Buena Vista Social Club (album)

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date<ref name="ST 6/22/97" /> | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=At Carnegie Hall2008studioBuena Vista Social ClubBuenavistasocialclubalbumcover.jpegBuena Vista Social ClubTemplate:Start date<ref name="ST 6/22/97" />March 1996EGREM (Havana)*Son cubano

• bolero
• descarga
• danzón
• guajira
• criolla
• jazz<ref name= "Blender Staff 2003">Template:Cite magazine</ref>60:12*World Circuit
• NonesuchRy Cooderx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Buena Vista Social Club is a studio album by Buena Vista Social Club, an ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. Produced by Cooder, it was recorded at Havana's EGREM studios in March 1996 and released on June 23, 1997,<ref name="ST 6/22/97">Template:Cite news</ref> through World Circuit internationally and Nonesuch Records in the United States. It is the only standard studio album exclusively credited to the Buena Vista Social Club.

Buena Vista Social Club was recorded in parallel with A toda Cuba le gusta by the Afro-Cuban All Stars, a similar project also promoted by World Circuit executive Nick Gold and featuring largely the same lineup. In contrast to A toda Cuba le gusta, which was conceived as a revival of the son conjunto, Buena Vista Social Club was meant to bring back the traditional trova and filin, a mellower take on the Cuban son and bolero, as well as the danzón.

The album was a critical and commercial success. Its release was followed by a short concert tour in Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall in 1998. Footage from these dates, as well as from the recording sessions in Havana, was shown in the 1999 documentary Buena Vista Social Club directed by Wim Wenders. In 2022, the album was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally historically or aesthetically significant". In the same year it was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the best-selling world music album.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Background

In 1996, American guitarist Ry Cooder was invited to Havana by British world music producer Nick Gold of World Circuit Records to record a session in which two African highlife musicians from Mali were to collaborate with Cuban musicians.<ref name="interview">"Interview with Ry Cooder" in Los Angeles, by Betty Arcos, host, "The Global Village", Pacifica Radio, June 27, 2000 Template:Webarchive. Buena Vista Social Club site. PBS.org. Retrieved March 18, 2007.</ref> When Cooder arrived (via Mexico to avoid the ongoing U.S. trade and travel embargo against Cuba),<ref name="telegraph">"Hurricane Cooder hits Cuba". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 20, 2007</ref> it was found that the musicians from Africa had not received their visas and were unable to come. Cooder and Gold changed their plans and decided to record an album of Cuban son music with local musicians instead.<ref name="interview"/> Cuban musicians already involved in the African collaboration project included bassist Orlando "Cachaito" López, guitarist Eliades Ochoa and musical director Juan de Marcos González, who had himself been organizing a similar project for the Afro-Cuban All Stars. A search for additional musicians led the team to singer Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, pianist Rubén González, trumpeter Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal and octogenarian singer Compay Segundo, who all agreed to record for the project.<ref name="interview"/>

Cooder, Gold and de Marcos organized a large group of performers (twenty are credited) and arranged recording sessions at Havana's EGREM Studios, formerly owned by RCA records, where the equipment and atmosphere had remained unchanged since the 1950s.<ref>Compay Segundo Obituary Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved March 18, 2007.</ref> Communication between the Spanish and English speakers at the studio was conducted via an interpreter, although Cooder reflected that "musicians understand each other through means other than speaking".<ref name="interview"/>

Recording

The album contained fourteen tracks and was recorded in six days. It opened with "Chan Chan" written by Compay Segundo, a four-chord son (Dm, F, Gm, A7) that was to become what Cooder described as "the Buena Vista's calling card";<ref name="segundo">"Life began at ninety" Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved March 18, 2007.</ref> and ending with a rendition of "La bayamesa", a traditional Cuban patriotic song (not to be confused with the Cuban national anthem of the same name).<ref>Las Bayamesas Template:Webarchive. La Jiribilla magazine. Juventud Rebelde. Retrieved March 18, 2007. "Desde finales de la segunda década del siglo pasado hasta nuestros días, no hay dudas de que en Bayamo se han escrito otras hermosas e importantes obras musicales, que podrían también llamarse bayamesas. Nadie puede negar sin embargo que las tres primeras bayamesas, compuestas ente 1851 y 1918, precisamente en un período rotundo de afirmación de nuestra identidad nacional, son parte entrañable del patrimonio de la nación cubana."
Translation: "From the end of the 1910s to the present day, there is no doubt that in Bayamo, beautiful and important music has been written that could also be called Bayamesas. Nobody can deny, nevertheless, that the first three Bayamesas, composed between 1851 and 1918 in a period of strong affirmation of our national identity, are an integral part of Cuban patriotism."</ref> The sessions also produced material for the subsequent release Introducing...Rubén González which showcased the work of the Cuban pianist.<ref name="telegraph"/> Among the songs left off the album were the classic bolero-son "Lágrimas negras", which was deemed too popular for inclusion, and Compay Segundo's "Macusa". Both songs were later released on the compilation Lost and Found.<ref name="nonesuch Buena Vista Social Club Lost and Found">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Songs

