Edmundo Ros
Bandleader Edmundo Ros was the living embodiment of Latin music in World War II-era Britain. The toast of London's high society, he effectively introduced the rhumba and samba to the U.K. shores. Born December 7, 1910, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, to a Scottish father and an African-Venezuelan mother, Ros spent much of his childhood in military school, playing percussion in the military band. The experience was otherwise miserable, however, and at 17 he ran away to Caracas, where he served as tympanist in the Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. A decade later Ros migrated to London, where he briefly studied classical music before pursuing popular music full-time, backing Fats Waller and singing with Don Marino Barreto's Cuban band prior to forming his own five-piece rhumba outfit in 1940. After scoring a hit with 1941's Parlophone release "Los Hijos de Buda," Ros became a sensation, attracting the cream of London society to his appearances at the lavish Coconut Grove. When the defendant in a high-profile divorce case implicated Ros as a catalyst for his marriage's demise, the bandleader made national headlines, and the sex scandal only made him more popular, and he even taught then-Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret to dance. After a long residency at the West End club the Bagatelle, Ros in 1951 acquired the former Coconut Grove site on Regent Street and renamed the venue Edmundo Ros' Dinner and Supper Club. He also made regular appearances on BBC radio, and his albums for the London label's Phase 4 imprint (including the space age pop classics Rhythms of the South and Arriba!) sold briskly. His biggest hit, "The Wedding Samba," even crossed over to the U.S. Top Five, selling three million copies in the process. After Parliament legalized gambling in 1965, attendance at Ros' club quickly nosedived, and he sold the business as soon as possible. He retired to Alicante, Spain, a decade later, returning to London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on January 8, 1994, for one final farewell performance leading the BBC Big Band with Strings. Ros was also awarded the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 New Year's Honours List.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Discography
12 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Nothing But Aces
Caterina Valente, Edmundo Ros, Edmundo Ros & His Orchestra
Pop - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Oct 1, 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Latin Rhythms of Edmundo Ros
Latin America - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on Dec 3, 1950
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The World Of Edmundo Ros
Lounge - Released by UMC-Decca on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
King of Latin American Music / El Rey de la Música Latinoamericana (Remastered)
Latin America - Released by Master Tape Records on Sep 20, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
April In Portugal (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Old Europe on Oct 25, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Calypso & Samba Best
Latin America - Released by Master Classics Records on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Latein Amerikanische Rhythmen
Latin America - Released by Nightclub Records on Jan 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Standards the Latin Way
World - Released by Amor Indiano on Feb 10, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cha Cha Cha with Ros
Traditional Jazz & New Orleans - Released by Blue Pie Records USA on Jan 1, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Copacabana (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Old Europe on Oct 25, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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