Latin Music Icons Codexery

Benny Moré

Cuban singer and bandleader, master of vocal improvisation.

Last updated

Benny Moré

Ibrahim Arce (Narcy Studios photographer), most likely · via Wikipedia: Benny Moré · Public domain

He was called "El Bárbaro del Ritmo" and "El Sonero Mayor" for his fluid tenor voice and improvisational skill.[1] Moré died of liver cirrhosis at age 43, and tens of thousands attended his funeral.[2] The Cuban singer, bandleader, and songwriter Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, who was born on 24 August 1919 and died on 19 February 1963, is more commonly referred to as Benny Moré.[2]

Last updated 2026-10-07 from the source article.

Making and release

Moré was the eldest of 18 children, born in Santa Isabel de las Lajas, and learned guitar as a child, making his first instrument from a stick and a sardine can.[3][2] He joined the Conjunto Matamoros in 1942, replacing Miguel Matamoros as lead singer.[4][5] In Mexico City he recorded 28 songs with Pérez Prado, mostly mambos, including "Dolor Karabalí" which he considered his best composition with Prado.[6] Moré returned to Cuba in 1952 and formed his own orchestra, the Banda Gigante, debuting on CMQ radio on August 3, 1953.[2][7]

The Banda Gigante became immensely popular between 1953 and 1955, recording hits like "Manzanillo" and touring multiple countries including the United States.[6] After an initial unsuccessful attempt, Moré later succeeded in winning a prize on the CMQ radio program "The Supreme Court of Art" when he came back to Havana in 1940.[8] Moré journeyed to Mexico with the group on 21 June 1945 and gave shows at the Montparnasse and Río Rosa cabarets.[5]

What the cited sources add

The Americasalsa biography states that Moré's maternal great-great grandfather was said to be the son of a Kongo king who was enslaved and later died a freeman at age 94.[9][3] The same source notes that Moré could not read music but directed his Banda Gigante and orchestrated by singing parts to his arrangers.[9] The Biografiadee.com account says Moré was diagnosed with cirrhosis but continued performing until his final days.[10] The Americasalsa biography notes that among the first members of Moré's Banda Gigante were "Chocolate" on trumpet and "Chicho" on bongos.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whitefield, "Benny Moré is still 'The Master of Rhythm' in his Cuban hometown", Miami Herald, 2016-11-17; Radanovich, "Wildman of Rhythm: The Life and Music of Benny Moré", University Press of Florida, 2009; Horn, "Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 2 Locations: Volumes III to VII", Bloomsbury Academic, 2005, p. 90; "Revista de revistas", Empresa Editora Revista de Revistas S.A, 1994, p. 67; Gómez Sotolongo, "Al son son y al vino vino", Lulu, 2019, p. 133; Whitefield, "Benny Moré is still 'The Master of Rhythm' in his en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whitefield, "Benny Moré is still 'The Master of Rhythm' in his Cuban hometown", Miami Herald, 2016-11-17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "▷ Biografía de Benny Moré - ¿QUIÉN FUE?", Biografiadee.com, 2019-07-18; "▷ Biografía de Benny Moré - ¿QUIÉN FUE?", Biografiadee.com, 2019-07-18; "▷ Biografía de Benny Moré - ¿QUIÉN FUE?", Biografiadee.com, 2019-07-18; "Biografia de Beny More", www.americasalsa.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Radanovich (2009), p. 31. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biografia de Beny More", www.americasalsa.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Díaz Ayala, "Benny Moré", Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925-1960, May 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Biografia de Beny More", www.americasalsa.com; Martínez Rodríguez, "Benny Moré", Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1993, p. 18; Roy, "Músicas cubanas", Akal, 2003, p. 152 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Benny Moré" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Radanovich (2009), p. 28. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Biografia de Beny More", www.americasalsa.com. facts only, no text reused. americasalsa.com
  10. "▷ Biografía de Benny Moré - ¿QUIÉN FUE?", Biografiadee.com, 2019-07-18. facts only, no text reused. biografiadee.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Benny Moré (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Latin Music Icons

Buena Vista Social ClubCaetano VelosoCarlos GardelCarlos VivesCarmen MirandaCartolaChico BuarqueChiquinha GonzagaDaniela MercuryElza SoaresTito PuenteVioleta Parra

Related in Latin Music Icons

Gloria Estefan

Links follow this subject's own source article.

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Benny Moré die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1963.

2. In which place was Benny Moré born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Santa Isabel de las Lajas, Cuba.

3. In what year was Benny Moré born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1919.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →