Roberto Chanel

Roberto Chanel was a tango singer born on 26 November 1914 ^[8]. In 1939 he was singing at the Café Nacional with the group of "el Cieguito" Tarantino when Osvaldo Pugliese's new orchestra began playing the same venue ^[1]. He joined Pugliese's orchestra at the Café Nacional after the singers Amadeo Mandarino and Augusto Gauthier left, and it was then that he took the name Roberto Chanel ^[1].

With Pugliese he sang "Farol" at the orchestra's first Odeon recording session on 15 July 1943 ^[1]. One account credits him with 31 recordings with Pugliese before he left the orchestra ^[2]. Sources differ on when his time with the orchestra began and ended: some date his joining to 1943, another gives his period with the orchestra as 1945 to 1947, and another places his departure in 1948 ^[1][4][6][2].

After leaving Pugliese he moved to the Victor label. From 1949 he recorded 16 titles with Florindo Sassone's orchestra, including "Ríe payaso" and "Flor de fango" ^[2]. In 1954 he recorded his own "Oración rante" with Ángel Domínguez's orchestra, also for Victor ^[3]. In a 1970 interview with the magazine Primera Plana he denied rumours that he was nearly blind and destitute ^[1]. He died in Buenos Aires in 1972 and was buried in the SADAIC pantheon at the Chacarita cemetery ^[2].

Early career

The earliest documented reference to Chanel's professional activity is from 1939. That year Osvaldo Pugliese's new orchestra began playing at the Café Nacional, where Chanel was singing with the group of "el Cieguito" Tarantino ^[1]. The cited biography gives no further detail on this group or on his repertoire with it ^[1].

According to one biography, he took the stage name Roberto Chanel when he joined Pugliese's orchestra ^[1]. The name he used before that point is not recorded in the available sources ^[1].

With Osvaldo Pugliese

Chanel joined Pugliese's orchestra at the Café Nacional after Amadeo Mandarino and Augusto Gauthier left it ^[1]. A biography of Pugliese also places Chanel with the orchestra from 1943 ^[4]. On 15 July 1943 he sang "Farol" at the orchestra's first recording session for Odeon ^[1].

Other sources document him singing with the orchestra on specific dates. A date-based listing shows him with Pugliese on 28 August 1945 ^[5]. A source on the tango "Fuimos" records him with the orchestra on 28 March 1946 ^[7]. A history of the Orquesta Típica Osvaldo Pugliese gives his period with the orchestra as 1945 to 1947 ^[6].

Sources differ on the length of his stay. The 1943 start is given by two biographies ^[1][4], while the orchestra history gives 1945 ^[6]. For his departure, that history gives 1947 ^[6], while another account states that he left Pugliese in 1948 after 31 recordings ^[2]. The latest Odeon session linked to him in a recording catalogue is dated 10 June 1947 ^[9].

Later career

In 1949 Chanel began recording for the Victor label with Florindo Sassone's orchestra ^[2]. He recorded 16 titles with Sassone, among them "Ríe payaso" and "Flor de fango" ^[2].

In 1954 he recorded "Oración rante", a work of his own, with the orchestra of Ángel Domínguez for Victor ^[3].

On 10 November 1970 the magazine Primera Plana published an interview in which Chanel denied rumours that he was nearly blind and destitute ^[1]. He died in Buenos Aires in 1972 and was buried in the SADAIC pantheon at the Chacarita cemetery ^[2].

Recordings

A recording catalogue lists the following Odeon sessions from the Pugliese period at which Chanel is credited as singer; song titles are not given for these entries ^[9]: - 27 August 1943; 21 October 1943 ^[9] - 31 March 1944; 6 July 1944; 20 July 1944 (two recordings); 17 October 1944; 24 November 1944; 21 December 1944 ^[9] - 18 July 1945; 6 November 1945; 3 December 1945 ^[9] - 27 February 1946; 31 July 1946; 8 November 1946 ^[9] - 27 March 1947; 10 June 1947 (two recordings) ^[9]

In addition to these, he sang "Farol" at the orchestra's first Odeon session on 15 July 1943 ^[1]. One account puts his total with Pugliese at 31 recordings ^[2]. For Victor he recorded 16 titles with Florindo Sassone from 1949, including "Ríe payaso" and "Flor de fango" ^[2], and "Oración rante" with Ángel Domínguez in 1954 ^[3].