Xavier Cugat(Catalan:[ʃəβiˈekuˈɣat];1 January 1900[1]– 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years inHavana, Cuba.A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread ofLatin music.InNew York City,he was the leader of the resident orchestra at theWaldorf–Astoriabefore and afterWorld War II.He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in theBiblioteca de Catalunya.
Xavier Cugat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu 1 January 1900[1] |
| Died | 27 October 1990(aged 90) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1925–1970 |
| Spouses | Carmen Castillo
(m.1929;div.1946)Lorraine Allen
(m.1947;div.1952) |
| Relatives | Francis Cugat(brother) |
| Website | xaviercugat |
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting hisWaldorf-Astoria OrchestraperformingConsuelo Velázquez's rhumbaBésame Muchoin 1945Listen on archive.org |
Life and career
editCugat was bornFrancisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu[2]inGirona,Catalonia,Spain, in 1900 (although he would later claim to have been born in 1901).[2]His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old.[3]He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education. He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra. When he was not performing, he started drawing caricatures.[4]On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on theSSHavana.Cugat appeared in recitals withEnrico Caruso,playing violin solos.[2]
In the 1920s, he led a band that played often at the Coconut Grove, a club inLos Angeles.Cugat's friend,Charlie Chaplin,visited the club to dance the tango, so Cugat added tangos to the band's performances.[5]Seeing how popular the dance was becoming, Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons. This, too, became popular, and Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra. In 1928 he turned his act into the filmXavier Cugat and His Gigolos.[5][6]
He worked for theLos Angeles Timesas a cartoonist. His caricatures were nationally syndicated. They appeared inPhotoplaymagazine beginning with the November 1927 issue, under the byline "de Bru." His older brother,Francis,was an artist of some note, having painted cover art forF. Scott Fitzgerald's novelThe Great Gatsby.[7]
In 1931, Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of theWaldorf–Astoriahotel. He replacedJack Dennyas leader of the hotel's resident band. For sixteen years, he led theWaldorf-Astoria Orchestra,shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for most of the next 30 years. One of his trademark gestures was to hold aChihuahuawhile he waved his baton with the other arm.[8]
His music career led to appearing in the filmsIn Gay Madrid(1930),You Were Never Lovelier(1942),Bathing Beauty(1944),Week-End at the Waldorf(1945),Holiday in Mexico(1946),A Date with Judy(1948),On an Island with You(1948), andChicago Syndicate(1955).[5]
Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat inWest Hollywood.The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners' favorite songs upon request.[9]The restaurant began operations in the 1940s and closed in 1986.[10]
The restaurant's exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 filmNeptune's Daughterin which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself. A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 filmThe Heat's On,also starring Cugat as himself.
Death
edit
Cugat spent his last years inBarcelona,Spain, living in a suite atHotel Ritz (Barcelona).He died ofheart failureat age 90 in Barcelona and was buried in his nativeGirona.He was posthumously inducted into theInternational Latin Music Hall of Famein 2001.[11]
Marriages
editCugat was married five times. His first marriage was toRita Montaner(1918–20), his second was to his band vocalist Carmen Castillo (1929–44), his third to actress Lorraine Allen (1947–52), his fourth to singerAbbe Lane(1952–64), and his fifth to Spanish guitarist and comic actressCharo(1966–78).
Recordings
edit| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting hisWaldorf-Astoria Orchestraperforming "Perfidia"in 1939Listen on archive.org | |
| You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra performing "Brazil (Aquareia De Brasil)" in 1941Listen on archive.org |
Cugat recorded forColumbia(1940s and 1950s, and Epic),RCA Victor(1930s and 1950s),Mercury(1951–52 and the 1960s), andDecca(1960s).Dinah Shoremade her first recordings as a vocalist with Cugat in 1939 and 1940 for RCA Victor. In 1940 his recording of "Perfidia"became a hit. Cugat followed trends closely, making records for the conga, themambo,thecha-cha-cha,and thetwistwhen these dances were popular. Several songs that he recorded, including "Perfidia", were used in theWong Kar-waifilmsDays of Being Wildand2046.In 1943, "Brazil"was Cugat's most successful chart hit. It spent seven weeks at No. 2 on theBillboardmagazine National Best Selling Retail Records chart behindHarry James'ssong "I've Heard That Song Before".[12]In the 1950s he made several recordings with his wife, singerAbbe Lane.
His orchestra includedDesi Arnaz,Lina Romay,Abbe Lane,Tito Rodriguez,Yma Sumac,Miguelito Valdés,[5]Frank Berardi, Gene Lorello, George Lopez, Glenn E. Brown, Henry Greher, Isabello Marerro, James English, John Haluko, Joseph Gutierrez, Luis Castellanos, Manuel Paxtot, Oswaldo Oliveira, Otto Bolívar, Otto Garcia, Rafael Angelo, Richard Hoffman, Robert De Joseph, and Robert Jones.
