March 2000

EDMUNDO   WILLIAM   ROS

DATE OF BIRTH: December 7, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
EDUCATION:
  • Tranquillity Government School
  • Royal Academy of Music, London, England
  • CAREER:                                 Ros's father was of Venezuelan ancestry and his mother was a Trinidadian. He grew up in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, and was raised in an atmosphere of latin music after his family moved to Caracas, Venezuela, when he was a child. He entered the Venezuelan military and played reeds in the Army Band for four years. He later played kettle drum with the Venezuelan State Symphony Orchestra. After receiving a government music scholarship, he travelled to England in 1937 to study classical music at the Royal Academy of Music in London. However, he dropped out of school and played percussion with various bands before he formed his own six-piece rumba band in August 1940. With Ros singing and playing percussion, the band was an instant hit and began recording and playing at London's most elite clubs. In 1951, he purchased the famous Coconut Grove club and renamed it the Edmundo Ros Dinner and Supper Club. The popular club attracted members of the British royal family and shows were broadcast live by BBC radio from 1958 to 1961. He closed the club in 1965, retired from playing music in 1975, and moved to Spain.
    AWARDS:
    • 1992 - Trinidad & Tobago Public Service Medal of Merit Gold (for Culture)
    • 2000 - Order of the British Empire (OBE)
    DIED: October 21, 2011, in Alicante, Spain
    Compiled by Ronald C. Emrit