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This article concerns the boy band Menudo. For the Mexican soup, see Menudo Soup
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band from the 1980s and 1990s. Started in 1977 by Edgardo Diaz, it initially included two sets of brothers: Diaz's cousins Ricky, Oscar and Carlos Melendez, and Fernando and Nefty Sallaberry. In the next few years Menudo used to tour Puerto Rico from shopping mall to shopping mall, from fiesta patronal (a citywide yearly celebration) to fiesta patronal. During this time, they scored a hit with "Los Fantasmas" and they were able to get a regular tv show on Telemundo canal 2 every Saturday night.
Menudo's real boom came during the 1980s after the Sallaberry brothers and Oscar and Carlos Melendez were replaced with Rene Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbia and Miguel Cancel. This revolving-door policy made Menudo different from other pop acts, as a member would be replaced when he reached his 16th birthday or his voice broke.
The group became very popular in Latin America, especially in Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, and Panama. During that time, Diaz was able to afford a Cessna jet airplane that had belonged to American President Richard Nixon and the Shah of Iran. The plane carried Menudo's name on both sides of the fuselage and made it the first boy band ever with its own private jet.
At that time their songs included "Subete A Mi Moto", "Ella A-A", "Quiero Ser", a Spanish version of "Voulez Vous", and "Fuego". The group also got a fanbase in Spain and the rest of Europe. Menuditis became a word in the medical dictionary diagnosed to girls who needed medical attention after going to a Menudo concert, and Menudomania was compared to Beatlemania.
Eventually Rene, Xavier, Miguel, and Johnny had to give way to new Menudo members. Rene was the first to leave, right in the middle of Menudomania. He was successfully succeeded by Charlie Masso, who made millions of fans himself. When he entered the group, they recorded Por Amor where he debuted his first lead song "La Chispa De La Vida" and the soundtrack for Menudo's big screen adventure Una Aventura Llamada Menudo, where they also sang classics like "Clara" and "Senora Mia".
In 1983, Xavier and Miguel left about 6 months apart from each other leaving way for new members Ray Reyes and Roy Rosello respectively. With Ray and Roy, Menudo signed a multi-million dollar contract with RCA International. They released the Spanish album A Todo Rock. In early 1984, Johnny left being replaced by Robby Rosa, mastermind of Ricky Martin's hits "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "The Cup of Life." With Robbi, Menudo released their first English album Reaching Out which featured the theme track "Like a Cannonball" for the Hollywood movie Cannonball Run 2 and their first Portuguese album Mania both featuring versions of some of their Spanish hits. Unavoidedly in mid 1984 it was Ricky Melendez's turn to leave, and he did so in a great concert becoming the only Menudo member to last seven years. He gave way to Ricky Martin. Martin, along with Robbi, Ray, Roy, and Charlie, released the Spanish album Evolucion which produced hits like "Sabes A Chocolate" and "Amor Primero." By this time, their popularity reached parts of Asia like Japan and the Phillippines.
In 1985, Ray left the group due to his sudden change of voice and height. He was replaced by Raymond Acevedo. With Raymond, Menudo recorded their second English album simply titled Menudo which scored the hit "Hold Me." Later that year, the group recorded their next Spanish album Ayer Y Hoy (Yesterday & Today). A full Portuguese version was also recorded titled A Festa Vai Começar (The Party's Going To Start) to coincide with a successful tour in Brazil.
In 1986, Roy was replaced by Sergio Blass. With Sergio, Menudo recorded their only Italian album Viva! Bravo! with versions of earlier Spanish and English hits like "No Te Reprimas," "Hold Me," "Sabes A Chocolate," among others. As usual, Spanish, Portuguese and English albums Refrescante (Refreshing), Menudo, and Can't Get Enough respectively, were released during this time.
