Tulio Enrique León (October 11, 1938 ‒ March 18, 1982) was a Venezuelan organist, composer, and arranger. Born in

Maracaibo, Venezuela ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, he would become one of Venezuela's most popular artists and would bear the title, ''El Artista del Teclado''.

Biography

Tulio Enrique was attracted by music from an early age when he used to create, according to him,

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, making a cornet from cardboard, on which he put a sewing machine needle, sliding on a disk, to get sound. In 1947, after his eyesight was examined in the United States by the Spanish ophthalmologist,

Ramón Castroviejo Ramón Castroviejo Briones (1904–1987) was a Spanish and American eye surgeon remembered for his achievements in corneal transplantation. Biography Born in Logroño, Spain he received his medical education at the University of Madrid. He grad ...

, he was diagnosed with blindness due to optic nerve atrophy. The doctor, in light of the finality of the disease, recommended that he use the money for the surgery to buy a piano and learn to play. Having done this Tulio Enrique's confidence was restored and the doors to his musical career were opened. Tulio Enrique's obsession was playing the organ, as he frequently listened to Radio Caracas, which presented the

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For m ...

organist Salvador Muñoz. He decided to sell the piano, acquiring a Hammond organ and devoted himself to its study and practice. Tulio Enrique Leon parents were Natividad Ordonez del Castillo and Tulio Enrique León Gonzalez.

Musical career

In 1961, Tulio Enrique traveled to Caracas and performed on Venevision without any artistic references or any kind of recommendation, after being heard. He was hired to debut in a musical called ''Show de Show'' (Show of Shows) playing a tune that his audience always asked for: ''Manzanares river''. On succeeding in the capital, a new Venezuelan artist was born with a bright and promising artistic career in music. ''El Show de Renny'' (The Renny Show), ''La Feria de la Alegria'' (The Happiness Fair), ''Sábado Sensacional'' (Sensational Saturday) were the scenes that strengthened the career of this Zuliano citizen. The hit songs from Tulio Enrique León made him an international star. He managed to be placed as an exclusive artist of Discomoda label, at number 61 among the 100 best artists in the world, according to

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

April 17, 1965 charts.

Hits

Tulio Enrique's success traveled the world, he was an idol not only in his native country, but also beyond. 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 ...

he was hired by the

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

label with whom he recorded several albums. Hits like ''La Pollera Amarilla'' (The Yellow Skirt), ''Ron y Tabaco'' (Rum and Tobacco), ''El Cable Submarino'' (The Submarine Cable), ''La Pegajosa'' (The Sticky), ''Este es el Ritmo'' (This is the Rhythm) and others, were delirious to those who listened.

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

enjoyed the songs performed by León during his musical career in his short lifetime.

Discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Tulio Enrique 1938 births 1982 deaths Venezuelan organists Venezuelan male composers People from Maracaibo 20th-century composers 20th-century organists 20th-century male musicians