Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

voice and his great expressivity, he was known variously as "El Bárbaro del Ritmo" and "El Sonero Mayor". Moré was a master of the – the art of vocal improvisation in son cubano – and many of his tunes developed this way. He often took part in ''controversias'' (vocal duels) with other singers, including Cheo Marquetti and Joseíto Fernández. Apart from ''son cubano'', Moré was a popular singer of

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

s, cha cha cha,

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

son montuno Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to de ...

, and

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

s. Moré started his career with the Trío Matamoros in the 1940s and after a tour in Mexico he decided to stay in the country. Both Moré and dancer Ninón Sevilla made their cinematic debut in 1946's ''Carita de cielo'', but Moré focused on his music career. In the late 1940s, he sang guaracha-mambos with

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

, achieving great success. Moré returned to Cuba in 1952 and worked with Bebo Valdés and Ernesto Duarte. In 1953, he formed the Banda Gigante, which became one of the leading Cuban big bands of the 1950s. He suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and died of

liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

in 1963 at the age of 43.

Early life

The eldest of 18 children, Moré was born in the town of

Santa Isabel de las Lajas Lajas, known historically and culturally as Santa Isabel de las Lajas, is a municipality and town in the Cienfuegos Province of Cuba. It is located in the northern part of the province, west of Santa Clara, Cuba, Santa Clara and immediately sout ...

in the former Santa Clara Province, current Cienfuegos Province, in central Cuba. His parents were Virginia Moré and Silvestre Gutiérrez. His maternal great-great grandfather, Ta Ramón Gundo Paredes (later changed to Ta Ramón Gundo Moré), was said to be the son of the king of a tribe in the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...

who was captured by slave traders and sold to a Cuban plantation owner named Ramon Paredes and subsequently to another Cuban landowner named Conde Moré (Paredes/Moré was later liberated and died as a freeman at age 94.) As a child, Moré learned to play the guitar, making his first instrument at the age of six, according to his mother, from "a stick and a sardine can that served as the sound box". In 1936, at the age of 17, he left Las Lajas for

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Morón, Cuba.

Career

In 1940, Moré returned to Havana. He lived from hand-to-mouth, playing in bars and cafés, passing the hat. His first breakthrough was winning a radio competition. In the early 1940s, radio station CMQ had a program called ''The Supreme Court of Art'', in which a wide variety of artists participated. Winners were given contracts by unscrupulous businessmen, who exploited them. The less fortunate were treated to the humiliation of a loud church bell that brutally terminated their performances.Radanovich (2009), p. 28. In his first appearance, Moré had scarcely begun to sing when the bell sounded, and he was booed off the stage. He later competed again and won first prize. He then landed his first stable job with the Conjunto Cauto led by Mozo Borgellá. He also sang with success on the radio station CMZ with Lázaro Cordero's Sexteto Fígaro. In 1941, Moré made his debut on

Radio Mil Diez Radio Mil Diez (or Radio 1010) was a radio station broadcasting from Havana, Cuba, owned by the Popular Socialist Party (PSP). Radio Mil Diez broadcast for five years, between 1943 and 1948, and played an important role in shaping contemporary Cu ...

, performing with the Conjunto Cauto, directed by Mozo Borgella.

Conjunto Matamoros and Mexico

Ciro Rodríguez, of the famed Trío Matamoros, heard Moré singing in the bar El Temple and was greatly impressed. In 1942, Conjunto Matamoros was engaged for a live performance for Radio Mil Diez. However, Miguel Matamoros was indisposed and asked Mozo Borgellá to lend him a singer. Borgellá sent Moré, who worked for several years with Conjunto Matamoros, making a number of recordings. Moré replaced Miguel Matamoros as lead singer, and the latter dedicated himself to leading the band. On 21 June 1945, Moré went with Conjunto Matamoros to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where he performed in two of the most famous cabarets: the Montparnasse and the Río Rosa. He made several recordings. Conjunto Matamoros returned to Havana, but Moré remained in Mexico. Rafael Cueto said to him: "Fine, but just remember that they call burros 'bartolo' here. Stay, but change your name." "Ok," replied Moré, "from now on my name is Beny, Beny Moré." Moré was left penniless and got permission to work from the performing artists' union. With this, he was able to get a job at the Río Rosa, where he formed the Dueto Fantasma (also known as Dueto Antillano) with Lalo Montané, in December 1945. In

