Gloria Estefan, The #18 Female Artist of the Rock Era

Gloria Fajardo was born in Havana, Cuba.  Prior to the Cuban Revolution, her father was a Cuban soldier and a bodyguard to Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.  The family fled to Miami, Florida when the revolution began.  Gloria attended Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, and graduated from the University of Miami in 1979 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in French. 

In 1978, Gloria married Emilio Estefan, leader of the Miami Sound Machine.  The group began recording albums in 1977, and signed with CBS International. 
  

In 1985, the group released the album Primitive Love.  The lead, single, "Conga" reached #1 in Canada, #3 in the Netherlands and #10 in the United States.

The follow-up, "Bad Boy", was a #2 smash in the Netherlands, #6 in Germany, #8 in the U.S., #9 in Switzerland and #10 in Canada.

"Words Get In The Way" reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #5 overall in the United States, and was #8 in Canada.  Gloria and the Miami Sound Machine received a Billboard Music Award for Top Adult Contemporary Single, and also won awards for Top Pop Singles Artist (Duo/Group) and Top New Pop Artist.

A fourth hit was pulled from the album, with "Falling In Love (Uh Oh)" hitting #3 on the AC chart.

Let It Loose in 1987 went multi-platinum, with Estefan taking top billing.  The act was now promoted as Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, and soon to just Gloria Estefan.  In fact, the album was eventually repackaged as Anything for You, which became the top album of the year in Canada, Australia and The Netherlands.  "Rhythm Is Gonna' Get You" peaked at #5. 

The former members of Miami Sound Machine continued to be her backing band after the change.  The single "Betcha' Say That" was a mid-charter, but the following year, Gloria enjoyed a huge hit with "Can't Stay Away From You", a #1 AC smash and #6 overall in the United States, #1 in the Netherlands and #7 in Ireland.

The great song "Anything For You" hit #1 on both the Adult Contemporary and Top 40 charts, also reaching #2 in the Netherlands, and #10 in the U.K. and Canada and selling over one million copies.

Estefan released the single "1-2-3", which hit #1 AC and #3 overall in the United States, #7 in Sweden and #9 in Canada.

In 1989, Estefan released the album Cuts Both Ways, which contained the smash "Don't Wanna' Lose You".  It reached #1 in the United States, and was #3 in Canada, #5 in Ireland and #6 in the U.K. and sold over one million copies.

Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine enjoyed another hit with "Get On Your Feet", #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #11 overall  in the United States and #6 in Ireland. 

Gloria and the group received the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group.  They released the single "Here We Are", another #1 smash on the AC chart and #6 overall in the U.S., and #7 in Canada and Ireland.

The title track gave Gloria her fourth Top 5 song on the Adult Contemporary chart and her second #1 from the album, and her sixth #1 of her career.

While touring in support of the album, Estefan was critically injured with a fractured spine when a semi-truck crashed into the tour bus during a snowstorm.  Surgeons at the NYU Langone Medical Center implanted two titanium rods to stabilize her vertebral column, and Gloria achieved a complete recovery with a year of intensive physical therapy.

In 1991, Estefan was back with the album Into the Light.  The single "Coming Out Of The Dark" contained references to the tragic accident and subsequent recovery, and the public was glad to have Gloria back, taking the song to #1 in the United States and #3 in Canada, and selling over one million copies.

Estefan received a BMI Award for Songwriter of the Year.  The single "Can't Forget You" shot up to #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The album went Double Platinum in the United States, and a world tour took Gloria to 100 cities in five countries.  Estefan took "Live For Loving You" to #1 on the AC chart, and an underrated #22 overall.

In 1992, Gloria served as a public member of the United States Delegation to the 47th Session of the United Nations' General Assembly Opening Plenary.

Estefan released the compilation Gloria Estefan's Greatest Hits.  "Always Tomorrow" was a new song recorded for the album, and it peaked at #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

"I See Your Smile" was another new recording on the compilation, and it peaked at #3 on the AC chart.

The following year, Estefan recorded her first Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra, which peaked at #27.  The title song hit #1 in Spain, but nothing from the album received wide airplay.  Estefan won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album.

1993 was a big year for Gloria.  Estefan received the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award that can be given to a naturalized U.S. citizen.  She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Estefan also received the National Music Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year award, and was presented with an honorary doctoral degree in music from her Alma mater, the University of Miami.