1987 was what some fans described the beginning of the fall for Menudo. By this time, Charlie, who was with Menudo for 5 years, was the next to leave. He was replaced by newcomer Ralphy Rodriguez. With Ralphy, Menudo was preparing for a Summer tour through the U.S. Without warning, Robby became the first member ever to quit the group. The story apparently was that he had written a song and presented the idea to management. They turned him down and apparently mocked him. Fed up by this, he decided to leave. Now management had to find a replacement for Robbi. Ruben Gomez came on board and Charlie was asked to come back one more time for the tour. It turned out to be quite successful, but it was apparent that the group's popularity wasn't the same. With Ruben, Menudo also went through a complete image makeover. They portrayed a more rough, rockish look. This was also applied to their music which was described before as bubble-gum pop. They released the Spanish album Somos Los Hijos del Rock (We are the Sons of Rock), followed by an English-Tagalog album for the Phillippines titled In Action. The Phillippine tour proved quite successful, however the fans missed Ray, Roy, Charlie, Robby. It wasn't the same for the Phillippine fans. Menudo never returned after this tour.
More problems came for Menudo in 1988. With only a year in the group, Ralphy was pulled from the group by his parents. Apparently, his parents and management didn't see eye to eye with the treatment Ralphy was receiving. Menudo performed without Ralphy for a few months until newcomer Angelo Medina joined the group. With Angelo, Menudo released the English album Sons of Rock where Menudo scored a lukewarm hit "You Got Potential," which years later Angelo acquired the rights for. Concert Promoter and record executive Darrin McGillis, promoted Menudo on a widely successful forty city U.S. tour with the release of the new English album. But the problems continued. Raymond became the second member to quit the group due to creative differences. Sounds similar to what happened with Robby Rosa only a year and a half earlier. Once again, the group performed as a quartet for a few months. Robert Avellanet replaced Raymond and the Spanish album Sombras & Figuras (Shadows & Figures) was released. This album put Menudo back on the map in Latin America.
In July 1989, after 5 years with the group, Ricky Martin left the group giving way to new member Rawy Torres. His last concert with Menudo was in the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With Rawy, Menudo recorded the Spanish album Los Ultimos Heroes (The Last Heroes). This production solidified Menudo popularity in Latin America especially in Venezuela where a 5-part miniseries was shot to promote the album. This lineup reunited years later under "Los Ultimos Heroes" for a series of concerts in Puerto Rico and Latin America. But for Menudo, more troubles loomed ahead.
In 1990, Angelo Garcia left the group unexpectedly (once again to creative differences and alledged improper treatment) and signed with World Wide Entertainment under the direction of Darrin McGillis, and released his first ever solo release on McGillis Records. He was replaced by Cesar Abreu however this member lasted about 7 months only to be replaced by the first Mexican member Adrian Olivares. With Adrian, Menudo recorded their first Portuguese album in four years titled Os Ultimos Herois and the Spanish album No Me Corten El Pelo (Don't Cut My Hair) . What happens next is probably the most embarrassing moment for Menudo when in November Ruben and Sergio were detained in Miami with alleged possession of marijuana. The management immediately fired these two members and months later in 1991 Edward Aguilera from Spain and Jonathan Montenegro from Venezuela joined the band. With these new additions, the group was working on recording a new Spanish album. But the worst was yet to come.
1991 was a scandalous year for Menudo. All the members with the exception of Adrian, made a case conference announcing that they were quitting the group due to allegations of physical and sexual abuse. Meantime, management was scrambling to find four new members. Enter Alexis, Ashley, Andy and Abel. With this brand new lineup, the Spanish album Detras de tu Mirada (Behind your Stare) was released.
In 1992 there were no changes in the group. The "A-Team" as they were called by Edgargo Diaz due to all their names beginning with the letter A, recorded an English single "Dancin, Movin, Shakin," which would be the first of a few English recordings under the Darrin McGillis management. After reports that Edgardo Diaz was authorizing the manufacture of pirated CDs and cassettes of recordings made under the McGillis Records Label. McGillis armed with a Court Order and assisted by armed Marshalls embargoed a concert in San Juan Puerto Rico and confiscated Money, Merchandise to compensate for the losses incurred by Darrin McGillis. It was years later that old wounds had healed and McGillis is associated with Edgardo Diaz. Menudo also recorded a Spanish album celebrating Menudo's 15 years in the music industry titled 15 Años They group continued to travel through Latin America and had a pretty good fan base even though it wasn't like their golden years in the 80s.
