Sandro was born in Buenos Aires to Irma Nydia Ocampo and Vicente Sánchez in 1945. He was raised in the southern suburb of Valentín Alsina, and learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as Romani. His paternal grandfather was Russian Rom from Hungary – Roma are known in Argentina as Gitanos (Gypsies). Considered a precursor to Rock music in Spanish. Initially, in his schooldays, he imitated King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, but afterwards created a personal style that marked his career. He started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego in 1961, which gained popularity on the TV show Sábados Circulares, and became wideley-known in the 1960s. With songs such as 'Ave de Paso', 'Atmosfera Pesada', 'Quiero Llenarme de Ti', 'Tengo', '¿A esto le llamas amor?', 'Eres el Demonio Disfrazado' ( cover of '(You're The) Devil in Disguise)', 'Porque Yo Te Amo', 'Penumbras' , 'Una Muchacha y Una Guitarra', 'Trigal' or 'Rosa Rosa', the success of his career kept growing steadily. Sandro also had the leading role in various films, including ("I Want to Fill Myself with You" – 1969) and Subí que te llevo ("Hop On, I'll Give You a Ride" – 1980), and directed one feature, Tú me enloqueces ("I'm Crazy About You"), in 1976. His co-star in the latter film, argentine actrees Susana Giménez, was offered a TV variety show after he refused to host it; Later on, Giménez's show, named Hola Susana, would become a ratings leader shortly after its 1987 launch. He was the first Latino singer to sell out Madison Square Garden five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to perform a television concert via satellite in the World's History. The concert was broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on April 1970, and marked the debut of a Latin american artist for a world audience. Sandro's songs were re recorded by international artists such us Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Burt Bacharach, Dalida, Shirley MacLaine,Toto Cutugno, Nancy Wilson, Mary Hopkins, Loredana Berté, Umberto Tozzi, Gilbert Bécaud, Milva, Julio Iglesias or Engelbert Humperdinck, among others. In the 1990s Argentine and other Latin American artists released an album called Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor. Sandro continued releasing studio albums in the beggining of the 1990s and reappeared on stage in 1993 with a new show, that was presented at Teatro Gran Rex, the most prestigious venue of Buenos Aires, performing 18 attendance-record–breaking consecutive concerts. The news that he suffered from emphysema were made public in 1998, causing a great generalized concern among his followers from all over the world. Sandro had been a self declared longtime cigarette smoking addict, which undoubtedly was the main cause of the disease. On November 20, 2009, Sandro received a double transplant (heart and lungs) in Mendoza, Argentina, the operation was a success. Five days later, in a daily press conference held by his doctors, it was reported that Sandro, although still kept in intensive care, was breathing without a respirator and that he had started a slow recovery. Nevertheless, in the evening of January the 4th of 2010, after 45 days of receiving a double cardio-pulmonary transplant, and after many complications, he died of septic shock, mesenteric ischemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation in the Italian Hospital of Mendoza, Argentina.
01- Como Caja de Música
02- Ayer Aún
03- Ave de Paso
04- Con Los Ojos del Recuerdo
05- Después de la Guerra
06- Las Manos
07- Quiero Llenarme de Ti
08- Como Lo Hice Yo
09- Una Muchacha y Una Guitarra
10- Porque Yo Te Amo
11- Tengo
12- Así
13- París Ante Ti
14- Penumbras
15- Palabras Viejas
16- Rosa, Rosa
17- Dame
18- Guitarras al Viento
19- El Maniquí
20- Trigal
21- Te Propongo
22- La Vida Sigue Igual
Roberto Sánchez (August 19, 1945 – January 4, 2010), better known as Sandro, AKA Sandro de América ("Sandro of America" in Spanish), or El Gitano (The Gypsy), was an Argentine singer and actor. He learned to play the guitar as a child, and his paternal grandfather was Russian Romani. Romani people are known in Argentina as gitanos (gypsies). Considered as the precursor of rock music in Spanish, initially he imitated Elvis Presley, but he ended creating a totally personal style that marked his whole career. He started as the singer of the group Sandro & los de Fuego, which gained popularity on the TV show Sábados Circulares during the early 60s. Later, during the late 60s - early 70s, he became immensely popular in Latin America with songs like Trigal, Tengo, ¿A Esto Le Llamas Amor?, Eres El Demonio Disfrazado, Porque Yo Te Amo, Una Muchacha y Una Guitarra and Rosa, Rosa. Sandro also appeared in various films, among others: Quiero Llenarme de Ti ("I Want to Fill Myself with You") and a telenovela (soap opera), called Fue sin Querer ("It Wasn't On Purpose"). He was the first Latino pop singer to fill Madison Square Garden doing so five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to do a television concert via satellite. The concert was broadcast from Madison Square Garden on April 1970. This concert marked the debut of Latino music for a world audience. In the 1990s several Argentine and other Latin American artists made a CD in his honor called Padre del Rock enCastellano ("Father of Rock in Spanish "). After several years without any important notice on his music, Sandro reappeared in 1993 at the Gran Rex Theater in Buenos Aires doing 20 consecutive sold-out concerts. That was his last series of public appearances before announcing that he had got emphysema because of the cigarettes that he used to smoke by many years. He died on January 4, 2010 of complications from heart and lung transplant surgery. He was 64 y.o. Here’s a compilation of the best rock & roll numbers featured on his first 6 LPs. Hope you like it.
01- Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On 02- Devil In Disguise 03- Boys 04- Sugar Schack 05- Mother Goose Twist 06- Kiss Me Quick 07- On my Mind 08- Peggy, Peggy 09- Hippy Hippy Shake 10- A World Without Love 11- Tchin, Tchin 12- My Bonnie 13- Glad All Over 14- Little Child 15- From a Window 16- It’s Gonna Be All Right 17- Feel So Fine 18- Rock & Roll Music 19- I’ll Follow the Sun 20- The House of the Rising Sun 21- Forever 22- Love Potion Number Nine 23- I’m Talking ‘Bout You 24- Such a Night 25- Tutti Frutti 26- It Feels so Right 27- What I’d Say 28- A Boy Loomy 29- Sigue Llamando Nena 30- Well Allright, Okay, You Win 31- Down The Line 32- I’m Ready 33- Reach Out I’ll Be There 34- A Little Bit Now 35- Atmósfera Pesada