Estefan released the album Christmas Through Your Eyes, which went Platinum, and sang "Come Rain or Come Shine" with Frank Sinatra for his album Duets.

 In 1994, Gloria released the album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, which included covers of some of her favorite songs from the heart of the Rock Era, the 1960's and 1970's.  The single "Turn The Beat Around" was an excellent version of Vicki Sue Robinson's dance smash, and reached #1 on the Dance chart, #4 on the AC chart and an underrated #13 overall in the United States and #8 in Australia.

Gloria was named as the Musicares Person of the Year in 1994, and she won a World Music Award as the Best-Selling Latin Performer.  Estefan's remake of "Everlasting Love" from the album also reached #5 on the AC chart.  The video won a Billboard Music Award for Video of the Year.

In January of 1995, Gloria performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXIX, and released another Spanish album, Abriendo Puertas.  She received some Latin airplay and won another Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album. 

In 1996, Estefan released the album Destiny, which contained the single "Reach", the official theme song of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.  She performed the song in the closing ceremony before an estimated worldwide audience of two billion people.  The song hit #2 in Spain and reached #5 on the AC chart in the United States.

Estefan went on a world tour, which sent her to the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Latin America, South Africa and Asia.  Gloria won the American Music Award for Best Female Latin Artist, and the BMI Prestigious President's Award.  The single "I'm Not Giving You Up" hit #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

In 1997, Gloria founded the Gloria Estefan Foundation, whose goal is to help those with spinal cord injuries.  Later that year, she was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.

 In 1998, Gloria released the album Gloria!, which yielded the #10 AC hit (#1 in Spain) "Heaven's What I Feel".

In 1999, Estefan joined 'N Sync on the song "Music of My Heart".  The song was featured in the movie in which Gloria appeared, Music of the Heart.  The song hit #2 and won a Blockbuster Award for Favorite Song from a Movie.

In 2000, Gloria received an Award of Merit from the American Music Awards, the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame Award, and the Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award.

In 2001, Estefan released the album Greatest Hits, Vol. II, which contained a remix of "Conga" and three new songs.  "Out of Nowhere" was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the Grammy Awards.

Estefan released the Spanish album Alma Caribena, featuring duets with Jose Feliciano and Celia Cruz.  Gloria came home with another trophy from the Grammys for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album. 

In 2002, Estefan received the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Medallion of Excellence for Community Service.  Estefan also received an honorary law degree from Barry University in Miami.

Estefan also sang with Luciano Pavarotti in Pavarotti and Friends.  She also performed with Stevie Wonder at Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami and sang the national anthem of the United States at game three of the 2003 World Series.

In 2003, Estefan released the album Unwrapped, and toured the United States, Europe, Mexico and Puerto Rico.  Gloria wrote two children's books:  The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the Bulldog (2005) and Noelle's Treasure Tale (2006).  In 2008, Gloria and her husband Emilio released the book Estefan Kitchen, which contains 60 traditional Cuban recipes.

In 2007, Gloria received an honorary doctoral degree in music from the Berklee College of Music.  In 2008, she received the St. Jude Hospital for Children Humanitarian Award.  In 2009, Estefan was awarded the BMI Icon of the Year Award.

In 2011, Gloria released the dance album Miss Little Havana.  She also hosted a seven-part series for BBC in the U.K. called Gloria Estefan's Latin Beat, a program that explored the history of Latin music. 

Also in 2011, Billboard named Estefan as the #14 All-Time Top Adult Contemporary artist, and "Don't Wanna' Lose You" (#75) and "Words Get in the Way" (#81) both made the magazine's Top 100 Top Adult Contemporary Songs of All-Time.

Gloria and her husband own several businesses, including the restaurants Bongos Cuban Café and Larios on the Beach in Florida, and the hotels Costa d'Este in Vero Beach and The Cardozo in Miami Beach.  In 2009, the Estefans bought a minor ownership in the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. 
 
Estefan has sold 31.5 million records in the United States and 100 million worldwide.  She has had 18 Top 40 hits, with 11 reaching the Top 10 and three #1's.  But on the chart that is a better gauge of popularity (the Adult Contemporary chart), Estefan has 27 hits to her credit, with an amazing 21 of those hitting The Top 10 and seven career #1 songs.