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Moré made recordings for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, with Perez Prado: " Anabacoa", "Bonito y Sabroso", "Mucho Corazón", "Pachito Eché", " La Múcura", "Rabo y Oreja" and other numbers. He recorded "Dolor Karabalí", which Moré considered his best composition recorded with

, one he never wanted to re-record, also his recording in Mexico with Rafael de Paz Orchestra of "Bonito y Sabroso" was never recorded again by Moré, even though his famous composition of the months prior to leaving Mexico became in time the theme of his big band in Cuba. Moré was always reluctant to record newer versions of his hit songs, as he thought "you don't fix what's not broken". Moré and Prado recorded 28 songs in total, mostly mambos. Moré also recorded with the orchestra of Mariano Mercerón: "Me Voy Pa'l Pueblo", "Desdichado", "Mucho Corazon", "Ensalada de Mambo", "Rumberos de Ayer" and "Encantado de la Vida" with "El Conjunto de Lalo Montane", a Colombian singer and composer, with which he recorded in Mexico, conforming a famous duo called "The Phantom Duet" or "Dueto Fantasma". He also recorded with Mexican orchestras, specially with the one directed by Rafael de Paz; they recorded "Yiri Yiri Bon", "La Culebra", "Mata Siguaraya", " Solamente Una Vez" and "Bonito y Sabroso", a mambo song where he praises the dancing skills of the Mexicans and claims that

and

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Amalia Aguilar appeared as themselves in the Ernesto Cortázar-directed 1949 film ''En cada puerto un amor'', a film in the musical comedy and drama genres.

Return to Cuba

During the spring of 1952, around April, Moré returned to Cuba. He was a star in Mexico, the Dominican Republic,

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, but virtually unknown on the island. His first Cuban recordings were with Mariano Mercerón & his Orchestra, including songs such as "Fiesta de Tambores", "Salomón", "La Chola", among others. Moré began alternating between performances in the Cadena Oriental radio station and trips to Havana to record at the RCA studios in CMQ Radiocentro. In Havana, Moré worked for the radio station RHC-Cadena Azul, with the orchestra of Bebo Valdés, who introduced the new style called "batanga". The presenter of the show, Ibraín Urbino, presented him as ''El Bárbaro del Ritmo.'' They offered him the opportunity to record with Sonora Matancera, but he declined the offer because he did not care for the sound of the group. After the batanga fell out of fashion, Moré was contracted by Radio Progreso with the orchestra of Ernesto Duarte Brito. In addition to the radio, he also performed at dances, cabarets and parties. When he sang in Havana's Centro Gallego, people filled the sidewalks and the gardens of the Capitolio to hear him. In 1952, Moré made a recording with the Orquesta Aragón with whom he would perform in dance halls. Orquesta Aragón was from Cienfuegos and was having trouble breaking into Havana and Moré helped them in this way.

Banda Gigante

Also in 1952, Moré was told that Duarte Brito was not taking Moré to certain Saturday engagements because Moré was black. Moré was furious and brought the issue up to the RCA Records agent in Cuba (Maurico Conde). When nothing was done, Moré decided to form his own orchestra. The first performance of Moré's Banda Gigante was in the CMQ radio program ''Cascabeles Candado'' on August 3, 1953. The original lineup featured Ignacio Cabrera "Cabrerita" (piano); Miguel Franca, Santiago Peñalver, Roberto Barreto, Celso Gómez and Virgilio Vixama (saxophones); Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Rigoberto "Rabanito" Jiménez and Domingo Corbacho (trumpets); José Miguel Gómez (trombone); Alberto Limonta (double bass); Tabaquito (congas); Clemente Piquero "Chicho" (bongos); Rolando Laserie (drums), and Fernando Álvarez and Enrique Benitez (vocals). The Banda was generally sixteen musicians, comparable in size with the orchestras of Xavier Cugat and

. Although Moré could not read music, he arranged material by singing parts to his arrangers, which included pianists Cabrerita and Peruchín, as well as trombonist Generoso Jiménez. Between the years 1953 and 1955, the Banda Gigante became immensely popular. Their first recording session took place in November 1953, which included the hit "Manzanillo". Other hits followed, including self-penned songs such as " Mi saoco", "Santa Isabel de las Lajas", "Cienfuegos" and "Dolor y perdón". In 1956 and 1957, they toured Dominican Republic,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, Panama, Mexico,

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where the group played at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. In Havana, they played at a multitude of dance halls and cabarets such as the Tropicana Club, La Campana, El Sierra, Night and Day, Alí Bar Club, and the Hotel Habana Riviera and Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. Moré was offered a tour of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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in particular, but he rejected it because of his

fear of flying Fear of flying is the fear of being on an aircraft, such as an airplane or helicopter, while it is in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia (although aero ...

