Songoftheday 7/27/14 - Everybody gather 'round now let your body feel the heat....

Miami Sound Machine - "Conga"
from the album Primitive Love (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 16

Today's Song of the day comes from the Cuban-American band Miami Sound Machine, who were fronted by husband and wife Emilio and Gloria Estefan. Starting with independent releases in the late 70s, the Latin-flavored outfit released their first proper English-language major album, Eyes Of Innocence, in 1984. The first single from the project, "Dr. Beat", became a top-10 hit in England, Germany, and the Netherlands, and went top-20 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart as well. With that momentum, the group recorded the follow-up, Primitive Love, the following year. With a firm pop presence among the club cuts, the album was a big success. The first single, "Conga", with Gloria's rapid-fire delivery of the chorus and an infectious percussion backdrop, gave the MSM their first big pop radio exposure...

"Conga" made it to the American pop top-10 in February of 1986, while going all the way to #1 on Billboard's dance club play chart. The record even crossed over to R&B stations, reaching #60 on the mag's "Black Singles" chart. The record did even better in Canada, becoming a #1 hit there, though surprisingly in England, where "Dr. Beat" was a success, this single stalled out at #79.

Ever since, the song remains one of the most identified with Gloria, beyond just the song that made her famous.

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Here's Gloria and the band on tour promoting the song...