This Date in Rock Music History: February 11

1956:  Elvis Presley performed "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Blue Suede Shoes" on the television program The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show.

1956:  The Platters notched a sixth week at #1 on the R&B chart with "The Great Pretender".
1963:  The Beatles recorded ten songs for their new album Please Please Me in less than ten hours, including "Twist And Shout" and "I Saw Her Standing There".  The other four songs on the album had been recorded in 1962.
1964:  The Beatles played their first concert in the United States at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C., performing "Roll Over Beethoven", "From Me To You", "I Saw Her Standing There", "This Boy", "All My Loving", "I Wanna' Be Your Man", "Please Please Me", "'Till There Was You", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "Twist And Shout" and "Long Tall Sally".  Over 350 police were required to keep the 8,000 wild fans under control.  One policeman put a bullet in each ear as ear plugs because the noise was so deafening.  The group stopped three times to reposition themselves to face a different part of the audience.  Tommy Roe, the Chiffons and the Caravelles opened the show.
1965:  Ringo Starr married Maureen Cox at Caxton Hall Register Office in London.  John and Cynthia Lennon and George Harrison attended the wedding, while Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was Best Man.
1967:  The Monkees had come a long way since their start, when they had other musicians play on their records.  On this date, they announced they would be playing their own instruments from now on, thank you very much.

1967:  The Monkees' second album, More of the Monkees, made one of the biggest leaps to #1 in the Rock Era, swinging from 122 to #1 on this date.  The group's debut and former #1 album was second followed by S.R.O. from Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.  The Soundtrack to "Doctor Zhivago" ranked fourth with The Temptations Greatest Hits fifth.  The rest of the Top 10:  The incredible Soundtrack to "The Sound of Music" in its 100th week on the chart, That's Life from Frank Sinatra, the New Vaudeville Band was still attracting attention at #8 with Winchester Cathedral, Boise, Idaho's Paul Revere & the Raiders moved up to #9 with The Spirit of '67 and the Rolling Stones with Got Live if You Want It.






1967:  Johnny Rivers' new single "Baby, I Need Your Loving" was being well received--it moved from 81 to 49 on this date.











1967:  "I'm A Believer" by the Monkees landed a seventh week at #1.  The Seekers had a great #2--"Georgy Girl" while the Buckinghams were at 3 with "Kind Of A Drag".  The Rolling Stones had their 10th Top 10 in 16 tries with "Ruby Tuesday", which moved from 11-4.  The rest of the Top 10:  Blues Magoos edged up with "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", Aaron Neville and "Tell It Like It Is", Keith reached #7 with "98.6", the Royal Guardsmen were falling with "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", the Supremes shot up from 27 to 9 with "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" and Sonny & Cher declared that "The Beat Goes On".
1968:   Pink Floyd recorded a session for Top Gear on BBC Radio.

1970:  Ringo Starr starred in the movie The Magic Christian, which opened in New York City.  It had opened in the U.K. on December 12.



 

1970:  John Lennon performed "Instant Karma" on Top of the Pops on BBC television.
1970:  Fleetwood Mac, the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead performed at the Fillmore East in New York City.
1970:  John Lennon paid 1,344 pounds in fines for protesting the South African rugby team playing in Scotland.  But it takes courageous people like Lennon to change the world.
1978:  Three superstars combined for the #1 Adult song with their remake of the Hermans Hermits hit.  Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and James Taylor hit the top with "(What A) Wonderful World".
1978:  The Bee Gees were up big with their third release from Saturday Night Fever--"Night Fever" moved from 76 to 32.







1978:  The Bee Gees remained at #1 for a second week with "Stayin' Alive".  Randy Newman's "Short People" was second with Andy Gibb moving up to challenge with "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water".  Queen was fourth with "We Are The Champions" and Billy Joel's first big hit "Just The Way You Are" was #5.








                 "Fooling Yourself" from 'The Grand Illusion'...

