Menudo was founded by Puerto Rican producer Edgardo Díaz on November 25, 1977.
In the late 1970's the group released several moderately successful albums including "Fuego", which yielded hits "Ella A-A", "Fuego" and "A Bailar!".
In 1981 the album "Quiero Ser" launched the group, now René Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbiá, Miguel Cancel, and remaining original member Ricky Melendez, into stardom. It included hit songs like "Quiero Ser", "Súbete A Mi Moto", "Rock En La TV", "Claridad", and "Mi Banda Toca Rock".
Menudo became very popular throughout Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, including Brazil. They had a fan base in Spain and the rest of Europe. They also became the first ever boy band that had its own private jet with Menudo's name emblazoned on both sides of the fuselage.
They were so popular that they starred in their own feature films: "Menudo: La Pelicula", and "Una Aventura Llamada Menudo".
During their first visit to New York in early 1983 Ray Reyes
replaced Xavier Serbiá. Their American fanbase grew, especially among the young, as evidenced by "Menudo on ABC", a series of 4 minute music spots that aired during the Fall 1983 season of the American Broadcasting Company's youth oriented Saturday morning programming block. Menudo signed a 6 year multimillion dollar contract with RCA International and released their Spanish album "A Todo Rock".
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In 1983 Meundo performed on "Live And In Person", a three night NBC Variety Special that included Dolly Parton, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Liberace, and many other major acts. Menudo was a presenter at the Grammys, handing the award to Michael Jackson for his smash album "Thriller".
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In 1984 Robi Rosa replaced Johnny Lozada just in time for Menudo to release their first English language album "Reaching Out", which featured the theme track "Like a Cannonball" for the Burt Reynold's star studded film "Cannonball Run 2". They also released their first Portuguese album "Mania". During the first half of 1984 Menudo toured the United States and Brazil.
Menudo's popularity reached parts of Asia including Japan and the Philippines, and the group made English language commercials for Pepsi, Scope, McDonald's, and Crest. They also made a guest appearance on the popular American children's program "Sesame Street". Other television appearances in the United States included "The Love Boat", "The Merv Griffin Show", and "Solid Gold".
In January 1987 Ralphy Rodriguez replaced Charlie. At this point the group underwent a complete image makeover, changing their look to a rougher, more rugged, rock-like look. Their music, formerly described as bubblegum pop, underwent a similar change. They released the Spanish album "Somos Los Hijos del Rock", followed by an English Tagalog album for the Philippines titled "In Action" with Ralphy and Rubén.
In 2004 former Menudo members Roy, Raymond, Rubén, Sergio and Andy reunited under the name and banner: Menudo: La Reunion. In 2006 former Menudo: La Reunion
members Anthony and Rubén reunited and formed the duo Blacksheep and continued touring in Brazil. To date the duo has grown a large fan base in both Brazil and Hispanic America.
Among Menudo's achievements are four sold out concerts at the Madison Square Garden in 1983, and record breaking concerts in Brazil with an audience of 200,000 in Sao Paulo
and 100,000 in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.
Menudo holds the Guinness record for largest audience in a concert, 200 thousand people at Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo in 1984/
Menuditis, a former Menudo merchandise store located in New York, continues online - http://www.menuditis.com/
Original lineup (1977–1979):
Nefty Sallaberry
Carlos Meléndez
Fernando Sallaberry
Óscar Meléndez
Ricky Meléndez
Others (from 1979 until disbandment in 1997)
René Farrait
Johnny Lozada
Xavier Serbiá
Miguel Cancel
Charlie Massó
Ray Reyes
Roy Rosselló
Robby Rosa
Ricky Martin
Raymond Acevedo
Sergio (Gonzalez) Blass
Ralphy Rodríguez
Rubén Gómez
Angelo García
Robert Avellanet
Rawy Torres
César Abreu
Adrián Olivares
Edward Aguilera
Jonathan Montenegro
Alexis Grullón
Ashley Ruiz
Andy Blázquez
Abel Talamántez
Ricky López
Anthony Galindo
Didier Hernández
Daniel René Weider
Over two dozen albums including............