; he had by that time been in three airplane accidents.

Final years

In the aftermath of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, many of Cuba's top musical figures emigrated, but Moré stayed in Cuba, among, as he said, "mi gente" (my people).

Death

Moré suffered from

and died of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

of the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

in 1963 at the age of 43. His funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people.

Awards and recognition

Moré has been cited as the greatest singer in Cuban music history by critics and musicians. In 1999, Moré was posthumously inducted into the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the a ...

and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. The Benny Moré Memorial Award was named in honor of the artist and was given to artists who were influential in Latin music. On 11 June 2006, Moré was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame at Celia Cruz Park in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

, a heavily Cuban-American community that has hosted musical presentations and multimedia lectures on the singer.

Legacy

Beny Moré appears as a character in the novel '' The Island of Eternal Love '' (

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

, 2008), by

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

writer Daína Chaviano, who also concludes her novel with a chapter titled " Today as Yesterday", one of the best interpretations of this singer. Moré is also remembered in the 2006 film '' El Benny'', which is based on parts of his life, and includes new versions of his songs performed by musicians including Chucho Valdés, Juan Formell and Orishas. Numerous

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

s consisting of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of Moré's songs have been released by artists such as

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

(1978, 1979 and 1985), Charanga de la 4 (1981), Bobby Carcassés (1985), Tropicana All-Stars (2004) and Jon Secada (2017).

Selected discography

Records from 1963 onwards include at least one or more unreleased songs. * ''El Inigualable'' (Discuba, 1957) * ''The Most From Beny Moré'' (Victor, 1958; recorded 1955–1957) * ''Así es...'' (Victor, 1958) * ''Pare... que llegó el bárbaro'' (Victor/Discuba, 1958) * ''Así es... Beny'' (Discuba, 1958) * ''La Época de Oro'' (Victor, 1958) * ''Magia antillana'' (Victor, 1960; recorded 1949–1953) * ''El Barbaro del Ritmo'' with Perez Prado and

Rafael De Paz Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

(Victor, 1962; recorded 1949–1951) * ''Homenaje póstumo'' (Discuba, 1963; recorded 1960) * ''Benny More Y Su Orquesta...'' (Palma, 1964) * ''Recordando'' (RCA Camden, 1964) * ''Lo Mejor de Beny Moré'' (RCA, 1965) * ''La Época De Oro Vol.II'' (RCA, 1969) * ''y Su Salsa de Siempre'' (RCA, 1978) * ''Grandes Exitos'' (Darcole Music, 1979) * ''Ensalada De Mambo'' (RCA, 1980) * ''Lo Último Que Cantó Beny More'' (Integra, 1980) * ''Lo Desconocido De Beny More'' (RCA, 1982) * ''Cubanísimo-1'' with Trío Matamoros and Ernesto Duarte's orchestra (Producciones Preludio, 1983; recorded 1945–1947) * ''Leyendas Musicales'' (Producciones Preludio, 1986) * ''Beny Moré Canta Con...'' (RCA, 1988) * ''Conjunto Matamoros With Beny Moré'' with Conjunto Matamoros (Tumbao Cuban Classics, 1992; recorded 1945–1947) * ''El Barbaro del Ritmo'' with Perez Prado (Tumbao Cuban Classics, 1992; recorded 1949–1951) * ''Benny Moré En Vivo'' (Discmedi, 1995; recorded 1957) * ''Benny More Canta Boleros'' (Estudios EGREM, 2006; recorded 1953–1960)

References

External links

* *
Video of Benny Moré and his Banda Gigante
{{DEFAULTSORT:More, Benny 1919 births 1963 deaths 20th-century Cuban male singers Alcohol-related deaths in Cuba Bolero singers Cuban jazz bandleaders Cuban big band bandleaders Cuban people of Kongo descent Deaths from cirrhosis Guaracha singers Mambo musicians RCA Victor artists Son cubano singers