In 1993 Adrian left the group and Ricky Lopez joined. With Lopez, Menudo recorded another Portuguese album titled Vem Pra Mim featuring new versions of Spanish songs released from 1991 ans 1992. An English secong single called "Cosmopolitan Girl" was also released. This same lineup in 1994 released the next Spanish album Imaginate....
Menudo did not record any albums in 1995. In 1996 Ashley and Ricky Lopez left the group and were replaced by Anthony Galindo from Venezuela and Didier Hernandez from Cuban descent. With Anthony and Didier, Menudo released theit last Spanish with this name titled Tiempo De Amar.
In 1997 the name Menudo was sold to Venezuelan interests. Therefore the band changed their name to MDO. Along with the new name, Andy left the group and Daniel Weber became MDO's first member to join under the new name. A Spanish album simply titled MDO was released and with it, increased their popularity in Latin America and the U.S. becoming one of the most important latin boy bands in Latin pop music.
In 1998, former Menudo members Rene, Johnny, Miguel, Ricky, Charlie and Ray got together and made a comeback, performing the songs that Menudo popularized during their era. Because of legal issues, the comebackers couldn't use the name of Menudo and went by the name of El Reencuentro (The Re-encounter) instead. Their world tour was a wild success, proving that, to Menudo fans, Menudomania lives on.
Edgardo Diaz announced, in 2004, that he will be bringing a new group with the Menudo formula into the music industry. Initially thought that he would name them Menudo again, he surprised the press and general public by naming them Tic Toc. There have been announcements that a new management has been working on bringing back Menudo with five new members and 2 substitutes for 2005.
Discography
- 1977 Los Fantasmas [Original Members]
- 1978 Laura [Original Members]
- 1979 Chiquitita [New Member: Rene]
- 1980 Mas Mucho Mas [New Member: Johnny]
- 1980 Es Navidad [New Member: Xavier]
- 1981 Fuego [Same as above]
- 1981 Quiero Ser [New Member: Miguel]
- 1982 Por Amor [New Member: Charlie]
- 1982 Una Aventura Llamada Menudo (Movie Soundtrack) [Same as above]
- 1982 Feliz Navidad [Same as above]
- 1983 A Todo Rock [New Members: Ray and Roy]
- 1984 Reaching Out [New Member: Robby]
- 1984 Mania [Same as above]
- 1984 Evolucion [New Member: Ricky Martin]
- 1985 Menudo (English) [New Member: Raymond]
- 1985 Ayer y Hoy [Same as above]
- 1985 A Festa Vai Começar [Same as above]
- 1986 Viva! Bravo! (Italian) [New Member: Sergio]
- 1986 Refrescante [Same as above]
- 1986 Can't Get Enough [Same as above]
- 1986 Menudo (Portuguese) [Same as above]
- 1987 Somos Los Hijos del Rock [New members: Ralphy and Ruben]
- 1987 In Action (English-Tagalog) [Same as above]
- 1988 Sons of Rock [New member: Angelo]
- 1988 Sombras Y Figuras [New member: Robert]
- 1989 Los Ultimos Heroes [New member: Rawy]
- 1990 Os Ultimos Herois [New member: Adrian]
- 1990 No Me Corten El Pelo [Same as above]
- 1991 Detras De Tu Mirada [New members: Alexix, Ashley, Andy & Abel]
- 1992 15 Años [Same as above]
- 1993 Vem Pra Min (Portuguese) [New member: Ricky Lopez]
- 1994 Imaginate... [Same as above]
- 1996 Tiempo De Amar [New members: Anthony & Didier]
after 1996 Menudo changed its name to MDO.
See also
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