Miguel Caló with Alberto Podestá

In the previous post I wrote that one of Caló's contributions to tango is discovering great singers Raúl Berón and Alberto Podestá. I'm particularly grateful for the second one, since he is one of my favorite singers.

I split recordings of Podestá with Caló into early and late ones. Early recordings cover only 4 tangos. In my opinion it is a mixed bag. "Yo Soy El Tango" is very light, almost kitschy. "Percal" is deep and very emotional. The other 2 songs: "Si Tu Quisieras" and "Dos Fracasos" are somewhere in between.

Alberto recorded those songs under the name of Juan Carlos Morel. Podestá was name after his mother. At that time in Buenos Aires there were some other singers with this name and Alberto wanted to avoid confusion. It was Carlos di Sarli who convinced him to use name Podestá. He said: "Kid, from now on you will be Alberto Podestá and out of all singers with this surname only you will endure".

  

The late recordings cover period from 1954 till 1972, the year when Miguel Caló passed away. Among recordings from this period we will find "Qué Falta Que Me Hacés" - possibly the best tango of all times! This song has everything a great tango should have: beautiful melody, a dose of drama, perfect orchestration, clear & regular rhythm. And let's not forget about the voice of Podestá. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a hit!

Apart from tangos, Podestá recorded with Caló's orchestra a few very popular valses... I will write about them some other time. Stay tuned :)



Early recordings:

Percal, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1943
Yo Soy El Tango, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1941
Dos Fracasos, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1941
Si Tu Quisieras, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podesta, 1941

Late recordings:

Qué falta que me hacés, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1963
Bailan Javier Rodríguez y Geraldine Rojas

El Bazar De Los Jugetes, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1954
Cómo Le Digo A La Vieja, Miguel Caló canta Alberto Podestá, 1954