| Four decades after she first emerged and after more than 30 smash hits, Gloria's entire catalogue of music is still as popular as ever. The Essential Gloria Estefan released starts with “Dr. Beat”, takes us through “Conga,” “1,2,3” and countless ballads like “Here We Are” and the Grammy nominated “Coming Out of the Dark,” through disco charted waters like “Turn the Beat Around” and “Heaven’s What I Feel”—even that duet with ’NSync “Music of My Heart.” It’s all here—37 songs for you to queen out and enjoy. | |
| The major turning point in the fortunes of Gloria and Emilio’s careers came in 1984 after Emilio persuaded CBS bosses to let the band record an English-language album, Eyes Of Innocence. The album (certified Gold in the U.S.) contained the single “Dr. Beat,” which became a dance floor anthem during the summer of 1984, topping European dance charts and giving the band their first U.K. Top 10 hit. |
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Less than a year
later, Primitive Love was released. Quickly certified for over three million sales in the U.S., it produced
four hit singles including “Bad Boy,” “Words Get In The Way” and “Conga,” which became the band’s first U.S.
hit single – as well as having become recognized as the band’s unofficial “theme.” It also remains the
only track in history to appear on Billboard’s Pop, Latin, Soul and Dance charts at the same time.
The next two albums – 1987’s Let It Loose and 1989’s Cuts Both Ways – were hugely successful across the world; Cuts Both Ways sold more than 10 million copies alone. Between them they produced a run of smash hit singles including “Anything For You,” “Can’t Stay Away From You,” “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “1-2-3,” “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” “Oye Mi Canto” and “Get On Your Feet”. By this time, the records were solely credited to Gloria Estefan, and although still backed by the Miami Sound Machine, Emilio encouraged Gloria to be the sole name so that she would be eligible to win a Grammy® Award. | |
| With record sales and radio play at an all time high, and having become one of music’s hottest touring acts, Gloria was on top of the world. That world, however, was about to be shattered. On March 20, 1990, as she was asleep on board, Gloria’s tour bus was smashed from behind by a speeding truck. Gloria suffered critical injuries which included a broken back. Nearly a year of agonizing physical therapy and surgery followed, which resulted in two titanium rods being implanted on both sides of her spine. |
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| Against all odds, while still in recovery, Gloria staged a comeback performance at the American Music Awards in January 1991. Giving a highly emotional performance of a new song titled “Coming Out Of The Dark” she very publicly announced that she was back… and in better form than ever. A new album Into The Light followed and, remarkably, a massive tour which played to more than ten million people in 17 countries only served to enhance her reputation as one of the greatest live performers in the world. | |
| 1992 saw Gloria’s first Greatest Hits collection released. As well as rounding up the biggest hits from the past eight years it featured three new tracks including “Go Away,” which gave her another Top 10 U.S. dance hit. The release of Greatest Hits figuratively seemed to draw a line in this chapter of Gloria’s career. With so much already achieved it was impossible to imagine that the future could hold even greater accomplishments – but it did… |
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Drawing from—and in tribute to—her roots, 1993 saw the release of Mi Tierra. A critical
and commercial success, Gloria’s first Spanish language album in nearly ten years sold over
eight million copies, as well as earning her first Grammy® Award.
An album of cover versions featuring some of Gloria’s personal favorite songs, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, followed a year later and was another hugely successful album which, across different countries, spawned five hit singles including the title track, “Turn The Beat Around” and “Everlasting Love.” The latter produced a particularly memorable video as the Glorias on film were all drag queens subbing for a very pregnant real-life Gloria. After giving birth to her daughter, Emily, Gloria returned to her Latin roots once more to produce 1995’s Abriendos Puertas. Another Grammy® followed for the highly acclaimed set, which included the #1 Latin song “Mas Alla.” Gloria became the first pop star ever invited to perform for a Pope when she performed that song for Pope John Paul II. The mid-’90s became a time synonymous with achievement for Gloria, and 1996 saw her performing at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games. The official theme song of the ’96 Olympic Games, “Reach” became the first single from a new English-language album Destiny. Later that year the album’s second single, the feel-good party anthem “You’ll Be Mine (Party Time),” became a worldwide smash. Gloria’s career highlights have included some of the best loved dance music ever recorded. This was acknowledged and was the premise of the 1998 disco/dance themed release Gloria! – a collection of high energy, uplifting tracks including the chart and dance floor hits “Don’t Let This Moment End” and the lead single “Heaven’s What I Feel,” which Gloria performed at the first VH1 Divas Live concert event.
1984’s “Dr. Beat” began a twenty-two year run of non-stop hits for Gloria Estefan, and throughout this time no other Latin music star had “crossed-over” to such unprecedented English language success. As the 1990s came to a close Latin music exploded in popularity. A new generation of stars including Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez all topped the world’s charts. Not only had Gloria paved the way commercially for this new generation, but she and Emilio have been instrumental in many of their success stories. Emilio produced tracks on both Ricky Martin’s eponymous English language album and Jennifer Lopez’s debut On The 6, while Gloria penned the Jennifer Lopez global dance smash “Let’s Get Loud.” Shakira’s worldwide hit “Whenever, Wherever” was co-written by Gloria, while Emilio executive produced the album Laundry Service, which catapulted Shakira to international superstardom. The new millennium opened with Gloria taking on a new role – as an actress. Playing opposite Meryl Streep in Music Of The Heart she not only received strong reviews for her performance, but also received an Academy Award nomination for the movie’s title song, which she recorded with ’NSync. A new Spanish-language album, Alma Caribena, was another Grammy® Award-winning release in 2000, yielding several chart-topping hits that included a duet with Cuba’s other great, legendary female recording artist, Celia Cruz. Following that was one of Gloria’s most accomplished and personal pieces of work, the album Unwrapped, on which she wrote or co-wrote every song and which features collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Chrissie Hynde. A few years ago she wrote a New York Times Best Seller children's book, and a screenplay based on the life and career ’60s pop icon Connie Francis. Certainly, the story of Gloria’s career is not at the end, but The Essential Gloria Estefan gives us a chance to look back over two decade of hit songs – and although a truly essential collection would require many more discs, this set pays tribute to a singer/songwriter who has achieved so much without ever compromising her integrity as an artist. In April 2010, Estefan and her husband received a star in the "Walk of Stars" in Las Vegas for their contribution to music industry. On April 28, 2011, at the Latin Billboard Awards, Estefan was honored with the Billboard Spirit of Hope Award for her philanthropic work. Three years later, Estefan and her husband received a Caribbean American Mover and Shakers Lifetime Achievement Award, for their contributions to the Hispanic, and multicultural community. In November 2015, it was announced Estefan, along with her husband, would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contributions to American music.
In May 2020, Gloria wrote and released "We Needed Time" as a musical piece to reflect the feelings and emotions the world was experiencing around the COVID-19 global pandemic. She remains the woman with more hit songs than any Latin artist in history. ©2006 GayWired.com, All Rights Reserved
The Essential Gloria Estefan is still available from Amazon |