Beginning her career in 1975 as lead vocalist for the then exclusively Spanish-language band, Miami Sound Machine, before crossing over to mainstream pop success with the international hit singles "Dr. Beat" (1984) and "Conga" (1986), Estefan emerged as one of the biggest new stars in the mid-'80s, predating the still nascent Latin pop explosion by a decade, and scoring a series of propulsive dance hits rooted in the rhythms of her native Cuba, before shifting her focus to softer, more ballad-oriented fare.
Born in Havana, Cuba, the young Gloria Fajardo was raised primarily in Miami, FL, after her father, a bodyguard of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista, was forced to flee the island following the 1959 coup helmed by Fidel Castro. In the fall of 1975, Fajardo and her cousin Merci Murciano auditioned for the Miami Latin Boys, a local wedding band headed by keyboardist Emilio Estefan. With their addition, the group was rechristened Miami Sound Machine and four years later, Fajardo and Estefan were wed. As Miami Sound Machine began composing their own original material, their fusion of pop, disco, and salsa earned a devoted local following, and in 1979 the group issued their first Spanish-language LP on CBS International. Despite a growing Hispanic fan base, they did not cross over to non-Latin audiences until "Dr. Beat" topped European dance charts in 1984.
With 1985's Primitive Love, Miami Sound Machine recorded their first English-language effort, scoring three Top Ten pop hits in the U.S. alone with the infectious "Conga", "Bad Boy", and "Words Get in the Way". Following 1987's triple-platinum Let It Loose, Estefan took top billing and the group changed its name to Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine in 1988, reeling off four Top Ten hits - "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Can't Stay Away from You", the chart-topping "Anything for You", and "1-2-3". 1989's Cuts Both Ways was credited to Estefan alone and generated her second #1 hit, "Don't Wanna Lose You". However, on March 20, 1990, while touring in support of the album, her bus was struck by a tractor trailer. Estefan suffered a broken vertebra that required extensive surgery and kept her off the road for over a year. Her husband Emilio and the couple's son were injured in the crash as well, but all three recovered. Estefan resurfaced in 1991 with Into the Light, again topping the charts with "Coming Out of the Dark", a single inspired by her near-fatal accident. Two more cuts from the album, "Can't Forget You" and "Live for Loving You", secured her foothold on the adult contemporary charts.
With 1993's Mi Tierra, Estefan returned to her roots, recording her first Spanish-language record in nearly a decade and earning a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album; on the follow-up 1994 covers collection, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, she also recalled her dance-pop origins with a rendition of the Vicki Sue Robinson disco classic, "Turn the Beat Around". Another all-Spanish effort, Abriendo Puertas (1995), earned her a Grammy as well, while Destiny featured "Reach", named the official theme of the 1996 Summer Olympics. As Latin pop made new commercial headway, thanks to the efforts of acts like Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Estefan reigned as the most successful crossover artist in Latin music history, with international record sales close to the 50 million mark. In 1999, she also made her feature film debut alongside Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart, recording the film's title song as a duet with *NSYNC, and scoring both a massive pop hit and an Oscar nomination in the process. A new Spanish-language album, Alma Caribeña, followed in the spring of 2000. Several months later, Estefan was awarded a Grammy for Best Music Video for "No Me Dehes de Querer" at the inaugural annual Latin Grammy Awards. Her husband, Emilio, won for Producer of the Year. - Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Appearances and tours
In April 2004, Estefan appeared on the Fox Broadcasting Company’s program, American Idol, but declined an offer to be an official judge, saying she did not like to “judge” others.
On July 28, 2004, in a press conference hosted by Donald Trump at the Trump Tower, Estefan announced that her then-upcoming tour would be her final one. The Live and Re-Wrapped Summer/Fall 2004 Tour, her first tour in eight years was produced by Clear Channel Entertainment. The tour featured Estefan’s greatest hits, along with new material from Unwrapped.
In December 2006, Estefan appeared as a special guest singer on the UK talent show The X Factor.
Gloria's 11th studio album,Miss Little Havana. The Miss Little Havana Songfacts says that the first nine tracks tells the tale of a young girl who hooks up with the wrong guy in Miami after moving there from Cuba. All of these tracks were written or co-written by Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes. It is described by Estefan as a project in the vein of her 1998 hit album gloria!.
Songfacts reports that "Hotel Nacional" debuted at #1 on Billboard's Latin countdown - the first time a female artist had achieved that feat since the chart was introduced in 1986. Both "Wepa" and "Hotel Nacional" achieved number one on Billboard Latin Songs and on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs.
Estefan started a reality show called The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep opposite Joe Jonas, Nelly and John Rich on the CW Network, where she, and the other three mentors are searched for the next big star, to record an album with Atlantic Records. Unlike other music reality shows, in this program, the mentors selected the "candidates" for the show, and trained them for a live performance, where they'd be voted for the best act of the day. The first season ended in October 2012, with musician Michael Ray, as the big finalist.
This same year, Estefan appeared as a musical guest in Tony Bennett's compilation of duets with Latin-American musicians, Viva Duets with a rendition of the song, "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)". Weeks later, she helped the American version of Teleton, releasing the charity single "Por Un Mundo Mejor" along with Mexican singer Lucero, Dominican rapper El Cata and Mexican pop band, Reik. A video for the song was shot, with them recording the song, which was marked as the official hymn for the foundation.
In May 2013, she appears doing another duet with the song "Think I'm In Love Again" as part of the albums Duets released by Paul Anka.