Template:Listen The majority of the album comprised standards of the trova and filin repertoire, namely sones, guajiras and boleros typically played by small guitar-led ensembles. A foremost example of the son tradition on the album was "Chan Chan", the group's signature tune and the album opener. Written in the 1980s, it was one of Compay Segundo's most famous songs and one he had recorded several times, most notably with Eliades Ochoa and his Cuarteto Patria. The same formula was followed in this recording, with Ochoa singing lead and Segundo on second voice (as his artist name indicated). The song's lyrics depicted a rural scene with two characters, Juanita and Chan Chan.<ref name="Chan Chan">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Chan Chan" was followed by "De camino a la vereda", another son, written and sung by Ibrahim Ferrer.

Another example of the son cubano was Sergio González Siaba's "El cuarto de Tula", sung by Eliades Ochoa, with Ferrer and Manuel "Puntillita" Licea joining Ochoa in an extended descarga (jam) section improvising lyrics. Barbarito Torres played a frenetic laúd solo towards the end of the track. Timbales were played by 13-year-old Yulién Oviedo Sánchez. The song was featured in the 2001 film Training Day.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Candela" was another classic son, composed by Faustino Oramas "El Guayabero". Its lyrics, rich with sexual innuendo, were sung by Ibrahim Ferrer, who improvised vocal lines throughout the track, and the whole ensemble performed an extended descarga.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Of the many boleros featured in the album, Isolina Carrillo's "Dos gardenias" was perhaps the most famous, sung here by Ibrahim Ferrer. Carrillo wrote the song in 1945 and it became a huge success in Cuba and abroad. The song was chosen for the album after Cooder heard Ferrer and Rubén González improvising the melody before a recording session. Ferrer had learned the song while playing with Cuban bandleader Beny Moré.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another bolero, "¿Y tú qué has hecho?" was written by Eusebio Delfín in the 1920s and featured Compay Segundo on tres and vocals. Segundo was traditionally a "second voice" singer providing a baritone counterpoint harmony. On this recording he multitracked both voices. The song also featured a duet between Segundo on tres and Ry Cooder on guitar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Veinte años", also a bolero, was sung by the only female vocalist in the ensemble, Omara Portuondo, with Segundo on second vocals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was recorded in one take after Omara had finished her own recording sessions at EGREM studios and was preparing to fly to Vietnam.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other boleros included were Rafael Ortiz's "Amor de loca juventud", Eliseo Silveira's "Orgullecida" (both sung by Compay Segundo) and Electo Rosell's "Murmullo" (sung by Ibrahim Ferrer, who used to be the lead vocalist in Rosell's ensemble Orquesta Chepín-Chovén).

"El carretero", a guajira (country lament), was sung by Eliades Ochoa with the full ensemble providing additional instruments and backing vocals. "La bayamesa", a famous criolla by Sindo Garay, was the album closer with Puntillita, Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer on vocals.

Two tracks were included from the Cuban danzón repertoire, "Pueblo Nuevo" and "Buena Vista Social Club", both dedicated to locations in Havana. They were originally recorded by Arcaño y sus Maravillas and were composed by bass player Cachao (although "Buena Vista Social Club" has been wrongly attributed to his brother Orestes López in the liner notes and by Cooder).<ref name="interview" /><ref name="Diaz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref> The title track, highlighting the piano work of Rubén González, was recorded after Cooder heard González improvising around the tune's musical theme before a day's recording session. After playing the tune, González explained to Cooder the history of the social club and that the song was the club's "mascot tune".<ref name="interview"/> When searching for a name for the overall project, manager Nick Gold chose the song's title. According to Cooder,

