LARRY KING LIVE (30 May 2004)  KING: Now welcome to LARRY KING LIVE. One of my favorite people coming to us from Miami, where else? Gloria Estefan. GLORIA ESTEFAN, ENTERTAINER: Hi, Larry. KING: How are you, Gloria? Her latest album is "Unwrapped." Plus there is a DVD live coming to it and it's called "Live and Unwrapped" and she opens her "Live and Rewrapped" tour in Texas at the end of July. What do we mean by "Unwrapped?" ESTEFAN: Well, I mean this album is pretty autobiographical. It took me quite a while. I had the luxury of time to write it. I wrote all of the lyrics, a lot of the music. I co-produced it. And I feel really good in my own skin now. I really wanted to share with the fans a lot more of me because after 23 albums, what more can you share with them and that's why it's very much "Unwrapped." KING: First all-English album in six years. ESTEFAN: That's right. It's been a while. We recorded some things in Spanish but I wanted that challenge. To be able to really communicate a lot of the things that I had lived and experienced and we tried to make this album almost like a musical photographic album of our life up until now. KING: You haven't toured in a while because of raising your daughter. ESTEFAN: That's right. Yeah. I wanted to take the time because I had that time with my son and we were about to tour in 2000. I had put together this whole show because we did a millennium show here in Miami. We actually inaugurated the American Airlines Arena and we were set to go but I thought to myself, you know, if I pull her out now and she doesn't get to have what every kid has, the nice normalcy(ph) every day. And for me, too, I really wanted to enjoy that with her and I did and I was able to take time for the family because that's the luxury of being able to do what you want to do. KING: How do you see your own role in the Latin Revolution in music? ESTEFAN: Oh my Gosh. KING: You were one of the forerunners, were you not? ESTEFAN: Well, you know, we got lucky there in the eighties. For a while there hadn't been too much other than, of course, the incredible Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano who paved the way as well. If you think back all the way to Desi Arnaz as well, in the fifties it was in every American household, on television, singing in Spanish and it wasn't a big deal and for a while there things got kind of muddled and lost and in the eighties we were fortunate enough to kick that door a little bit further open and I think that's happened with each artist that's come after us as well. KING: And then your husband in the Miami Sound Machine, right? ESTEFAN: That's right. They're still with the Miami Sound Machine. As a matter of fact, the Miami Sound Machine was(ph) Emilio. When I joined the band it was Miami Latin Boys in 1978 and I guess when I stuck around they realized it wasn't going to be just boys anymore so we thought about a name. We wanted to just call ourselves Miami but you can't really incorporate that because the city already has that name. So a small local label that we had signed to at the time put the Sound Machine on and it was really Emilio's concept and idea and we all joined his band. KING: Now you haven't toured. Do you miss audiences? ESTEFAN: You know what? I miss the connection that you make because your fans have almost like a type of marriage with you and when you don't nurture that relationship you do miss that. Touring is hard. It's really hard on the singer, especially, because your body is your instrument and you have to be so good, it's like boot camp out there, I can't do anything, just sleep, sing and be very healthy. So it's kind of hard to do but I have all my energy geared up. It's been quite a while since I've done it and I'm really looking forward to playing the new material, and of course, all the old hits for the fans. KING: Do you hope to some day perform in Cuba? ESTEFAN: That's my dream, Larry. You know I've told you. A free Cuba. That' would probably the only thing that I haven't done that would mean so much to me and it would be very emotional to be able to sing to a Cuban audience. I mean, there's Cubans everywhere. Everywhere I've gone. In Australia, oddly enough, there was a huge Cuban population and everywhere I go I feel their support, but I've sung to all kinds of nationalities in their own country except my own, and I really look forward to one day doing that. KING: Do you think it will happen? ESTEFAN: Of course. Of course it's going to happen. I just hope that I'm still young enough to be able to sing there when it does happen. You never know--that guy has been around for quite a while. Who knows? And he cloned himself. KING: You broke your back in 1990. I know your involvement in the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. We know about Nick Buoniconti's kid and everything. How is that doing? ESTEFAN: Actually, very exciting news. This week we announced officially and will be published, I believe, today in a very important medical journal that they've made an incredible advance. They've actually combining different types of therapies. They've been able to get back the motor operation of mice to 70 percent, and that's never been achieved, and they're very excited about this news. They know that it's just a matter of time now before they can go to human trials, and it was a very, very hopeful week in the Miami Project and I was part of that whole press conference, it was really fantastic. KING: Cover some other bases. Are you going to do a movie about Connie Francis? ESTEFAN: I sure hope to do that. I've been working for two years with Connie. We are closing in on a first draft and I would love to play her in the movie, as well. She's an amazing human being. She is a brilliant woman. Incredible sense of humor and I really feel she deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I'd love people to really get to know her and know her story. KING: She's not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ESTEFAN: No, she's not. Amazingly enough. She deserves to be there. She was the first female pop star all over the world. She sang in nine languages. She held the record for most singles sold for years and years until most recently. I think she still holds it worldwide. KING: Unbelievable. ESTEFAN: And she's an amazing woman. KING: Is there a difference when you perform in English to English-speaking audiences as opposed to Spanish to Spanish-speaking audiences? ESTEFAN: Well I tell you, it doesn't matter who the audience is because they really appreciate both languages. I know a lot of people that are English-speaking that have learned Spanish because they like my music and were interested and that's a beautiful thing. But there is a difference signing in English and Spanish. In Spanish, there is no such thing as being overly dramatic. There is no such thing as being too sweet in a love song. We can really express. There's a lot of words for emotions and you're supposed to let it all hang out. English is a little more concise and it's also more cerebral and intellectual of a language and I think love songs tend to be a little more contained. But I love being able to do both. KING: How big a tour is this going to be? It starts in July, Texas. How big? ESTEFAN: Well, we're doing 30 cities in the States and we're looking at the rest of the world right now trying to organize that, but I'm taking it one step at a time because I really don't want to go out for 16 months like I used to be for. I tell Emilio I didn't work this hard to work this hard, if you know what I mean. And I'm doing it in a very enjoyable way, I'm looking forward to getting out there to the fans, so it's pretty big. It's bigger than anything I've done in the last eight years, that's for sure. KING: And all the music is original? ESTEFAN: All original music and things that the fans have loved through the years. I've also got quite a few surprises for them. I asked my fans what they really wanted to see, songs that I had never performed, perhaps or what they'd like to see and a lot of them gave me some great ideas which I am going to incorporate into the show. KING: Are there nights you forget what city you're in? ESTEFAN: Most certainly. I always ask right before I go on, "What city are we in, again?" So you don't come out, you know, everybody's seen that old "Spinal Tap" movie. It happens, believe me, you get lost. KING: Has your voice stayed as strong as ever? ESTEFAN: It has. I just did some shows in Vegas, which if you make it through Vegas you can make it through anything. It's a desert and it's not meant for singers and I feel very strong. I did nine shows there and I was in great shape, so I'm raring to get out there. KING: Best of luck to you, dear. Always great seeing you. Go get 'em. ESTEFAN: Thank you so much. Thank you Larry. Thanks again. My love. KING: Same here. Gloria Estefan. The new album is "Unwrapped." The DVD is "Live and Unwrapped." The opening, her "Live and Rewrapped" tour is in Texas at the end of July. She's one of my favorite people. Gloria Estefan. More Larry King Live after this. |