Maps of Music

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1994)

Where the lyrics of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me take you, and where it was really made.

Gloria Estefan's first cover album is built entirely from other artists' songs, yet it reached number nine on the US Billboard 200.

Key places

Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami (1994)

Recording site Criteria Studios — The album was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, one of the studios credited for the recording of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Edison Studios in New York City (1994)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Edison Studios in New York City is credited as a recording location for Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. The point is placed at the city centre, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fifth studio solo album by Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan
• First cover album of her career
• Released October 1994; her 17th album overall
• Features cover versions of songs by Carole King, Elton John, Vicki Sue Robinson, Karen Chandler and Robert Knight, among others

Background

• Peaked at number nine on the US Billboard 200
• Has sold over 2 million copies in the United States
• Two hit singles, "Turn the Beat Around" and "Everlasting Love", both topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart

Recording

• Executive producer and producer: Emilio Estefan, Jr.
• Producers also include Jorge Casas, Clay Ostwald and Lawrence Dermer
• Recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami and at Edison Studios in New York City
• Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine
• String orchestration and conducting by Hector Garrido and Juanito Márquez on several tracks

Cover

• Art direction by Nancy Donald; design by Hooshik Sharon Bayliss
• Photography by Alberto Tolot; hair by Serena Radaelli, make-up by Francesca Tolot, styling by Robertino Trovati

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García in Havana, Cuba, on September 1, 1957; her family fled to Miami in 1959 after the Cuban Revolution.
• Began as lead singer of the Miami Latin Boys in 1975, renamed Miami Sound Machine when she and her cousin Mercedes Navarro joined.
• Studied psychology at the University of Miami, graduating in 1979.

Career

• Miami Sound Machine's 1985 single "Conga" became her signature song; the 1987 album Let It Loose included the Hot 100 No. 1 "Anything for You".
• Went solo in 1989 with Cuts Both Ways, which produced the Hot 100 No. 1 "Don't Wanna Lose You".
• Suffered a spinal fracture in a tour bus crash near Scranton, Pennsylvania, in March 1990, then recovered fully and returned with Into the Light (1991), whose "Coming Out of the Dark" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
• Mi Tierra (1993), her first Spanish-language album, won the Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album; she later won it again for Abriendo Puertas (1995) and won Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album for Alma Caribeña (2000).
• Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and a Kennedy Center Honors in 2017.
• Her Broadway jukebox musical On Your Feet! (2015) is based on her life with husband Emilio Estefan.

Members

• Emilio Estefan, her husband and longtime producer, co-created much of her catalog.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard: her pick list is wide ranging and highly entertaining, moving from the title track to the disco hit "Turn the Beat Around"
• Billboard: her voice is remarkable and her pleasure is palpable, and the enthusiasm is catching
• Music & Media: calls it coveritis hitting the Estefan estate, with a song for every mood, mainly for a late-night wine-and-dine atmosphere
• Music & Media: says the original Gerry & The Pacemakers version of "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is the kind of moonlit drama it was meant to be
• Music & Media: says the romance in the air is intensified by the European bonus track "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"
• Music & Media: notes that the tempo sometimes rises, as on the Blood, Sweat & Tears song "You've Made Me So Very Happy"

Records

• Peaked at number nine on the US Billboard 200
• Has sold over 2 million copies in the United States
• Both "Turn the Beat Around" and "Everlasting Love" topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track's cover history aside, the album is Estefan's first cover album, collecting songs first recorded by other artists
• Music & Media described "Turn the Beat Around" as an old 1970s disco hit by Vicki Sue Robinson, which Estefan updated for the album
• The European bonus track "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" was noted by Music & Media as part of the album's romantic mood
• Mastering was done by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine
• Two singles from the album, "Turn the Beat Around" and "Everlasting Love", both reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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