Maps of Music

The Standards (2013)

Where the lyrics of The Standards take you, and where it was really made.

Gloria Estefan's thirteenth studio album sold fewer than 300,000 copies, the weakest result of her solo career, despite a promotion campaign that spanned several continents.

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Album story

Overview

• The Standards: thirteenth studio album by Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan
• Released 10 September 2013 on Sony Masterworks
• Selection of covers of traditional pop standards from the Great American Songbook
• Second album by Estefan made entirely of covers, after Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1994)

Background

• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me gave Estefan two international hits, "Turn The Beat Around" and "Everlasting Love"
• In 1993 Estefan sang a duet with Frank Sinatra on his album Duets, singing "Come Rain Or Come Shine" in a softer, more mature style
• Estefan grew up listening to Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini and other crooners, including Latino singers
• Her favorite song of all time is Carlos Gardel's "El Día Que Me Quieras", translated into English for this album
• The Gardel song was first planned as lead single but was replaced by "How Long This Has Been Going On?"

Recording

• 50 songs were considered and 16 made the final cut
• Track list chosen by Estefan and Shelly Berg, leader and Dean of Music at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music
• Recorded with musicians experienced in the genre and a full orchestra
• Session players included Laura Pausini, Joshua Bell and Dave Koz
• "They Can't Take That Away From Me" mixes Afro-Cuban music with waltz
• Estefan wrote English lyrics for Jobim's "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar", titled "It's You I'll Always Love", and also translated it into Spanish and French
• Spanish lyrics written for Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", sung with Pausini in Spanish and Italian
• The "Smile" recording was mainly inspired by the Michael Jackson and Natalie Cole versions

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• Released 10 September 2013 in the United States and Latin America
• Lead single "How Long This Has Been Going On?" announced on Amazon.com on 8 July 2013 and released as a download on 9 July 2013
• Pre-orders opened the same day on Amazon and the iTunes Store
• Estefan performed "Good Morning Heartache" on CBS This Morning in the week of the US release, in front of the song's original author Ervin Drake
• Promotion began with a one-night concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with her new songs and older hits in new arrangements
• Estefan was announced as a headliner of the Night of the Proms, with eight dates in November 2013 at Antwerp and Rotterdam Ahoy
• Estefan was also scheduled for the UM Frost Festival on 1 October at the Gusman Concert Hall in Miami
• A promotional tour in South America and European stops were announced in the summer of 2013

Records

• Nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammy Awards
• Sold fewer than 300,000 copies, the least-sold album of Estefan's solo studio career, despite moderate promotion

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Estefan's favorite song of all time is Carlos Gardel's "El Día Que Me Quieras", sung in English on this album; it was first set as the lead single and later replaced.
• Estefan wrote English lyrics for Jobim's "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar" under the title "It's You I'll Always Love".
• Estefan sang "Smile" with Laura Pausini in Spanish and Italian versions.
• Shelly Berg, who helped choose the track list, had earlier worked with Patti Austin, Elliott Smith and Arturo Sandoval.
• The album features collaborations with Joshua Bell, Dave Koz and Laura Pausini.
• Estefan performed "Good Morning Heartache" on CBS This Morning in the week of the US release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · pt.wikipedia.org

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