1978:  The Soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever" was #1 for a fourth week on the Album chart.  Rod Stewart sat second with Foot Loose & Fancy Free, Queen edged up with News of the World while Earth, Wind & Fire were in the #4 position with All 'N All.  Billy Joel moved impressively (9-5) with The Stranger.  The rest of the Top 10:  Neil Diamond's I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight, Fleetwood Mac wasn't going away as Rumours was still #7 after 51 weeks, Styx with The Grand Illusion, Jackson Browne had a hot new release--Running On Empty and Randy Newman slipped into the Top 10 with Little Criminals. 







1979:  Kurt Russell starred in the television movie Elvis about Elvis Presley on ABC-TV.









1980:  Blondie released the great single "Call Me".  Don't accept shorter versions.  (Note:  some websites claim the song was released on February 25.  It debuted on the Singles chart on February 16.  It is physically impossible for a song to reach the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

1980:  A new artist was about to be discovered and on this date, this singer from Texas released his first single.  His name was Christopher Cross and he had a lot of believers in the music business.  Michael McDonald sang backing vocals for Chris on his first hit was "Ride Like The Wind".
1982:  U2 began a tour of North America in the ballroom of the SS President Riverboat in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1983:  Let's Spend the Night Together, the concert movie about the Rolling Stones, opened in New York City.

"Time the Avenger" helped the Pretenders score one of The Top 100 Albums of the Rock Era*.

1984:  Thriller by Michael Jackson was #1 on the Album chart for the 28th week, just three shy of the Rock Era record by Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.  Culture Club took the runner-up spot with Colour By Numbers.  Lionel Richie's great album Can't Slow Down was third with Van Halen's 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) fourth and Yes in the #5 spot with 90125.  The rest of the Top 10:  Synchronicity from the Police, Billy Joel had another solid release with An Innocent Man, Seven and the Ragged Tiger from Duran Duran was #8, Hall & Oates' compilation Rock 'N Soul, Part 1 and the Pretenders classic Learning To Crawl moved from 25 to 10.
1986:  "Superbowl Shuffle", the 45 recorded by members of the Chicago Bears football team, was certified gold by the RIAA.
1989:  Morten Harket of A-Ha married Camilla Malmquist.

1989:  Sade married music video producer Carlos Scola.
1989:  Roxette first appeared on the radio this week and debuted on the chart with their first single--"The Look".

1989:  Guns N' Roses posted their fifth week at #1 on the Album chart in their second return to the top with Appetite for Destruction. 

1989:  Paula Abdul scored another #1 when "Straight Up" topped the chart on this date.
1992:  Motley Crue fired lead singer Vince Neil when he said that he had lost his passion for music and was more interested in racing cars.
1994:  Prince premiered his new song "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" on the 1994 Miss USA Pageant.
1995:  The new album by Van Halen--Balance debuted at #1, as albums often do these days due to the lack of competition.
1995:  "Baby" by Brandy was the new #1 song on the R&B chart.







                                      Des'ree had a hot song...

1995:  TLC posted a third week at #1 with "Creep".  Boyz II Men were still at 2 with their former #1--"On Bended Knee".  Real McCoy remained third with "Another Night", Madonna was at 4 with "Take A Bow", Brandy rocketed from #60 to #5 with "Baby" and Des'ree was still steady at 6 with "You Gotta' Be".
2000:  Diana Ross was granted a divorce from her husband of 14 years.
2001:  Dido began five weeks at the top of the U.K. Album chart with No Angel.
2001:  Shaggy owned the #1 album in the U.S. with Hotspot.





2001:  OutKast had the #1 song with "Ms. Jackson".
2003:  In our I Saw the Light Department, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit announced that he broke off his relationship with Britney Spears.  Did you ever stop to think you were going out with someone who no one else wanted to touch with a ten foot pole?
2004:  Queens of the Stone Age announced that Nick Oliveri, founding bassist, and singer/guitarist Josh Homme had left the group.
2004:  The Native American Cultural Center called for a boycott of CBS-TV after OutKast performed "Hey Ya!" dressed as American Indians during the Grammy broadcast.  "We're not attacking OutKast as artists," says Andrew Brother Elk, "but we are going to question the commercialization of our symbols."  I have to side with the Native Americans--pretty thoughtless of OutKast and irresponsible of CBS to allow them to perform.

2005:  Jennifer Lopez premiered her new Sweetface clothing line in a fashion show in New York City.
2007:  The Doors, Joan Baez, Booker T. & the MG's and the Grateful Dead (all the people that the Grammys had never recognized during their careers) were given Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

2007:  Pretty Ricky had the top album with Late Night Special.

