Overview

Benny More (1919-1963) was one of the giants at the center of the golden age of Cuban music. Arguably the greatest singer ever to come from the island, his name is still spoken with reverence and nostalgia by Cubans and Cuban exiles alike. Unable to read music, he nevertheless wrote more than a dozen Cuban standards. His band helped shape what came to be known as the Afro-Cuban sound and, later, salsa. More epitomized the Cuban big-band era and was one of the most important precursors to the music later featured in the Buena Vista Social Club. Even now, to hear his recordings for the first time, it is impossible not to be thrilled and amazed. Journalist John Radanovich has spent years tracking down the musicians who knew More and More family members, seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs. Radanovich provides the definitive biography of the man and his music, whose legacy was forgotten in the larger scheme of political difficulties between the United States and Cuba. Even the exact spelling of More's first name was unknown until now. The author also examines the milieu of Cuban music in the 1950s, when Havana was the playground of Hollywood stars and the Mafia ran the nightclubs and casinos.

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Reviews

A magnetic figure, [Mor ] brought together the island's most formative influences--the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. --Palm Beach Post Captures the singer's flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. Mor emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. -- fRoots Magazine We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm's saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny Mor . --Latin Beat Magazine Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer's first English-language biography that finally exposes...this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny Mor . --LA Weekly

A magnetic figure, [More] brought together the island s most formative influences the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. Palm Beach Post We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm s saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. Latin Beat Magazine A magnetic figure, [More] brought together the island's most formative influences--the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. --Palm Beach Post Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer's first English-language biography that finally exposes...this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny More. --LA Weekly Captures the singer's flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. More emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. -- fRoots Magazine We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm's saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. --Latin Beat Magazine Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer s first English-language biography that finally exposes this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny More. LA Weekly Captures the singer s flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. More emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. fRoots Magazine

Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer's first English-language biography that finally exposes...this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny More. --LA Weekly A magnetic figure, [More] brought together the island's most formative influences--the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. --Palm Beach Post Captures the singer's flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. More emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. -- fRoots Magazine We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm's saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. --Latin Beat Magazine

We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm s saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. Latin Beat Magazine

A magnetic figure, [More] brought together the island s most formative influences the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. Palm Beach Post We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm s saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. Latin Beat Magazine A magnetic figure, [More] brought together the island's most formative influences--the African, the Spanish, the rural and the urban, the ecstasies and the tragedies. --Palm Beach Post Captures the singer's flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. More emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. -- fRoots Magazine We must express our gratitude to Radanovich for spending several years to locate and interrogate the surviving family members and musicians involved in the Wildman of Rhythm's saga, while seeking out rare recordings and little-known photographs in order to tell the story . . . of the one and only Benny More. --Latin Beat Magazine Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer's first English-language biography that finally exposes...this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny More. --LA Weekly Captures the singer s flamboyant manner, sense of humor and hard-living lifestyle, and his dedication to his family. More emerges finally as an immensely tragic figure, remaining in Cuba during the flurry of events surrounding the Cuban revolution that sent other artists abroad. fRoots Magazine Wildman of Rhythm [is] the singer s first English-language biography that finally exposes this corner of the Earth to the genius that was Benny More. LA Weekly

Author Information

John Radanovich has published articles and reviews in Living Blues and New Orleans Times-Picayune. He has covered the New York music scene for the Bergen Record newspaper, and has written about Latin music, jazz, and world music for Offbeat and Downbeat.

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