Possibly the biggest star EVER in his native Cuba, and a major player as a singer, songwriter and bandleader throughout the Latin world. Beny was the amazing singer on some of Perez Prado's biggest hits, the leader of his own combos, AND a heart-throb superstar solo singer; he dominated the world of Mambo singing from the 1940s onwards. Beny Moré is in short, the greatest singer of popular music Cuba has ever produced. Think Frank Sinatra or Nat "King" Cole combined with Elvis and The Beatles and you'll get an idea of how he's perceived in Cuba, especially by the older generation which became the backbone of The Buena Vista Social Club and how he should be regarded elsewhere. In the 40 years since his death, no Cuban vocalist has emerged to fill his shoes, and he remains as close as ever to the hearts of the Cuban people. Few singers in this hemisphere have consistently matched his interpretive gifts, vocal virtuosity, and comfort with a range of styles. Moré's genius lay in his effortless synthesis of two of the major currents of Cuban song -- Afro-Cuban son and the Spanish-derived guajiro music of the Cuban countryside. He was equally successful with boleros as with mambos and rumbas. Most important is what he conveyed with his singing: a tenderness and direct emotional appeal in his boleros, a hip-shaking exuberance in his mambos, and always from the heart!!
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