Dyango

Comparable to Julio Iglesias and José José, Spanish superstar Dyango has been famous for lush, sentimental, romantic Latin pop since the '70s. Dyango is not the singer's real name; he was born José Gómez Romero in Barcelona, Spain, where he grew up. Dyango is a stage name that he adopted after deciding to pursue a career in music; the name Dyango was inspired by the great gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who is among Dyango's idols. But Dyango, unlike Reinhardt, is not a jazz instrumentalist -- Latin pop singing has long been his area of expertise. Dyango started performing live in the '60s, but it wasn't until 1974 that he signed his first recording contract. That year, Dyango signed with EMI's Latin division, and his debut album came out in 1975. After that, it didn't take him long to become a major star, not only in his native Spain, but all over Latin America and in heavily Hispanic areas of the United States. Dyango went on to build a huge catalog at EMI and Capitol. He recorded frequently throughout the '80s and '90s, a decade that found him recording for the Latin divisions of RCA as well as Polygram. Along the way, he had more than his share of major hits -- "Corazon Magico," "Esa Mujer," "La Radio," "A Donde Vas Amor," "Querer y Perder," "Hay Algo en Ella," and "Esta Noche Quiero Brandy" are among the countless songs that he is famous for in the Spanish-speaking world. In the early 2000s, Dyango maintained a busy schedule and continued to command a loyal following. He released a slew of charting singles and the 2005 full length Alma, Corazon y Vida, which spent 29 weeks on the Spanish charts and went platinum. His 2010 offering Puñaladas en el Alma with Prague's symphny orchestra was nominated for a Latin Grammy. Three years later he issued his musical autobiography El Cantante. In 2017 due to health concerns, Dyango announced his farewell tour of Spain and the Americas with a final tour and the album Y Ahora Que in July. It joined a collection of 55 gold and 40 platinum recordings. ~ Alex Henderson