Andy Russell (singer): Difference between revisions

This article is about the American singer. For the American football player, see Andy Russell (American football). For other people named Andy Russell, see Andy Russell (disambiguation).

Andy Russell
Andy Russell in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Andrés Rábago Pérez
Also known as	Andrew El mago de los sueños (The Dream Wizard)
Born	(1919-09-16)September 16, 1919 Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Died	April 16, 1992(1992-04-16) (aged 72) Sun City, Arizona
Genres	Traditional pop, Latin music
Occupation(s)	Vocalist, Actor, Television Host
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Drums
Years active	1934–1990
Labels	Capitol, RCA Victor, Orfeon

Andy Russell (born Andrés Rábago Pérez; September 16, 1919 – April 16, 1992) was an American popular vocalist, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music. He sold 8 million records in the 1940s to early 1950s singing in a romantic, baritone voice in English and in his trademark bilingual English and Spanish style. He had chart-busters, such as "Bésame Mucho," “Amor,” “Magic is the Moonlight,” “What a Difference a Day Makes,” “I Can’t Begin to Tell You,” “Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside),” “Without You,” and "The Anniversary Waltz." He also performed on many radio programs, most notably Your Hit Parade, in several movies, and on television. Later, he traveled to Mexico where he performed almost exclusively in Spanish and was the star of movies and television. He also toured extensively throughout Latin America, Cuba, and Spain and was the host of the television variety program "El Show de Andy Russell" in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1956 to 1965, thus achieving international popularity and tremendous success during this period. Upon returning to the United States, he continued to record music, at which point his 1967 album "It's Such a Pretty World Today" was number one for 9 weeks on Billboard Magazine's Easy Listening Chart. However, although he continued to perform throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Las Vegas, nightclubs, before nostalgic swing audiences, and on television and radio commercials, he was unable to recapture the fame he once enjoyed. Nonetheless, during his career, Russell received many accolades and awards and was recognized as a trailblazer who opened the door for later Latino and/or Hispanic performers by pioneering the style of singing bilingually in English and Spanish, a style which predated other bilingual performers, such as Lalo Guerrero, Desi Arnaz, Ritchie Valens, Vikki Carr, Eydie Gormé, Selena, etc., and contemporary bilingual crossover artists, like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Pitbull, etc.

Childhood

Russell was born on September 16, 1919 (on Mexican Independence Day) in Boyle Heights, at the time, an ethnically integrated, middle-class neighborhood in the eastern section of Los Angeles. He was the second youngest of ten children (eight boys, two girls) born to Mexican immigrant parents. His father was from Durango and his mother from Chihuahua. His father was employed as an extra by Hollywood studios, where he earned a substantial income, while his mother was a housewife, who tended to the children.

As a child, he loved listening to American popular music and Big Band, such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey. One of his earliest memories was hiding behind the family radio and pretending to be his favorite singer, Dick Powell. He also idolized crooners Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. His enthusiasm was summed up in this article from 1945: "As a kid on Los Angeles' east side, Andy went wild over popular music. He knew all the hit tunes and was the neighborhood authority on the style and record of every name band leader in the country."

In contrast, at home there appeared to be a generational and cultural gap between the American-born Russell and his Mexican-born parents. While he and his brothers and sisters enjoyed listening to American music, his parents liked listening to Mexican music, in particular, mariachi. At the time, Russell did not musically understand the music of Mexico and preferred to listen to Big Band. Also, since his parents never learned practical English, they spoke to him only in Spanish. He would answer them in simple Spanish or only in English. He felt his command of the Spanish language, at the time, was "very bad" and felt ashamed about speaking Spanish, to the point of asking his parents to speak to him in English.

Russell was determined to follow in the footsteps of his idols. In 1935, as a 15-year-old student in junior high school, he began his career as an up-and-coming teenage idol by singing with a local swing band headed by Don Ramón Cruz, which played primarily in East Los Angeles. He also sang with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, and other groups, until one day he was told that he also would have to play an instrument to stay with the band. In 1990, Russell recalled wistfully how he dealt with this curious dilemma:

They said to me one night and broke my heart, they says, "Andy, we can't afford to have you as just a singer. You've got to play some instrument." I said, "But, gee, I'm a singer." And they said, "Yeah, we're paying you two dollars, two-fifty a night and it's too much. You know, the guys wanna split the rest of the money." So I said, "What can I learn in a hurry so I can join the band?...Drums would be the easiest thing." So I got a bunch of the old records and started to learn to play drums. Down in the cellar I'd learn to play drums and keep good time. This was when I was in junior high and I was learning to play drums. Later on I got a teacher to teach me how to read, and before you knew it, I took drums seriously and I became one of the top drummers on the east side of L.A.--swing drummers. And I was playing drums with all these bands and then I'd sing.

