Artist: Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra
I remember looking up Edmundo Ros online back in 2011. I was shocked and awed to discover that he was still alive—he was 100 years old! I've got quite a stack of Edmundo's LPs on my shelves, so I was hoping he'd either live on forever or, if he had to pass away, I was hoping I'd hear about it so I could pay tribute to him here. Well sadly Edmundo did not live forever, and unfortunately I was not informed of his passing. He died in Spain that very same year. The British, whom he entertained much more than the Americans during and after WWII (we had Xavier Cugat), were pretty much the only people who were told about Edmundo's death; several UK news outlets posted obituaries for the world-famous bandleader (The Guardian, the BBC, The Telegraph), but I don't see any from the USA.
Though many people evidently thought Sñr Ros was born in Venezuela (including Nigel Hunter, who wrote the liner notes for this 1958 LP), Edmundo's original name was Edmund William Ross and he was born in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, just off the Venezuelan coast. After a stint in Venezuela to study music when he was 17, Edmundo headed to England where he battled racial profiling, made millions of people start dancing, and eventually became wildly famous and incredibly wealthy—and he was reportedly a gentleman, to boot. Just ask the Queen!
Though many people evidently thought Sñr Ros was born in Venezuela (including Nigel Hunter, who wrote the liner notes for this 1958 LP), Edmundo's original name was Edmund William Ross and he was born in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, just off the Venezuelan coast. After a stint in Venezuela to study music when he was 17, Edmundo headed to England where he battled racial profiling, made millions of people start dancing, and eventually became wildly famous and incredibly wealthy—and he was reportedly a gentleman, to boot. Just ask the Queen!
[ Edmundo Ros: December 10, 1910 — October 21, 2011 ]
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