LATIN

Xavier Cugat, ‘King of the Rhumba’, a leading figure in the spread of Latin music, is your feature artist on this week’s Phantom Dancer with Greg Poppleton.

One of his trademark gestures was to hold a chihuahua while he waved his baton in front of his orchestra.

See the full Phantom Dancer play list below of swing and jazz mixed by Greg Poppleton from live 1920s-60s radio below.

PHANTOM DANCER

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online right after the 12 March 2SER live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

CUGIE

Xavier Cugat was a Spanish born musician and bandleader. He migrated with his family to Havana, Cuba, at age five in 1905.

CUBA

Cugat studied classical violin. He was a child prodigy. To help pay for his education he was a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theatre. He was first chair violinist for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra. He drew caricatures when he wasn’t playing.

NEW YORK CITY

Cugat arrived in New York City with his family at age 14. He played violin solos in recitals with Enrico Caruso.

After a stint leading his band in Los Angeles in the 1920s, Cugat took his band to New York for the 1931 opening of the Waldorf–Astoria Hotel.

He then led the Waldorf–Astoria Orchestra for sixteen years, shuttling between New York and Los Angeles for music and film engagements.

MOVIES

Cugat appeared in the films Gay Madrid (1930), You Were Never Lovelier (1942), Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), Bathing Beauty (1944), Holiday in Mexico (1946), A Date with Judy (1948), On an Island with You (1948) and Chicago Syndicate (1955).

LATIN MUSIC

In the 1920s Cugat led a band that played at the Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles.

Charlie Chaplin, a friend of Cugat’s, visited the Grove wanting to dance the tango. So Cugat added tangos to the band’s set list.

Seeing the popularity of the tango at the Grove, Cugat convinced the owner to hire South American dancers to give tango lessons.

When this also became popular, Cugat made the dancers part of his orchestra. In 1928 he Xavier Cugat and His Gigolos were filmed for a 15 minute Vitaphone short.

Over the years, Cugat’s orchestra included such musical stars as Desi Arnaz, Abbe Lane, Yma Sumac and Miguelito Valdés.

CARTOONS

Xavier Cugat worked for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist. His caricatures were nationally syndicated. His older brother, Francis, was also an artist of some note. He painted the cover art for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby.

DINER

Cugat owned and operated the Mexican restaurant Casa Cugat, which opened in West Hollywood in the 1940s. The restaurant was frequented by Hollywood celebrities and featured two singing guitarists who would visit each table and play diners’ favourite songs upon request. It closed in 1986.

The restaurant’s exterior and a fanciful depiction of its interior can be found in scenes in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter in which Cugat has a substantial role playing himself. A brief scene revolving around the restaurant can also be seen in the earlier 1943 film The Heat’s On, also starring Cugat as himself.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week is from 1957. Abbe Lane (Cugat’s 4th wife) sings with the orchestra. The Spanish banner on the top right of the screen means ‘Censured under Francoism’. Happy rule breaking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JdZW_LpUEY

26 MARCH PLAY LIST