— Source, Loza, Steven. 1993.Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles, University of Illinois Press., p.144

He attended Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, where he continued his musical education. He was a member of the ROTC marching band, the jazz band, and the high school symphony orchestra. He played at high school football games, parades, and dances. And under the instruction of Mr. Harry Gruppengetter, the music teacher, he learned to read music. He also enjoyed playing handball and boxing. In 1990, Russell recalled that his high school experience was positive, and that he did not feel discrimination: "In those days, I was just one of the guys. We had Russian people, we had Jewish kids, we had Mexican kids, we had the blacks, we never noticed things like that... I'm a very cocky little Mexican kid from the East Side, and I never had those feelings. I always feel that it's up to the person." (Loza, p. 143-144.) During this time, he continually inquired if any of the different bands needed a drummer and vocalist. In 1939, when he found out that Gus Arnheim was looking for a drummer, he left high school the summer before his senior year to join his band.

Career

New Singing Style and Name

Gus Arnheim and his orchestra had been playing the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles since the late 1920s, and had employed such singers as Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo, and Woody Herman. Russell auditioned for Arnheim and got the job not only as a drummer but as a vocalist, too. However, since he was underage (19-years-old at the time) and could not tour out of state, Arnheim adopted him and became his legal guardian. Since he thought it was a good gimmick that made good business sense, Arnheim suggested that he sing bilingually in English and Spanish. Russell was hesitant, stating "No, Gus, my Spanish is very bad; I'm embarrassed." (Loza, p.145) Arnheim finally convinced the youngster by saying "Do something different and people will notice." He agreed. Now on tour with the band, he noticed that when he played solo on the drums or sang bilingually, the couples in the audience would stop dancing and approach the bandstand to get a better look at the singer who was singing in a different language. (Loza, p.145) It was at a show at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennesee that Arnheim realized that he was getting extremely popular with his band. In 1990, Russell recalled the conversation that Arnheim had with him after the show:

"Andy, I've got to tell you something. The name Rábago has got to go. [laughs] Rábago's gotta go." I says, "What do you mean?" He says, "I've gotta change your name. Rábago hasn't got that ring to it, you know?" I says, "But that's my name." He says, "Look, we'll keep Andy, all right?" I says, "Okay. So what would you call me then?" He says, "I used to have a singer, a famous singer, a fella that took Bing Crosby's place years ago. His name was Russell Columbo, one of the famous singers of that era. I'm gonna call you Russell--Andy Russell."

— Source, Loza, Steven. 1993.Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles, University of Illinois Press., p.146

During this period, he also performed as vocalist and drummer with the bands of Johnny Richards, Sonny Dunham, and Alvino Rey. Some of the places in the Los Angeles area where he played were the old Follies Theater on Main St., the Santa Monica Pier and Hermosa Beach.

Biography

In the early forties he Anglicized his name (Andy was obvious, but "Russell" was after the singer Russ Columbo). He became vocalist and drummer with the bands of Johnny Richards, Gus Arnheim, Sonny Dunham, and Alvino Rey. By 1944, he had become well enough regarded a pop vocalist to be featured on radio, and in the next year had his Old Gold Show. He also signed on with Capitol Records.

His first charted hit was "Bésame Mucho" (Capitol #149, 1944). The same year he had his biggest hit, which became his signature tune, "Amor" (Capitol #156, with the flip side "The Day After Forever") from the film Broadway Rhythm He had two more hits that year: "What a Difference a Day Made" (Capitol #167, paired with "Don't You Notice Anything New?") and "I Dream of You"/"Magic Is Moonlight" (Capitol #175). He had another big hit in 1946 with "I Can't Begin to Tell You" (Capitol #221) from the film "The Dolly Sisters." That became the fourth top ten seller in the country for Russell in less than two years and the big time was calling. The next big hit came later in 1946: a two-sided hit with "Laughing on the Outside" and "They Say It's Wonderful" (from the Broadway show Annie Get Your Gun) (Capitol #252). His next hit, "Pretending" (Capitol #271, backed with "Who Do You Love"), was another top-ten seller. He was also invited to Hollywood and screen-tested for motion pictures. In 1946 he appeared in The Stork Club and Breakfast In Hollywood. He was on the soundtrack of Walt Disney's Make Mine Music, and appeared in the picture Copacabana the next year. In 1946, the people running the pop music radio program Your Hit Parade asked him to take the place of Frank Sinatra (Sinatra returned in 1947). This led to increased popularity for the singer.

