The music of Argentina includes a variety of traditional, classical and popular genres. One of the country's most significant cultural contributions is the tango, which originated in Buenos Aires and its surroundings during the end of the 19th century and underwent profound changes throughout the 20th century. Folk music was particularly popular during the 20th century, experiencing a "boom" in popularity during the 1950s and 1960s thanks to artists such as Atahualpa Yupanqui and Mercedes Sosa, prominent figures of the Nuevo cancionero movement. In the mid-to-late 1960s, the countercultural scene of Buenos Aires originated Argentine rock, considered the earliest incarnation of Spanish-language rock for having an autochthonous identity that differed from that of England or the United States. It was widely embraced by the youth and since then has become part of the country's musical identity as much as traditional music. According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, Argentina also "has one of the richest art music traditions and perhaps the most active contemporary musical life.
Almendra was one of the most important rock groups from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the late 1960s.
| =Fobia= |background = group_or_band | image = | caption = Fobia: left to right:
Iñaki Vazquez, Francisco "Paco" Huidobro, Leonardo de Lozanne, Jay de la Cueva, Javier Chá! Ramirez | origin = Mexico City, Mexico | years_active = 1987–1997 and 2004–| genre = Rock en español, alternative rock | label = Sony Music
BMG Records
RCA Records | associated_acts = Moderatto, Molotov, Los Odio! | past_members =
Gabriel Kuri
Jorge 'Chiquis' Amaro
Mexican rock music, often referred to in Mexico as rock nacional, originated in the 1950s. Standards by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers were soon covered by bands such as Los Rockets, Los Twisters, Los Teen Tops, Los Rebeldes del Rock, Los Locos del Ritmo, Los Crazy Boys, Los Apson, Los Nómadas, and Javier Bátiz, which later led to original compositions, often in English. The group "Los Nómadas" was the first racially integrated band of the 1950s. Their lead guitarist, Bill Aken, wrote most of their original material, including the raucous Donde-Donde, and co-wrote the material for their Sounds Of The Barrio album, which is still being sold. Their 1954 recording of She's My Babe was the first top 40 R&B recording by a Latino band. In the southwestern United States, Spanish guitar rhythms and Mexican musical influences may have inspired some of the music of American musicians Ritchie Valens, Danny Flores, Sam the Sham, Roy Orbison and later, Herb Alpert. Initially, the public exhibited only moderate interest in them, because the media attention was focused on La Ola Inglesa.
Erreway was an Argentine pop rock band formed during the television series Rebelde Way, consisting of Camila Bordonaba, Felipe Colombo, Luisana Lopilato and Benjamín Rojas. Luisana Lopilato, who left the band. Releasing three studio albums — Señales, Tiempo and Memoria — Erreway sold 1 million records and achieved several Platinum and Gold album certifications in Argentina.
Vox Dei is an Argentine rock band credited for recording the country's first concept album, The Bible. Its most prolific years were the 1970s, having recorded 10 albums.
Memphis La Blusera was an Argentine blues/rock band created in 1978 and split in 2008. The band members were Adrián Otero on vocals; Daniel Beiserman on bass, acoustic bass, and vocals; Villanueva Emilio on tenor saxophone and bass; Mira Marcelo on drums; German Weidemer on keyboards, piano and Hammond organ; and Sedler Lucas on acoustic and electric guitar. They were known as the band that created and gave identity to the Argentine blues.
Los Gatos were an Argentine rock group of the late 1960s, founded in the wake of an earlier group, Los Gatos Salvajes, who shared two of the same members. They are considered part of the founding trinity of Spanish-language rock in Argentina, along with Almendra and Manal. The unexpected success of their 1967 debut single "La balsa" was the kickstarter of Argentine rock, and pioneered Spanish-language rock.
Los Piojos was an Argentine rock band. Extremely popular, it became the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine music scene.
Manal was an Argentine rock group. Together with Almendra and Los Gatos, they are considered founders of Argentine rock. The band members were Claudio Gabis on guitar, Javier Martínez on drums and vocals, and Alejandro Medina on bass and vocals. Martínez was the band's lead vocalist and leading songwriter.
Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965 and based in Madrid. Their single "Black Is Black" reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966 and No. 4 in the United States, selling over a million records.
José Alberto Iglesias, better known as Tango or its diminutive Tanguito, was an Argentine rock singer-songwriter. Born into a working class family from western Greater Buenos Aires, he began his career in the early 1960s as the lead singer of the nueva ola group Los Dukes, which recorded two singles released on label Music Hall. In the late 1960s, he became a leading figure in the countercultural underground of Buenos Aires, a scene that gave birth to Argentine rock, the earliest incarnation of Spanish-language rock. Tanguito is celebrated for co-writing Los Gatos' hit "La balsa", that catapulted the burgeoning rock nacional into massive popularity in the summer of 1967-68. This success led to a contract with RCA Victor which soon ended after the little impact of the 1968 single "El hombre restante". Tanguito later worked for Mandioca, Argentine rock's first independent record label founded by producers Jorge Álvarez and Pedro Pujó in 1968.
Los Abuelos de la Nada were an Argentine new wave/rock band that underwent several incarnations, all of them led by singer and songwriter Miguel Abuelo. The group has produced numerous hit singles through the 1980s as "Sin Gamulán", "Costumbres argentinas", "Mil horas", "Himno de mi corazón", "Lunes por la madrugada" and "No te enamores nunca de aquel marinero bengalí".
Vicentico (2002) is the first solo album by Argentine pop rock singer Vicentico. After his time with the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs he went into a solo career when the band took a hiatus.
Eduardo "Skay" Beilinson,, is an Argentine guitarist who has played in the band Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota, one of the most famous rock bands of Argentina. He is considered one of the best guitarists of his country, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 6th on his list of "100 Best Argentine Guitarists". Among his influences are Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Keith Richards, Pink Floyd, Buddy Guy, Vanilla Fudge and The Byrds.
Los Gatos Salvajes, from Rosario, Santa Fe in Argentina, were a beat and garage rock band active in the early to mid-1960s, following which members Litto Nebbia and Ciro Fogliatta would go on to form the later, more successful group, Los Gatos. They were one of Argentina's first teenage rock & roll bands, and part of the popular worldwide beat movement inspired by the success of the Beatles and the British Invasion. They enjoyed only limited record sales, despite some degree of success in their television appearances, but are recognised as a pioneering group in Argentina.
"La balsa" is the debut single by the Argentine band Los Gatos, released on July 3, 1967 on Vik, a subsidiary of RCA Victor. Formed in 1967 after the disbandment of Los Gatos Salvajes, Los Gatos were the house band of the bar La Cueva, which became a popular meeting place for rock enthusiasts and the birthplace of Argentine rock—known locally as rock nacional. During the mid-to-late 1960s, Buenos Aires was experiencing a cultural blossoming characterized by innovations in modern art, literature and cinema, largely driven by a burgeoning youth subculture that adhered to the countercultural phenomenon of the decade. The underground had its center in La Cueva, Plaza Francia and the Torcuato di Tella Institute, and identified with British Invasion music and the sexual revolution. "La balsa" was written by Litto Nebbia—lead vocalist of the band—and Tanguito on May 2, 1967, in the men's toilet of La Perla de Once, another bar frequented by the group. At the time, Argentina was under a military dictatorship led by Juan Carlos Onganía, which regularly imprisoned and persecuted these young bohemians.
Tango is the only studio album by Argentine singer-songwriter Tanguito, recorded in 1970 and released posthumously in 1973 on Talent Records.
