Tulio Enrique León (October 11, 1938 ‒ March 18, 1982) was a

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

organist, composer, and arranger. Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, he would become one of Venezuela's most popular artists and came to be known as ''El Artista del Teclado'' (the Artist of the Keyboard).

Biography

Tulio Enrique Leon's parents were Natividad Ordonez del Castillo and Tulio Enrique León Gonzalez. Tulio Enrique was attracted to music from an early age when he used to create, according to him,

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

, making a cornet from cardboard, on which he put a sewing machine needle, sliding on a record, to get sound. In 1947, after his eyesight was examined in the United States by Spanish

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

Ramón Castroviejo, he was diagnosed with blindness due to optic nerve atrophy. The doctor, considering the irreversibility of the disease, recommended that he use the money for the surgery to buy a piano and learn to play. Having done this, Tulio Enrique's confidence was restored and the doors to his musical career were thus opened. Tulio Enrique's obsession was playing the organ, as he frequently listened to Radio Caracas, where he often heard the Panamanian organist Salvador Muñoz. He decided to sell the piano, acquiring a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

and devoted himself to its study and practice.

Musical career

In 1961, Tulio Enrique traveled to

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

and performed on Venevision without any artistic references or other recommendation, after auditioning. He was hired to debut in a musical called ''Show de Show'' (Show of Shows) playing a tune that his audience always asked for: ''Rio Manzanares''. With his success in the capital, a new Venezuelan artist was born with a bright and promising artistic career in music. ''El Show de Renny'' (The Renny Show), ''La Feria de la Alegria'' (The Happiness Fair), ''Sábado Sensacional'' (Sensational Saturday) were some of the programs that helped boost the career of this Zuliano citizen. The hit songs from Tulio Enrique León made him an international star. He signed as an exclusive artist of Discomoda label, achieving the ranking of number 61 among the 100 best artists in the world, according to Billboard's April 17, 1965 world charts.

Hits

Tulio Enrique's success traveled the world, he was an idol not only in his native country, but also beyond. In

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he contracted with the Odeon label to record several albums. Hits like ''La Pollera Amarilla'' (The Yellow Skirt), ''Ron y Tabaco'' (Rum and Tobacco), ''El Cable Submarino'' (The Submarine Cable), ''La Pegajosa'' (The Sticky), ''Este es el Ritmo'' (This is the Rhythm) and others, captivated those who listened. Audiences in the

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and

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enjoyed the songs performed by León during his musical career in his short lifetime.

Legacy

Tulio Enrique León's music has had significant influence in the cumbia genre. His records and songs are popular with DJs who specialize in tropical music. The Mexican neo-cumbia band Sonido Gallo Negro has covered several songs by León.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Tulio Enrique 1938 births 1982 deaths Venezuelan organists Venezuelan male composers Musicians from Maracaibo 20th-century Venezuelan composers 20th-century organists 20th-century Venezuelan male musicians