Menudo appeared in thousands of Magazines all over the world including............
List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations
Rank City Percent Hispanic
1 Laredo, Texas 94.2
2 Brownsville, Texas 92.5
3 McAllen, Texas 81.3
4 El Paso, Texas 80.0
5 Santa Ana, California 79.0 (Chula Vista Show)
6 Salinas, California 72.0 (San Francisco Show)
7 Pomona, California 71.3 (Los Angeles Show)
8 Downey, California 70.4 (Los Angeles Show)
9 Oxnard, California 70.1
10 Miami, Florida 69.4
11 El Monte, California 68.6 (Los Angeles Show)
12 Norwalk, California 68.4 (Los Angeles Show)
13 Ontario, California 64.3 (Los Angeles Show)
14 Fontana, California 63.1 (Los Angeles Show)
15 San Antonio, Texas 61.2
16 Pasadena, Texas 59.2
17 Corpus Christi, Texas 58.1
18 Elizabeth, New Jersey 56.7
19 San Bernardino, California 56.6 (Los Angeles)
20 Chula Vista, California 55.6
21 Paterson, New Jersey 55.1
22 Moreno Valley, California 52.5 (Los Angeles Show)
23 West Covina, California 52.5 (Los Angeles Show)
24 Anaheim, California 52.4 (Los Angeles Show)
25 Palmdale, California 52.4 (Los Angeles Show)
26 Inglewood, California 49.2 (Los Angeles Show)
27 Odessa, Texas 49.2
28 Los Angeles, California 48.4
29 Riverside, California 47.8 (Los Angeles Show)
30 Pueblo, Colorado 45.9
31 Victorville, California 45.7 (Los Angeles Show)
32 Escondido, California 45.1 (Chula Vista Show)
33 Fresno, California 44.6 (Visalia Show)
34 Albuquerque, New Mexico 44.0
35 Elgin, Illinois 43.6 (Chicago Show)
36 Dallas, Texas 43.1
37 Bakersfield, California 42.2 (Visalia Show)
38 Phoenix, Arizona 42.1
39 Houston, Texas 41.9
40 Irving, Texas 41.8
41 Hartford, Connecticut 41.4
42 Aurora, Illinois 41.3 (Chicago Show)
43 Corona, California 40.9
44 Visalia, California 40.6
45 Long Beach, California 40.2 (Los Angeles Show)
46 Grand Prairie, Texas 40.2
47 Tucson, Arizona 39.5 (Phoenix Show)
48 Garden Grove, California 39.0
49 Providence, Rhode Island 37.6
50 Hayward, California 37.6 (San Francisco Show)
51 Orange, California 37.5
52 Garland, Texas 37.3
53 North Las Vegas, Nevada 37.2
54 Pembroke Pines, Florida 37.2
55 Stockton, California 37.0 (San Francisco Show)
56 Miramar, Florida 36.6
57 Lancaster, California 36.5 (Los Angeles Show)
58 Allentown, Pennsylvania 36.2
59 Glendale, Arizona 36.1 (Phoenix Show)
60 Midland, Texas 35.4
61 Austin, Texas 35.0
62 Richmond, California 34.9 (San Francisco Show)
63 Springfield, Massachusetts 34.8
64 Modesto, California 34.4 (San Francisco Show)
65 Denver, Colorado 34.1 (Pueblo Show)
66 Costa Mesa, California 34.0
67 Fort Worth, Texas 33.8
68 Pasadena, California 33.5 (Los Angeles Show)
69 Oceanside, California 33.5
70 Bridgeport, Connecticut 33.3
71 Fullerton, California 33.0
72 Menifee, California 33.0
73 Rancho Cucamonga, California 32.5 (Los Angeles)
74 Newark, New Jersey 31.9
75 San Buenaventura, California 31.7
76 San Jose, California 31.5 (San Francisco Show)
77 Lubbock, Texas 30.6
78 Las Vegas, Nevada 30.0
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_large_Hispanic_populations
