Early life
Vargas was born in 1961 in Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the Monte CristiCareer
Vargas entered onto the bachata scene in the early 1980s. He was one of the first bachata artists to go into the Latin mainstream. Vargas is credited as the first bachatero to use guitar pedals, who he got the idea from bachata sound engineer Rafael Montilla. Montilla added a chorus pedal to Vargas guitar while recording his album El Maiz in 1991. He is also credited as the first bachatero to implement the use of humbucker pickups on acoustic electric guitars. Luis Vargas self-produced, promoted and sold his first albums in the early 1980's. Supported by local artists Pedro Pimentel, Artemio Sánchez, and Antonio Carrasco, his music began being played by local radio stations. After issuing his music through an independent label called José Luis Records, Sony Discos (now Sony Music Latin) signed him in 1996, releasing Volvio el Dolor in 1997. He is the first bachata artist signed to Sony Music Latin.Discography
Studio albums
* El Debate: Merengues de Verdad (1983) * El Rey Supremo (1988) * Sin Hueso (1989) * El Tomate (1990) * La Maravilla (1990) * El Maíz (1991) * Candela (1992) * En Serio (1993) * Loco de Amor (1994) * Fuera de Serie (1995) * Rompiendo Corazones (1996) * Volvió el Dolor (1997) * Desamor (1999) * Inocente (2000) * En Persona (2001) * Supernatural (2002) * La Sangre Llama (2003) * Mensajero (2004) * Inolvidable (2005) * Urbano (2007) * The Legend (2010) * Los 5 Sentidos (2012) * Un Beso En Paris (2015) * La Raíz (2019) * Mi Historia Musical (2019)Live albums
* En Vivo: Hablando Crudo (2002)Compilation albums
* Super Caliente (1997) * Disco de Oro (1998) * Yo Soy Así (2002) * Luis Vargas: 12 Exitos, Vol. 1 (2003) * Luis Vargas: 12 Exitos, Vol. 2 (2003) * Todo Éxitos (2004) * Éxitos de Luis Vargas (2005)Films
* En Persona (2001) * Luis Vargas: Santo Domingo Blues (The Bachata Story) (2004)References