Talisman in 1982), and in the face of an anti-disco backlash in the United States which all but killed the genre and the Casablanca label, the group disbanded.
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.The group re-entered the popular consciousness in 2003 when "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" appeared on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the first volume of Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's homage to the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
film genre, Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
.
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
- 1980 - C'est Magnifique
- 1982 - Jimmy Goings & Santa Esmeralda - Green Talisman
- 2005 - Gloria