Discography
edit- The Lady in Red(RCA Victor,1935)[13]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may listen to Xavier Cugat conducting hisWaldorf-Astoria OrchestraperformingCole Porter's "Begin the Beguine"in 1951Listen on archive.org | |
| Xaviar Cugot sonducting aBig band remotebroadcast of thesamba"Tico Tico in 1945 Listen on archive.org |
- One, Two, Three, Kick – Congas(Victor, 1941)
- Xavier Cugat's Mexico(Columbia, 1944)
- Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas(Columbia,1945)
- In Santiago, Chile(Tain't Chilly At All) (Columbia], 1948)
- Siesta(Columbia, 1948)
- Tropical Bouquets(Columbia, 1949)
- Rela xing with Cugat(Columbia, 1952)
- Dancetime with Cugat(RCA Victor, 1953)
- Cugat's Favorite Rhumbas(Columbia, 1954)
- Ole!(Columbia, 1955)
- Mambo at the Waldorf(Columbia, 1955)
- Cha Cha Cha(Columbia, 1955)
- Cugatango!(10 "record) (Columbia, 1956)
- Bread, Love and Cha Cha Cha(Columbia, 1957)
- Waltzes but by Cugat!(Columbia, 1957)
- Mambo! (Music for Latin Lovers)(Mercury,1957)
- The King Plays Some Aces(RCA Victor, 1958)
- Cugat Calvalcade(Columbia, 1958)
- Cugat in Spain(RCA Victor, 1959)
- That Latin Beat!(RCA Victor, 1959)
- Chile Con Cugie(RCA Victor, 1959)
- The Latin Rhythms of Xavier Cugat(Harmony,1960)
- Cugat in France, Spain, and Italy(RCA Victor, 1960)
- The Best of Cugat(Mercury, 1961)
- Viva Cugat!(Mercury, 1961)
- Twist with Cugat(Mercury, 1962)
- Cugat Plays Continental Hits(Mercury, 1962)
- Most Popular Movie Hits As Styled By Cugat(Mercury, 1962)
- Cugat Plays Continental Hits(Mercury, 1962)
- Cugi's Cocktails(Mercury, 1963)
- Cugat's Golden Goodies(Mercury, 1963)
- Cugi's Cocktails(Mercury, 1963)
- Cugat Caricatures(Mercury, 1964)
- Plays the Music of Ernesto Lecuona(Mercury, 1964)
- Midnight Roses(Decca,1968)
- The Cugat Touch(Springboard, 1976)
References
edit- ^abNOTE: Some sources ([1],[2]) indicate 1901 as his year of birth; however, the majority of references, including his tombstone and various United States censuses, all clearly support 1900 as the correct year of birth.
- ^abcXavier Cugat official webpage,xaviercugat; accessed 8 November 2015.
- ^"Bandleader Xavier Cugat, 'Rumba King,' Dies at 90".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 20, 2015.RetrievedAugust 23,2019.
- ^Groppa, Carlos G. (16 January 2018).The Tango in the United States: A History.McFarland. pp. 119–.ISBN978-0-7864-2686-7.Retrieved20 February2019.
- ^abcdHarris, Craig."Xavier Cugat".AllMusic.Retrieved21 February2019.
- ^ProfileArchivedNovember 24, 2006, at theWayback MachineLegacyRecordings; accessed 8 November 2015.
- ^Tate, Mary Jo (2007).Critical Companion to F. Scott Fitzgerald.Infobase Publishing. p. 88.ISBN978-0-8160-6433-5.Retrieved8 November2015.
- ^Powell, Jane (1988).The Girl Next Door...and How She Grew(1st ed.). Morrow. p.112.ISBN0-688-06757-3.
- ^"Mexican Food: What Do Showbiz People Like to Eat?".The Los Angeles Times.Los Angeles. March 11, 1980.RetrievedFebruary 19,2017.
- ^Andrews, Colman (May 18, 1986)."A Bogus Critic Without Reservation".The Los Angeles Times.Los Angeles.Retrieved19 February2017.
- ^"International Latin Music Hall of Fame Announces Inductees for 2001".3 April 2001.Retrieved31 October2015.
- ^"The Billboard Music Popularity Chart"(PDF).americanradiohistory.The Billboard. 3 April 1943. p. 22.Retrieved21 February2019.
- ^"The Lady in Red" by Xavier Cugat and His Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra, Written by Mort Dixon and Allie Wrubel, Recorded April 1, 1935, and released April 24, 1935, on Victor 25012-A, 78 RPM single –SecondHandSongs
External links
edit- Personal papers of Xavier Cugat,Biblioteca de Catalunya; accessed 8 November 2015
- About Xavier Cugat,
- Xavier Cugat recordingsat theDiscography of American Historical Recordings.