It should be the thing that sets it apart. It was a kind of club by then. Everybody was hanging out and we had rum and coffee around two in the afternoon. It felt like a club, so let's call it that. That's what gave it a handle.<ref name="interview"/>

Reception

Template:Music ratings Buena Vista Social Club earned considerable critical praise from music writers and publications.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 260 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,<ref name="rs500">RS500: Buena Vista Social Club. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.</ref> one of only two albums on the list to be produced in a non-English speaking country. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The album was awarded the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album and Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year by a Group at the 1998 Billboard Latin Music Awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Billboard">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2022, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2024, it was ranked in eleventh position on the “Los 600 de Latinoamérica” list compiled by a collective of music journalists from several countries of the Americas, curating the top 600 Latin American albums from 1920-2022.<ref>Los 600 de Latinoamérica</ref>

Musicians

• Eliades Ochoa – vocals (1, 3, 8, 9), guitar (1, 3, 8, 9, 11)
• Compay Segundo – backing vocals (1), congas (1), guitar (2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14), vocals (6, 7, 10, 11, 14)
• Ibrahim Ferrer – backing vocals (1, 8), vocals (2, 3, 5, 9, 12, 14), conga (4), clave (6, 13), bongos (10)
• Ry Cooder – guitars (1–7, 11–13), mbira (2, 8), oud (8), bolon (8), floor slide (8), percussion (8), acoustic slide guitar (9), electric slide guitar (9), slide guitar (10)
• Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal – trumpet (1–5, 9, 11)
• Orlando "Cachaito" López – bass (1–9, 11–14)
• Carlos Gonzáles – bongos (1, 3, 9), cowbell (3, 9)
• Alberto Valdés – maracas (1–9, 12, 13), backing vocals (2), chorus vocals (3, 9)
• Joachim Cooder – udu drum (1, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13), dumbek (2, 3, 6, 7, 9–11), conga (3), drums (11)
• Barbarito Torres – laoud (2, 3, 11)
• Manuel Licea – backing vocals (2), vocals (3, 14), chorus vocals (9), congas (13)
• Juan de Marcos González – backing vocals (2, 8), conductor (3, 9), güiro (8), chorus vocals (9)
• Luis Barzaga – backing vocals (2), chorus vocals (3, 9)
• Julienne Oviedo Sánchez – timbales (3)
• Rubén González (pianist) – piano (4, 5, 6, 11–14)
• Lázaro Villa – güiro (4, 13), congas (5, 12)
• Omara Portuondo – vocals (7)
• Julio Alberto Fernández – vocals (10), maracas (10)
• Benito Suárez Magana – guitar (10)
• Salvador Repilado Labrada – bass (10)

Chart performance

As of 2020, the album had sold over 8 million copies.<ref name="worldsales">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and is considered one of the most best-selling Latin albums of all time worldwide. <ref>[https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/1907 BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB by BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB sales and awards</ref>

Buena Vista Social Club achieved considerable sales in Europe, reaching the Top 10 in several countries, including Germany where it topped the charts, as well as the US, where it reached number 80 on the Billboard 200. In 2009, it was awarded a double platinum certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 1,000,000 copies throughout Europe.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:As of, it is the second bestselling Latin album in the United States after Dreaming of You (1995) by Selena.<ref name="bestselling">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Template:Col-start Template:Col-2

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

1997–2000 weekly chart performance for Buena Vista Social Club

Chart (1997–2000)	Peak position

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

2020–2021 weekly chart performance for Buena Vista Social Club

Chart (2020–2021)	Peak position

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Buena Vista Social Club

Chart	Year	Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1997	53
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1998	16
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1999	27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1999	42
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1999	18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1999	4
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	59
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	107
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	69
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2000	32
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2000	30
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2001	84
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2001	84
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2015	126
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2016	102
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2017	129
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2018	82
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2019	134
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2020	156
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2021	83
US Top Latin Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2021	100
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2022	58
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2023	125
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	2024	164

Stage musical adaptation

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A stage musical adaptation of the album and focusing on the history and performers of the group was staged Off-Broadway in 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• 1997 in Latin music
• List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums from the 1990s
• List of number-one Billboard Tropical Albums from the 1990s
• List of best-selling Latin albums
• List of best-selling Latin albums in the United States

External links

• Official Buena Vista Social Club website
• Article about Buena Vista Social Club in Salon