2008:  Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills appeared at the High Court in London in a hearing to reach a financial settlement for their 2006 divorce.
2009:  Chris Squire, bassist and backing vocalist of Yes, had to have leg surgery, forcing the group to cancel the remainder of their tour.

2009:  Estelle Bennett of the Ronettes died of colon cancer at her home in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 67.


 

2011:  Barbra Streisand was named MusiCares Person of the Year by the Grammy organization.

2013:  Rick Huxley, bassist with the Dave Clark Five, died at the age of 72 in Harlow, Essex, England after suffering from emphysema for many years.




 

Born This Day:

1935:  Gene Vincent (real name Vincent Eugene Craddock) was born in Norfolk, Virginia; died October 12, 1971 in Newhall, California from a ruptured stomach ulcer.











1938:  Bobby "Boris" Pickett, forever famous for bringing us "The Monster Mash", was born in Somerville, Massachusetts; died in Los Angeles April 25, 2007 due to complications from leukemia.  (Note:  some websites say he was born in Georgetown, Texas, but he was born in Somerville, according to the newspapers 'The Los Angeles Times' and 'The Guardian'.) 











1939:  Gerry Goffin, who with then-wife, Stanley, Idaho's Carole King, wrote dozens of great songs including "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles, "Up On The Roof" for the Drifters and "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" for Aretha Franklin, was born in Brooklyn, New York; died June 19 in Los Angeles.  (Note:  some websites claim Goffin was born in either Queens or New York City.  According to the newspaper 'The New York Times', Goffin was born in Brooklyn.  Some websites say he died in Brooklyn, but he died in Los Angeles, according to the newspaper 'The Washington Post'.)









1941:  Sergio Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil.
1941:  Leon Haywood ("I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You") was born in Houston, Texas.

1941:  Earl Lewis of the Channels was born in Manhattan, New York.

1943:  Little Johnny Taylor ("Part Time Love") was born in Gregory, Arkansas; died in Conway, Arkansas May 17, 2002.  (Note:  some websites confuse Little Johnny with Johnnie Taylor, who had the hit "Disco Lady".  The latter was born May 5 in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, and died May 31, 2000.)
1947:  Derek Shulman of Gentle Giant, who later signed Bon Jovi when he worked for PolyGram Records, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

1962:  Sheryl Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri.
1974:  D'Angelo (real name Michael Archer) was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1977:  Mike Shinoda, songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist of Linkin Park, was born in Agoura Hills, California.   








1979:  Brandy was born in McComb, Mississippi.










1981:  Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
1984:  Aubrey O'Day of Danity Kane was born in San Francisco, California.

Review of Ground Rules for The Top 100 Female Artists

Ground rules.  There are of course many different combinations that even solo performers will engage in during their career.  Credit is given when the artist performed a significant role in the success of a song.  Duets with other artists are counted towards the point total you see here.  However, points were not given to an artist that was part of a previous group.  This is why Cher does not gets credit for her work with then-husband Sonny, Gladys Knight cannot be given credit for her work with her cousins the Pips and Chaka Khan is not given credit while she was a member of Rufus.  Gloria Estefan is, however, a different situation.  The Miami Sound Machine was essentially created by her husband to showcase her talent and thus, her early days when her songs were credited to the group are included in her solo career.  

Note that this is a different ranking than The Top Women of the Rock Era*, which would take into account the entire body of work of each artist and would include those combinations mentioned above that are not part of this listing.  That list would also include the influence of each artist.  This list considers only the work that the artist actually did.  Essentially, this list reflects the successes of the top female artists as they are shown on the record label(s) that they released.  As noted above, the exceptions would be if the duo was not a regular studio recording and live performing act, then each artist would receive points separately (such as Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell).  If the work is as a female duo or female group, then credit goes to that duo or group.  In the examples above, Sonny & Cher's success would be considered as a duo, and the success of Gladys Knight & the Pips and Rufus would each be considered as a group, not a solo artist.

All songs were considered in judging artists, not just singles.  Additional factors were taken into consideration in the copyrighted formula, including album sales and awards (Grammy, American Music, etc.).  This is not our assessment, but rather our read of the "pulse of the public".