Estefan has announced she was working on a new album of covers, The Standards, released in September 2013. The album will feature some collaborations with artists like Laura Pausini, Dave Koz and Joshua Bell, and the selection of songs are mostly songs from the Great American songbook. Estefan released the first single, "How Long Has This Been Going On?", digitally on Amazon and iTunes on July 9, 2013
Official website: http://www.gloriaestefan.com
Path Of The Right Love
Gloria Estefan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Say the word so very loosely
We come from is love, love, pure love
And we're on our way back home
And on that way, you never look back
'Cause there's nothing there to see
Just look around you
Of maybe just kindness
As we watch each other bleed
From wounds we choose
We never lose
Love, love, love, love, love
Misunderstood yet so desired
We pay the cost for love, love, real love
But we get back so much more, so much more
So many questions
Beginning to unfold
I look for the answers
In the middle of my soul
I know you're out there
And it's not like I've been told
So I run to you
I run to you
To find the path of the right love
Oh yeah, path of the right love
We're on the path of the one love
Oh yeah (oh woh, woh) path of the right love
Love, love, love, love, love
All around yet so elusive
If we don't reach out for love, love, this love
We're all just wasting time, precious time
When in the long run
What's meant to be will be
Those things we ask for
Become our destiny
But while we're living
Our souls can not be free
Eventually, we will come to see
To find the path of the right love, right love, right love, love, love
Oh yeah, path of the right love
We're on the path of the one love, oh yeah, yeah, yeah
Path of the right love
And that love, love, love, true love
Must surely be good, must surely be kind
And that love sweet love, strong love
Is meant to be yours, is meant to be mine
And I do believe if we share this life
We must learn to share all it's pain and strife
For the path of the right love (right love, right love, right love, oh, oh-woh-oh)
Oh yeah, path of the right love
We're on the path of the one love, oh-woh-woh, woh
Oh yeah, path of the right love
To find the path of the right love, oh-woh-woh-woh-yeah
Oh yeah, path of the right love
Oh-la-ja-oh
We're on the path of the one love, one love, one love
Oh yeah, path of the right love
To find the path of the right love
(To find the path of the right love, to find the path of the right love)
Oh yeah, path of the right love
(Oh, yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
We're on the path of the one love (all on the path of the one love)
Oh yeah, path of the right love
Aspire to your inevitable bliss
And every grace will be given you
The lyrics of Gloria Estefan's song Path Of The Right Love talk about the importance of love in our lives and how we find our way back to it. The song emphasizes that love is our origin and where we come from, it is the purest form of love. On our way back home, we should not look back as there is nothing to see, but we should look around and help those who are in need. We often misunderstand love, but it is something that we desire and for which we pay a cost. However, we get back so much more from love.
The song highlights that there are many questions that we seek answers to, but we should look for them within ourselves, in the middle of our soul. The path of the right love is one that we must find to live a fulfilled life, and it involves sharing all the pain and strife that comes with it. The lyrics encourage us to aspire to our inevitable bliss and understand that every grace will be given to us. Ultimately, we must find the path of the one love, which is meant to be shared and experienced by all.
Line by Line Meaning
Love, love, love, love, love
Love is repeated over and over because it is important and something we should always strive for.
Say the word so very losely
Love should be easy to say and express.
Where we come from is love, love, pure love
We are born from love and pure love surrounds us.
And we're on our way back home
We are always in pursuit of love, which is our true home.
And on that way, you never look back
Don't dwell on the past, keep moving forward on the path of love.
'Cause there's nothing there to see
The past is irrelevant, it cannot be undone.
Just look around you
Be aware of your surroundings.
There's always someone that's in need
There are always people who need love and compassion.
Of Maybe just kindness
Sometimes all someone needs is a little bit of kindness.
As we watch each other bleed
We should always be there for each other, even in difficult times.
From wounds we choose
Sometimes we cause our own wounds.
We never lose
We learn from our mistakes and grow from them.
Misunderstood yet so desired
Love is often misunderstood, but something we all desire.
We pay the cost for love, love, real love
Love can be expensive or come at a price, but it is worth it for real love.
But we get back so much more, so much more
The rewards of love are immeasurable and worth more than what we put in.
So many questions
Life and love can bring up many questions.
Beginning to unfold
Answers are starting to reveal themselves.
I look for the answers
We seek answers to help us on our journey.
In the middle of my soul
The answers to life's questions come from within.
I know you're out there
There is someone out there for us all.
And it's not like I've been told
We don't always know what love will bring or how it will come.
So I run to you
We actively search for love and run towards it.
To find the path of the right love
We search for the right path and the right kind of love.
Oh yeah the path of the right love
This path is the one we should strive for.
We're on the path of the one love
We are all on a path towards love.
All around yet so elusive
Love is all around us, but sometimes hard to grasp.
If we don't reach out for love, love, this love
If we don't actively seek love, we may never find it.
We're all just wasting time, precious time
Without love, life is meaningless and time is wasted.
When in the long run
In the end,
What's meant to be will be
All things will work out the way they are meant to.
Those things we ask for
Things we desire
Become our destiny
Will become our fate or what we were meant to receive.
But while we're living
While we are still alive
Our souls can not be free
Our souls cannot be truly free without love.
Eventually, we will come to see
In the end, we will understand
To find the path of the right love, right love, right love
We search for the right kind of love.
Must surely be good, must surely be kind
True love is always good and kind.
And that love sweet love, strong love
Real love is sweet and strong.
Is meant to be yours, is meant to be mine
Love is meant to be shared by all.
And I do believe if we share this life
If we share our lives with those we love,
We must learn to share all it's pain and strife
We must be willing to share both the good and the bad times in life.
Aspire to your inevitable bliss
We should always strive to achieve our ultimate happiness.
And every grace will be given you
In doing so, we will be blessed with graces and love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gloria Estefan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind