"Break It All" Video
If there is a band that is worthy of an entire chapter about rock in Uruguay, that band is Los Shakers.
Formed in 1963 in Montevideo, they originally played at the Hot Club, thee place for jazz and avant-garde musicians to join informal jams; among them, the brothers Hugo and Osvaldo Fatorusso.
At the beginning of 1964, when the Beatles wave arrived in Uruguay, the four musicians decided to model their instruments, gears and hairstyles accordingly and formed a band that would constitute an absolute exception of quality in the local panorama of that time.
With a singular skill to play, arrange and write songs, they left a legacy that constituted a turning point: there is clearly a before and an after Los Shakers.
As soon as they were formed, moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, causing a small revolution. They immediately turned into teenage idols, the local representation of the phenomenon that The Beatles were causing so far away. But Los Shakers did have many excellent original compositions as well (all featuring English lyrics), enhanced with great interpretations and memorable personal arrangements.
"Never, Never" Video
Their first album (1965) has a strong dominating beat all along the tracks, framed within a completely dynamic concept and excellent compositions. This LP includes "Rompan Todo" ("Break it all") their all-time biggest hit, as well as other remarkable songs like "Qué amor" ("What a love") and only two covers: "Keep searchin" (by Del Shannon) and Lesley Gore's "Its my party".
While the album sold a lot (it was released in almost all Latin America), Los Shakers continued to support their career through countless appearances on TV, ballrooms and theatres of Uruguay and Argentina.
Soon four singles followed, among them "Sólo en tus ojos" (Only in your eyes), "Paren el juego'' ("Stop the game") and "Quieres por favor" ("Won't you please"), all remarkable pearls of absolute personality.
For their second album (Shakers for You) they made their music and image sophisticated, not only abandoning the Beatles suits, but also introducing unusual musical styles like eastern music ("Espero que les guste 042). In Brazil, the bossa nova based "Nunca Nunca" ("Never Never") became a tremendous hit. Other singles were "No molestar" and the percussion based number "Adorable Lola" (Lovely Lola), one of the best songs they have ever recorded.
In 1967 they went to Venezuela, where they cut some new songs as well as new versions of their biggest hits (now in stereo), with the purpose of releasing an album in the USA. In fact, by the end of the year the LP was released through a small label, but flopped.
By this time the band began to lose direction. They recorded many songs for EMI Odeon Argentina (their only label), but only a few were eventually released as singles. The musical quality was not as good as before and one particular single "Marilu" b/w "Si lo supiera mama " (both sung in Spanish) was highly related to the Uruguayan carnival (Mardi Gras) repertoire, that little had to do with their previous production.
