Rodolfo Galé

Juan Dionisio Tobares Galletti, known professionally as Rodolfo Galé, was born on 26 December 1928 in Mendoza, roughly a thousand kilometers from Buenos Aires. Orphaned of both parents in childhood, he was raised by his elder sisters. A baritone of dark timbre and considerable power, he developed a vocation for tango in adolescence. At the age of fifteen he won a local contest of new voices in Mendoza by singing Melodía de arrabal.^[1][2]

In 1945 he joined the orchestra led by Aníbal Apiolaza in his home city. Two years later he moved to Córdoba and debuted with the typical ensemble of Torcuato Wermuth. In 1949 he arrived in Buenos Aires, where he appeared accompanied by guitars in the live intermission numbers of several cinemas.^[1]

Late in 1950 the orchestra of Florindo Sassone lost its vocalists Roberto Chanel and Raúl Lavalle. Sassone summoned Galé, who served as the sole singer throughout 1951. On 30 May of that year he made his first recording for RCA Victor: Testamento de arrabal by Oscar Castagniaro and Raúl Hormaza, together with Íntimas and Trago amargo. In 1952 Chanel returned, and Galé shared the vocal duties with Jorge Casal; the two singers each recorded sixteen sides with Sassone for the Victor label. Galé’s final Sassone session took place on 14 April 1953 and produced El estrellero and Yunque.^[1][4]

When Jorge Durán left José Basso’s orchestra, Oscar Ferrari, one of Basso’s singers, specially recommended Galé. He joined at once and immediately recorded an excellent version of Cuesta abajo for Odeon (9 December 1953), followed by Patoteros on the same date, Doblando el codo (23 September 1954) and, in 1955, Eras como la flor. During his time with Basso he shared the platform with singers such as Floreal Ruiz, Francisco Fiorentino, Ricardo Ruiz, Jorge Durán and Ferrari himself.^[1][5]

In the second half of 1955 the majority of the musicians of Carlos Di Sarli’s orchestra, including the vocalists Oscar Serpa and Mario Pomar, departed. Di Sarli rebuilt the ensemble with notable instrumentalists such as violinists Tito Simón and Elvino Vardaro and bandoneonists Julián Plaza and José Libertella, and he engaged the singers Argentino Ledesma and Rodolfo Galé. With Di Sarli, Galé recorded for Victor the tango Noche de locura by Manuel Sucher and Carlos Bahr on 3 February 1956 and the waltz Mala yerba by Arturo Gallucci and Abel Aznar on 29 February 1956. These two sides became among his most frequently cited performances. He left the orchestra later in 1956 and was replaced by Roberto Florio; Ledesma was succeeded by Jorge Durán.^[1][3][6]

From 1957 to 1958 Galé sang with Roberto Caló’s orchestra alongside Héctor De Rosas. Together they recorded the duet Limosna de amor, the waltzes Mi colegiala and Si vos no me querés, and the zamba Luna Tucumana by Atahualpa Yupanqui. As soloist he cut Y con eso dónde voy, Mañana seré feliz and Nunca serás mía. In 1959 Francisco Canaro engaged him for appearances in theaters, at balls and on radio.^[1][2]

Health problems intervened. Galé suffered chest pains and consulted a cardiologist who advised complete rest, abstention from singing and from cigarettes, and withdrawal from the night-time circuit. Economic necessity, however, forced him to resume touring and working the interior of the country. He died of a cardiac arrest on 25 October 1972 in Buenos Aires, a few weeks short of his forty-fourth birthday.^[1]

Oscar Ferrari, who had recommended him to Basso and remained a close friend, later described him in these terms: “He was like the brother I never had. Very few people know how he was intimately. He was a wonderful human being and a loyal friend, of the kind that is not easy to find.”^[1] Galé’s recorded legacy, concentrated in the 1950s with three of the major orchestras of the period, preserves a powerful baritone that suited both the rhythmic drive of Sassone and the more measured elegance of the rebuilt Di Sarli ensemble. Tracks such as Testamento de arrabal, Cuesta abajo, Doblando el codo and especially Noche de locura continue to circulate among dancers and collectors.^[1][5]

From Mendoza to Buenos Aires

Raised by his sisters after early orphanhood, Galé won a Mendoza contest at fifteen with Melodía de arrabal. Local work with Aníbal Apiolaza in 1945 and with Torcuato Wermuth in Córdoba in 1947 preceded his 1949 arrival in the capital, where he sang with guitars in cinema intermissions before entering the major orchestras.^[1][2]

Florindo Sassone and José Basso

As sole vocalist for Sassone in 1951 he recorded Testamento de arrabal on 30 May; with Jorge Casal he later cut sixteen sides each, ending with the 14 April 1953 session. Recommended by Oscar Ferrari, he moved to José Basso and immediately recorded Cuesta abajo and Patoteros on 9 December 1953, followed by further sides through 1955.^[1][4][5]

Carlos Di Sarli, later orchestras and final years

Joining Di Sarli’s rebuilt orchestra in the second half of 1955, Galé recorded Noche de locura on 3 February 1956 and Mala yerba later that month. Subsequent work with Roberto Caló (1957–58) and Francisco Canaro (1959) was interrupted by cardiac problems; economic pressure returned him to the road until his death from heart failure on 25 October 1972.^[1][3][6]

Voice and repertoire

Possessing a dark, powerful baritone, Galé left a compact but distinctive discography with Sassone, Basso and Di Sarli. Key titles include Testamento de arrabal, Trago amargo, Cuesta abajo, Doblando el codo, Noche de locura and Mala yerba; his friend Oscar Ferrari remembered him as an exceptionally loyal companion.^[1]