Los Shakers were a popular

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band in the 1960s and was a part of the

Uruguayan Invasion The Uruguayan Invasion was a musical phenomenon of the 1960s similar to the British Invasion, with rock bands from Uruguay gaining popularity in Argentina. History Inspired by British bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, many young music ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. They were heavily influenced by the look and sound of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. In the late 1960s they would broaden and expand their musical direction before breaking up in 1969.

History

The band was formed in 1964 in

Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

by brothers

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

(lead guitar and keyboards) and

Osvaldo Fattoruso Osvaldo Fattoruso (12 May 1948 - 29 July 2012) was a Uruguayan musician. He introduced rock in Latin America and created a fusion between jazz, rock and African rhythms. He died on 29 July 2012, and is buried at the Cementerio del Norte, Montevi ...

(rhythm guitar), after watching the movie '' A Hard Day's Night'' starring The Beatles. They were modeled after The Beatles and even adopted similar haircuts and clothing. The band sang many songs in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, despite their location, and gained their greatest popularity in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, but also had popularity in other Latin American countries. They signed with the Odeon label of EMI in Argentina. The first single recorded as The Shakers was "Break it All" in late 1964, which reached number 9 on Argentine charts. A self-titled album was released later in 1965. Though the band focused their attentions almost exclusively on Latin America, they did take one crack at the English-speaking market when they released the album ''

Break It All ''Break It All'' is the only US-released studio album by Uruguayan rock band Los Shakers. It was released in January 1966 on the Audio Fidelity label. "The South American Beatles" Los Shakers were a Uruguay-based band who (after seeing the film ' ...

,'' on the US-based

Audio Fidelity Records Audio Fidelity Records, was a record company based in New York City, most active during the 1950s and 1960s. They are best known for having produced the first mass-produced American stereophonic long-playing record in November 1957 (although this ...

in 1966. The record (which featured re-recorded versions of many of the songs on their original LP and even a Spanish-language version of The Beatles' " Ticket to Ride") was little more than a curiosity in the United States and was not a hit, but became a collector's item decades later, as would their second album, '' Shakers for You'' (released in 1966). Both albums were re-issued, with bonus tracks, on CD in 2007. Reflecting the move towards

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

, their music went in a new direction. Their last studio album with the original line up, '' La conferencia secreta del Toto's Bar,'' released in 1968, mixed

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

influences with

candombe ''Candombe'' is a style of music and dance that originated in Uruguay among the descendants of liberated African slaves. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed ''candombe'' in its Repres ...

and some

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

sounds; the album has been described as a Latin American '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. However, their recording label (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) did not approve of this new sound, and left them without any promotion or support; it led to the band's split up. In 2005, the original lineup re-united, and recorded a CD ''Bonus Tracks'' and played in Argentina and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Los Shakers would break up shortly thereafter. Osvaldo Fattoruso, guitarist and drummer, died on July 29, 2012, due to cancer at the age of 64.

Members

Hugo Fattoruso Hugo Fattoruso was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1943. Fattoruso is a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and vocalisAs well as developing a career as a soloist, he has participated and performed in many different genres: Trio Fattoruso ...

- lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

- guitar, vocals *Roberto "Pelín" Capobianco -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

bandoneon The bandoneon (or bandonion, es, bandoneón) is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held bet ...

, backing vocals *Carlos "Caio" Vila -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilations

References

External links

Official siteLos Shakers
biography and discography at AllMusic.com
Los Shakers
discography at Discogs.com

Miscellaneous color/B&W Videos of Los Shakers at Youtube

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakers Uruguayan rock music groups Beat groups Musical groups established in 1963 1963 establishments in Uruguay