Gardel did not only sing tangos
Author: Asdrúbal Valencia – metallurgical engineer and author of El universo del tango
Carlos Gardel is universally recognized as the King of Tango. He created the tango canción and was its most iconic interpreter. However, his repertoire extended well beyond tango, covering a wide array of national and international musical genres. This article surveys the full scope of Gardel's career, from his early native recordings to his cosmopolitan legacy.
Early Recordings
Gardel began recording in 1912 at just over 20 years old. Columbia’s representative José Tagini offered him seven double-sided discs. These early works include:
T594: La mañanita (estilo) / Me dejaste (estilo)
T595: Mi madre (estilo) / Es en vano (canción)
T637: Pobre flor (estilo) / La mariposa (estilo)
T638: El almohadón (vals) / Brisas de la tarde (canción)
T728: Sos mi tirador plateado (estilo) / Yo sé hacer (cifra)
T729: Mi china cabrera (estilo) / A mi madre (estilo)
T730: El sueño (estilo) / A Mitre (vals)
These works align Gardel more with the payadores than the tango scene of the time.
The Duo with José Razzano
Formed in 1913 and active until 1925, the Gardel-Razzano duo produced:
74 recordings as a duo
6 solo by Razzano
224 solo by Gardel — 165 of them tangos
Their first joint recording was Cantar eterno (1917), and the last El triunfo (1925). In parallel, Gardel began his solo trajectory with Mi noche triste, also in 1917. After Razzano suffered a larynx injury, the duo disbanded, and Gardel fully embraced his solo career.
National Repertoire
Gardel was a master of Argentine and Rioplatense folk genres, performing:
Zamba, tonada, chacarera, ranchera, cifra, vidalita, cueca, gato, media cifra, canción campera, estilo, and tangos camperos
International Repertoire
Spain
Gardel interpreted:
Por un cariño (habanera) by Gerardo Alcázar
Las flores de tu balcón (pasodoble) by Fernando Catalán
Valencia (pasodoble) by Nicolás Verona
Trianera by Ginés Miralles
Sevilla by Enrique Delfino
Puñadito de sal by Verona
Los ojos de mi moza (jota) with Alfredo Le Pera
Portugal
Gardel recorded four fados:
Caprichosa by Froilán Aguilar
De mi tierra by Pedro Numa Córdoba
Mi bien querido by José Ricardo
Mi china by Juan Rodríguez and Luis Roldán
Brazil
La criolla – based on Brazilian folklore, adapted by Gardel and Razzano
Peru
Angustias – anonymous vals
¡Ay, Aurora! – poem by Federico Barreto Bustíos
Colombia
Mis perros, El vagabundo, Rumores, Asómate a la ventana
Rumores later adapted as a tango by Gardel and Razzano
Mis perros → Mi alhaja / Medallita de la suerte (1933, lyrics by Mario Batistella)
Mis flores negras by Julio Flórez
Mexico
Cielito lindo by Quirino Mendoza y Cortés → Cielito mío (adapted by Osvaldo and Emilio Fresedo)
La casita by José Manuel Othón – echoed in Sacate la caretita and Compadrón
Cuba
Por tus ojos negros – rumba-habanera by Don Aspiazu
Sol tropical – by Gardel, Terig Tucci, and Le Pera
Chile
La yegüecita (cueca)
United States
Gardel recorded 19 shimmies and foxtrots, including:
Yo no puedo vivir sin amor – Charles G. Gabaroche
La danza de las libélulas – Franz Lehár
Tutankamon, Pero hay una melena, Oh París, Reyes del aire – all by José Bohr
La sulamita – Francisco Canaro
Hola señorita, Gran Buda, Circe, Qué lindo es el shimmy, Sonrisas
Yes, We Have No Bananas → Poupée de Estambul
Manos brujas
La hija de japonesita
Yo nací para ti, tú serás para mí and Amor pagano by Herb Brown
Je te dirai – by Michel Emer
Rubias de Nueva York – with Alfredo Le Pera
Italy
Il piccolo navío – tango with Neapolitan melody
Come se canta a Napule – sung in Neapolitan dialect
France
Gardel performed:
Je te dirai, Folie, Madame, c’est vous, Dejà, Parlez-moi d’amour
Las campanas – later retitled Tú y yo
Germany / Russia
Ich küsse ihre Hand, Madame – translated as Yo beso vuestra mano señora
Sonia – Russian ballad recorded in Spanish
England
Hay una virgen – adaptation of Byron’s To Jeny, translated by Manuel María Flores
Mabel Wayne (U.S.)
En un pueblito español – Spanish version by Rogelio Ferreyra
Ramona – version by Enrique Cadícamo
Conclusion
Carlos Gardel’s career was far more diverse than commonly acknowledged. His repertoire traversed genres, continents, and languages, making him not just the voice of tango but a global ambassador of song. His discography invites rediscovery and deep listening, even eighty years after his death.
Sources the author used
Segovia, J. A. (1990). Gardel por el mundo, in: Carlos Gardel. Su obra integral. Buenos Aires: El Bandoneón, Vol. 10, EBCD, 20.
Puga, B. Discografía de Carlos Gardel. gardel.unsl.edu.ar
Valencia, A. (En prensa). El tango y el pasodoble, in: El universo del tango. Medellín: Academia Colombiana del Tango, Vol. 19, p. 234.
Valencia, A. (En prensa). Tango y fado, in: El universo del tango. Medellín: Academia Colombiana del Tango, Vol. 15, p. 119.
Selles, Roberto. Gardel y su repertorio internacional, in: La Porteña Tango. lptango.com.ar
Valencia, A. (En prensa). Los tangueros y el foxtrot, in: El universo del tango. Medellín: Academia Colombiana del Tango, Vol. 20, p. 26.
Greco, Orlando del. (2008). Autores extranjeros a los que Gardel les cantó temas, in: Tango Repórter, No. 145, June. tangoreporter.com
Rico Salazar, J. (2012). Biografía sonora. Carlos Gardel. Medellín: Club Internacional de Coleccionistas de Discos.