Gerardo (musician)

Gerardo
Gerardo performing at Eleva, a conference founded by Jeff Tolle.
Background information
Birth name	Gerardo Mejía
Born	(1965-04-16) April 16, 1965 (age 56) Guayaquil, Ecuador
Genres	Pop hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Interscope Records (1990–present) Randy's Records (1991–1992)

Gerardo Mejía (born April 16, 1965^[1]), better known by his mononym Gerardo, is an Ecuadorian-American rapper, singer and actor who later became a recording industry executive, and more recently a pastor. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he moved with his family to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Gerardo became known for his bandana, skintight jeans, locking, and shirtless torso. He sometimes refers to himself as the "Latin Elvis", the "Latin Frank Sinatra", or the "Latin Tony Small Hands Zuzio".^[2]

Career[]

Gerardo's first major appearance in show business was as Ricky in the 1987 feature film Can't Buy Me Love.^[3] He was later cast as the character Bird in the 1988 film Colors, about South Central Los Angeles gang violence. This was also the first time his dance skills were showcased, in one of the party scenes; however, he did not sing at any point in the film.

His hit single "Rico Suave" appeared on his 1991 debut album, Mo' Ritmo. The album peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 chart in June 1991; the single had peaked at No. 7 in April. This song, as well as some others of Gerardo's, include verses with lines in both English and Spanish. Although his following single "We Want the Funk" (a semi-remake of Parliament's "Give Up the Funk") peaked at No. 16,^[4] the popularity of "Rico Suave" has made Gerardo known as a one-hit wonder via sources including MTV, VH1,^[5] Synthesis Magazine^[6] and even Gerardo himself.^[5]

Now an A&R executive at Interscope Records, Gerardo was responsible for bringing Enrique Iglesias to the attention of Interscope Label Executives in early 1999. He also signed rapper Bubba Sparxxx.^[2] More recently, in a 2013 appearance on Katie Couric's show Katie, Gerardo discussed his newest life focus as a Christian youth pastor. He was ordained as a pastor at Praise Chapel in Kansas City and now pastors a church House of Grace in Ashland, Kentucky. ^[7]

Personal life[]

Gerardo is married to Kathy Eicher, a former beauty queen who was Miss West Virginia USA 1989, and they have three children: Nadia, Bianca and Jaden. Nadia went on to compete in beauty pageants like her mother and won the title of Miss California USA 2016. ^[8] They also have a granddaughter, Lily. ^[9]

Discography[]

Albums[]

Singles[]

• "Rico Suave" (1991; No. 7 US Billboard Hot 100),^[4] No. 87 in Australia.^[11]
• "We Want the Funk" (1991; No. 16 US Billboard Hot 100)^[4]
• "When the Lights Go Out" (1991; No. 98 US Billboard Hot 100)^[4]
• "Latin Till I Die (Oye Como Va)" (1991)
• "Love" (1992)
• "Maria Elisa" (1994)^[10]
• "Ae-Ah" (featuring The Outhere Brothers) (1998)
• "Americana" (2004)

Filmography[]

References[]

External links[]

• Gerardo at IMDb