Not only do I remember Charo, I actually saw her perform once AND got to meet her! She performed for one night at a community college I was teaching at outside of Chicago. The first half was her "cuchi-cuchi" stuff but in the second act she played her flamenco guitar and stunned all of us who were surprised at how good she was! Afterwards, we attended a reception for her and she couldn't be nicer! She spent a lot of time with us and complemented my hair saying it was just like her son's. Afterwards, a few of us were out in the hallway and I asked my friend Elise where her husband Marco was. Her response: "he's with Charo." It was such a bizarre experience! When we can't find Marco today we still use that line, "he's with Charo!" I've got a photo of Frank and I with her that night that I'll share on Notes.
When I started putting together the long list for this newsletter, a few of her tracks quickly made the cut. I’m not just a disco kid, I’m a total sucker for Latin-tinged disco 😁 And her two albums are absolute standouts in that subgenre.
She’s not that well known in Europe, so at first I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough material for a full episode. But I needn’t have worried, it turned out to be a great story. She’s funny, fiercely driven, and truly self-made. She knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.
What I couldn’t fully grasp, though, was what she’s really like as a person, so your experience really helps fill in the picture, Dan. And that “he’s with Charo” story is hilarious!
One question, though: did you actually understand everything she said to you? 😁 I had to really focus to follow her in the interviews I watched during my research.
Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and chiming in. Have a great weekend, Dan!
That’s what I’m here for, Kristin 😂😂😂. Seriously though, since she never crossed over to the pop charts, most people (except for disco nerds like me) have no idea about that side of her career. And in Europe, she’s pretty much unknown altogether.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts, Kristin. Have a fantastic weekend!
Very neat write-up of someone that I would never have thought about but who ends up worth the attention-- both musically, and for the description of how she navigated her career.
Absolutely, Nick! As I mentioned in my reply to Dan, I initially wasn’t sure there’d be enough material for a full episode, but I was definitely wrong. Her story turned out to be truly inspiring. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great weekend!
I was a fan of Charo on TV variety shows back in the day and probably saw her on that Letterman show, but I never knew about her guitar chops or disco music.
Your dive into her background is so interesting as no one really knew where she came from, only that she was very funny and entertaining. Not to mention a bombshell who never seemed to age.
Her guitar playing was quite a revelation and makes me wonder how she learned. So many rock stars learned to play guitar using records, so maybe she learned Segovia's style indirectly through records or a brother or cousin. We may never know!
We do have some bits of information on that, Ellen, but like much of her life story, they’re vague and often contradictory. Her style is flamenco, which is essentially a gypsy tradition, performed both in authentic clubs and in tourist spots around Andalusia. If she was indeed born in Málaga, she grew up right in the heart of flamenco culture.
In one interview, she mentioned learning from local guitarists in those clubs, which would make sense, especially considering how odd it is that she didn’t play guitar herself on her disco version of Concierto de Aranjuez, a piece she’s said to love. That piece isn’t flamenco, though, it’s classical, and probably a bit more technically demanding.
If you watch the Malagueña performance, you can see the gypsy influence clearly. As for the link to Segovia, that feels more like one of the many embellishments in her story.😁 What is clear, though, is that she’s genuinely skilled, and she’s said in multiple interviews that she practices daily.
Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts, Ellen. Wishing you a great Sunday!
What a fantastic deep dive! I had no idea of her existence (maybe in passing, or vaguely, but she was definitely not on my radar). I loved reading about her and her story through your laser-focused lens. Sounds like she was a real character who knew exactly how to capitalise on her strengths and how to truly own her weaknesses. Impressive, especially considering that the path for female artists wasn't particularly smooth sailing at the time (still isn't, but less so back then). A real trailblazer.
Exactly, and she started from an even greater disadvantage: deeply patriarchal (and prudish) Franco-era Spain. Most girls probably wouldn’t have even tried, but not María Rosario 😁 Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing, Andy. Enjoy the tropical weekend!
Not only do I remember Charo, I actually saw her perform once AND got to meet her! She performed for one night at a community college I was teaching at outside of Chicago. The first half was her "cuchi-cuchi" stuff but in the second act she played her flamenco guitar and stunned all of us who were surprised at how good she was! Afterwards, we attended a reception for her and she couldn't be nicer! She spent a lot of time with us and complemented my hair saying it was just like her son's. Afterwards, a few of us were out in the hallway and I asked my friend Elise where her husband Marco was. Her response: "he's with Charo." It was such a bizarre experience! When we can't find Marco today we still use that line, "he's with Charo!" I've got a photo of Frank and I with her that night that I'll share on Notes.
