Santa Esmeralda

Biography

Santa Esmeralda is a French-American disco group formed in the 1970s. The group had hits with its covers of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood×Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood + Esmeralda Suite3:20B1You're My Everything4:43" and "House of the Rising Sun". Santa Esmeralda featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez in 1977–1978 and singer Jimmy Goings from late 1978 until 1983.

History

The band was formed in 1977 by French producers Nicolas Skorsky and Jean Manuel de Scarano, singer-songwriters who launched a 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×Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood + Esmeralda Suite3:20B1You're My Everything4:43", 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.

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

The song was originally written in 1964 for Nina Simone, but her version had failed to chart, and the song was picked up by British rock band the Animals the following year, to great success. Santa Esmeralda recast the song into the disco style of the era, and added Latin and flamenco elements. The song became a hit, 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×You're My Everything27 October 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1You're My Everything4:532You're My Everything (Acapella)4:58" which was a popular request song on radio, where it received substantial airplay, even though it never charted. Despite the success of the record, Gomez did not record any subsequent records with Santa Esmeralda's original production team.

"The House of the Rising Sun"

After the band's first album, singer Jimmy Goings was brought in to replace Leroy Gomez. In late 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×The House of the Rising Sun1977 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The House of the Rising Sun - Quasimodo Suite14:542Dance You Down Tonight7:033Nothing Else Matters6:364Hey Gip3:16". 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 and Black charts that year. Following the success of their first two albums, they had a minor club hit with their 1978 album Beauty×Beauty24 July 1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1The Wages of Sin / Dance De La Beaute17:102Only Beauty Survives5:453Learning the Game6:354Hey Joe5:24, and 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 band's 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, Skorsky produced Hush and 1982's Green Talisman. Don't Be Shy Tonight, Hush and Green Talisman marked the band's foray into experimentation with a wider variety of sounds including reggae.

Tours around the world

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) and Reggie Graham (keyboards).
In 2011, footage of the band's performance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Chile, in 1979 was released on DVD by the European company Soul Collectors.
Santa Esmeralda (starring Leroy Gómez) is still touring throughout the world (EEG – Europolis Entertainment Group).

Later recordings

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×The Greatest Hits5 May 2000 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood7:052Gloria3:323Music Makes My Life3:394House of the Rising Sun5:095Get Up Boogie4:546I Got It Bad3:507Little Girl6:428High on the Moon5:099Give the Simple Truth4:4310Lonely Night4:5211You're My Everything5:0712Black Magic Woman3:4013Jin Go Lo Ba4:11, 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 than previous recordings.
The group re-entered the popular consciousness in 2003 when "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood×Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood1977 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood + Esmeralda Suite3:20B1You're My Everything4:43" appeared on the soundtrack to the first volume of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1.