Juan Fernando Silvetti Adorno (March 27, 1944 – July 5, 2003), professionally known as Bebu Silvetti or simply Silvetti, was an Argentine-Mexican

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, conductor,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. In the 1970s he moved to Mexico and became a citizen. Popularly known for the 1975

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

hit, " Lluvia De Primavera" ("Spring Rain" in English), the album was produced in Spain and for the 1980 modern

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

album. Silvetti was also a successful, Grammy-winning producer for a wide variety of Latin and international music performers. He was the father of six children, including the actress . Silvetti also worked in the music of successful films and telenovelas in Mexico.

Biography

Early life

Silvetti was born in the city of

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, located in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, approximately 17 kilometers from the capital city of

. He started his

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

education at the age of six. During his teenage years he formed his own

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

and a few other musical groups. At 19, Silvetti left Argentina to go to Spain where he stayed a few years working as a pianist at some of the most popular jazz clubs of the time.

Career

In the early 1970s he moved to Mexico and started arranging and composing. He recorded his first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, which contained his hit offering, "Spring Rain." The LP was released in the US on Salsoul Records. Other albums followed. Silvetti continued arranging, composing and producing mostly for other

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

. After 10 years working in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he eventually settled in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, where he produced, arranged, and composed for a wide variety of Latin and international artists. During his career, Silvetti worked with performers such as Jose Jose,

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

, La Mafia,

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

, Engelbert Humperdinck, Vikki Carr, Ana Cristina,

Roberto Carlos (singer) Roberto Carlos Braga (; born 19 April 1941) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, also known as "King of Latin Music" or simply "the King". Most of his songs were written in partnership with his friend Erasmo Carlos (no relation). Roberto Carlos ha ...

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress with a career spanning more than four decades. She performed pop music, bolero, mariachi and romanti ...

, Rocío Jurado, Jerry Rivera, Tamara, Los Kjarkas,

Daniela Romo Teresa Presmanes Corona (born 27 August 1959), known professionally as Daniela Romo, is a Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess. During her career, she has sold 15 million records, making her one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Biog ...

Armando Manzanero Armando Manzanero Canché (7 December 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Mexican musician, singer, composer, actor and music producer, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era and one of the most successful comp ...

, José Luis Perales,

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...

, Maggie Carles, Los Nocheros,

Marco Antonio Solís Marco Antonio Solís Sosa (born 29 December 1959) is a Mexican musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán, Solís began his musical career at the age of six, performing with his cousin Joel ...

Ricardo Montaner Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner (born 8 September 1957), better known as Ricardo Montaner (), is an Argentine-born Venezuelan singer. Since starting his career in the late 1970s, he has released more than 24 albums, and many successful singles ...

, Paloma San Basilio, Raúl di Blasio,

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

and

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

. Silvetti achieved many successes and accolades throughout his long and prolific career. In 2004, Silvetti was honored posthumously as recipient of the 2003 Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year for his work on "Hasta Que Vuelvas" by

, "Quién Da un Peso Por Mis Sueños" by

featuring Alex Lora and the albums ''Rocío Dúrcal ... En Concierto Inolvidable'' by

and ''Suma'' by

. In 2002, he received the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Producer of the Year Award. In 2001, he topped Billboard's year-end "Hot Latin Tracks Producer Chart."

Death

Bebu Silvetti died at the age of 59 from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

caused by complications from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

treatment.Perez, Erwin. "La música pierde un talento mágico." ''El Nuevo Herald'', 9 July 2003, 2A. Retrieved 8 February 2010 from ''Ethnic NewsWatch'' (ENW). (Document ID: 492542641) At the time of his death, he reportedly had composed more than 600 songs, over 200 TV and radio commercials, and a number of film and TV soundtracks.

Musical legacy

His hit track "Spring Rain" was remixed by DJ YOSHITAKA for the Japanese music game beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD. The song name was changed to "Spring Rain (Lluvia De Primavera)" to signify the remix.

Denki Groove is a Japanese music group founded in 1989. It consists of Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki. History Denki Groove was founded in 1989 by Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki, both of whom are natives of Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. They ...

's song "

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...

", a remix of which was the ending theme of the 2009 anime series '' Kūchū Buranko'', is based around looped samples of "Spring Rain". Silvetti is credited as a co-writer of the song.

Select discography

* ''World Without Words'' (as Silvetti) (1976) * ''Super Disco Sound'' (1976) * ''The Sensuous Sound of Silvetti: Spring Rain'' (as Silvetti) (1977) * ''Concert From The Stars'' (as Silvetti) (1978) * ''I Love You'' (as Silvetti) (1980) * ''Silvetti en México'' (as Bebu Silvetti) (1980) * ''Lluvia De Primavera'' (as Bebu Silvetti) (1994) * ''Íntimos'' (Armando Manzanero and Bebu Silvetti) (1997) * ''Boleros Eternos'' (Carlos Greco and Bebu Silvetti) (2006)

References

External links

*
Discography at Billboard.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvetti, Bebu 1936 births 2003 deaths Deaths from respiratory failure Musicians from Buenos Aires Province Mexican composers Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year Mexican jazz pianists 20th-century Argentine pianists Latin music record producers Latin music songwriters