When I started putting together the long list for this newsletter, a few of her tracks quickly made the cut. I’m not just a disco kid, I’m a total sucker for Latin-tinged disco 😁 And her two albums are absolute standouts in that subgenre.
She’s not that well known in Europe, so at first I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough material for a full episode. But I needn’t have worried, it turned out to be a great story. She’s funny, fiercely driven, and truly self-made. She knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.
What I couldn’t fully grasp, though, was what she’s really like as a person, so your experience really helps fill in the picture, Dan. And that “he’s with Charo” story is hilarious!
One question, though: did you actually understand everything she said to you? 😁 I had to really focus to follow her in the interviews I watched during my research.
Thanks so much for reading, sharing, and chiming in. Have a great weekend, Dan!
Yes, but this was in about 2008-09 so perhaps she'd mastered the language better by then! She was great!
What a cool experience!!
It really was!
I had no clue she had Disco records!
That’s what I’m here for, Kristin 😂😂😂. Seriously though, since she never crossed over to the pop charts, most people (except for disco nerds like me) have no idea about that side of her career. And in Europe, she’s pretty much unknown altogether.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts, Kristin. Have a fantastic weekend!
Very neat write-up of someone that I would never have thought about but who ends up worth the attention-- both musically, and for the description of how she navigated her career.
Absolutely, Nick! As I mentioned in my reply to Dan, I initially wasn’t sure there’d be enough material for a full episode, but I was definitely wrong. Her story turned out to be truly inspiring. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Wishing you a great weekend!
I saw her play on a reality show she did (Surreal Life I think) and it was amazing.
She is, I agree 😁 Thanks for reading & reacting ME! Wishing you a great start of the week!
I was a fan of Charo on TV variety shows back in the day and probably saw her on that Letterman show, but I never knew about her guitar chops or disco music.
Your dive into her background is so interesting as no one really knew where she came from, only that she was very funny and entertaining. Not to mention a bombshell who never seemed to age.
Her guitar playing was quite a revelation and makes me wonder how she learned. So many rock stars learned to play guitar using records, so maybe she learned Segovia's style indirectly through records or a brother or cousin. We may never know!
We do have some bits of information on that, Ellen, but like much of her life story, they’re vague and often contradictory. Her style is flamenco, which is essentially a gypsy tradition, performed both in authentic clubs and in tourist spots around Andalusia. If she was indeed born in Málaga, she grew up right in the heart of flamenco culture.
In one interview, she mentioned learning from local guitarists in those clubs, which would make sense, especially considering how odd it is that she didn’t play guitar herself on her disco version of Concierto de Aranjuez, a piece she’s said to love. That piece isn’t flamenco, though, it’s classical, and probably a bit more technically demanding.
If you watch the Malagueña performance, you can see the gypsy influence clearly. As for the link to Segovia, that feels more like one of the many embellishments in her story.😁 What is clear, though, is that she’s genuinely skilled, and she’s said in multiple interviews that she practices daily.
Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts, Ellen. Wishing you a great Sunday!
Thanks for explaining all that. Very interesting and has given me a great deal of admiration for her committed effort and talent.
One of my first crushes, and her guitar playing always amazes!
I think you weren't the only one 😁 Thanks for reading & reacting Michael. Have a great weekend!
What a fantastic deep dive! I had no idea of her existence (maybe in passing, or vaguely, but she was definitely not on my radar). I loved reading about her and her story through your laser-focused lens. Sounds like she was a real character who knew exactly how to capitalise on her strengths and how to truly own her weaknesses. Impressive, especially considering that the path for female artists wasn't particularly smooth sailing at the time (still isn't, but less so back then). A real trailblazer.
Exactly, and she started from an even greater disadvantage: deeply patriarchal (and prudish) Franco-era Spain. Most girls probably wouldn’t have even tried, but not María Rosario 😁 Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing, Andy. Enjoy the tropical weekend!
Makes her story even more impressive when you analyse the specific historical context.
Thank you, Pe! Sun’s out, guns out! 😎💪🏻🍺😅
😁😁👍