Santa Esmeralda
| Santa Esmeralda | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States; France |
| Genres | Disco, Latin pop |
| Years active | 1977–1983; 2002–present |
| Labels | Philips Records, Fauves Puma, Casablanca Records, Hot Productions and Pazzazz Records. |
| Past members |
The Original Santa Esmeralda Leroy Gómez (Lead vocals 1977-78) Jimmy Goings (Lead vocals 1978-83) Jean Claude Petit (Keyboards, arrangements, composer) José Souc (Spanish guitars, arrangements) Slim Pezin(Electric guitars, arrangements) Christian Padovan (Bass) |
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 and House of the Rising Sun. The group featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez in 1977 & 1978, singer Jimmy Goings from 1979 until 1983, and once again original lead singer Leroy Gómez from the 1990s to this day.
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 group's first record, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which debuted on the independent French label, Fauves Puma. A sudden success in Europe, the record was picked up for worldwide distribution by Casablanca Records.
Originally written in 1964 for Nina Simone, her 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. The song became a hit all over again, first topping the U.S. Disco chart and then matching the #15 peak of The Animals' version on the Billboard 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 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.
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