Russell appeared in the new medium of television in the early 1950s on Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar on NBC, but continued to record, though less frequently. By 1952, Russell's hits had stopped coming, so Capitol Records lost interest in him as a hit-making pop star. Especially, as the rock 'n roll age was beginning to dawn, Capitol (like the other major labels) began to look on with negative feeling. Russell realized at this point in time that he was still quite popular in Mexico, so he began to spend time there performing for his fans. He occasionally recorded for RCA Victor Records in the mid-1950s.

In the late-1950s, Russell moved to Mexico City, and later to Argentina. In the latter country, he had a successful television variety show that ran for seven years. El Show de IKA was sponsored by the nation's largest automaker, Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA). A Jeep was driven on the stage during every performance with dancers as well as a 50-piece orchestra and choir accompanying Russell. It was the most expensive TV show produced in that country and the first to use cameras mounted high above the stage.

In the mid-1960s, he moved back to the United States for a time and went back to Capitol, making a few LP albums. He also made some LPs for the Argentine market that were well received. Though he continued to appear and perform, by the mid-eighties he was generally forgotten. Exceptions to this rule were his 1967 Capitol singles "It's Such a Pretty World Today" and "I'm Still Not Through Missing You", which achieved top ten status on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.

He died in Sun City, Arizona. He was buried in the Loma Vista Memorial Park in Fullerton, California.

Personal Life

Russell was married 5 times. His first wife was Evelyn Evenwood. Date of marriage is unknown; however, their divorce was finalized in 1945.

His second wife was Della Russell (née Adelina Naccarelli ), a New York nightclub singer, who became his singing partner. They wed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1945 and divorced in 1954.

His third wife was Velia Sánchez Belmont, the daughter of Eduardo Sánchez Belmont, former Mexican ambassador to Holland. They wed in Mexico City in 1954. Divorce date is not known.

His fourth wife was Ginny Pace, a talk-show hostess and former Miss Houston. They married in 1967. Divorce date is not known.

His fifth wife, with whom he was married up to the time of his death in 1992, was Doris Russell. Marriage date is not known.

Russell had a son, Andy Russell, Jr. of Mexico City, and five stepchildren, Kay, Richard, Robin, Craig and Reagan.

Charted hits

Song	Date recorded	Date entered Billboard magazine best-selling record chart	Highest position	Weeks on chart	Catalog number	Notes
"Bésame Mucho"	December 17, 1943	April 13, 1944	10	2	Capitol 149	with Al Sack orchestra
"Amor"	March 10, 1944	May 15, 1944	5	8	Capitol 156	with Al Sack orchestra
"I Dream of You"		December 21, 1944	5	3	Capitol 175
"I Can't Begin to Tell You"		December 27, 1945	8	2	Capitol 221
"Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)"	February 28, 1946	May 2, 1946	4	7	Capitol 252	with Paul Weston orchestra
"Pretending"	May 17, 1946	October 4, 1946	10	1	Capitol 271	with Paul Weston orchestra
"Anniversary Song"	November 15, 1946	March 14, 1947	5	2	Capitol 368	with Paul Weston orchestra
"Underneath the Arches"		October 1, 1948	21	5	Capitol 15183

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role	Notes
1945	The Stork Club	Jim Jones	Film debut
1946	Breakfast in Hollywood	Andy Russell - Singer
	Make Mine Music	Andy Russell - Voice
1947	Copacabana	Andy Russell - Singer
1953	[[House Party (short)	Andy Russell - Singer
1955	¡Qué Bravas Son Las Costeñas!	Tony López
1956	Mi Canción Eres Tú	Daniel Pérez
	¡Viva La Juventud!	Pancho Andreú
	Primavera en el Corazón	Andrés Valdés
1959	Vístete, Cristina
1966	El Mago de los Sueños

External links

• Andy Russell at IMDB