Los Shakers

In the mid-1960s a Uruguayan ensemble modeled on the Hard Day's Night-era Beatles actually materialized, and the Shakers—sometimes credited as Los Shakers on their releases—achieved notable success replicating the early Beatles' ringing guitar textures while composing the bulk of their songs with a solid command of British Invasion melody and vocal blend. Although their English lyrics often sounded awkward and non-idiomatic, their instrumental execution and overall sonic polish surpassed many authentic Liverpool combos; admirers of Beatles numbers such as "I Should Have Known Better" and "I'll Be Back" will recognize the appeal. The group drew large followings at home yet could not break through abroad, even though their 1966 album Break It All received an American release. Today collectors of 1960s recordings hold them in esteem, and much of their output circulates on reissues.

Until Alec Palao supplied extensive annotation for the 2000 Por Favor compact-disc reissue, even those reissues left the Shakers' history largely opaque. Brothers Hugo Fattoruso on lead guitar and keyboards and Osvaldo Fattoruso on rhythm guitar founded the band and penned most of its repertoire after the pair saw the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night. Throughout their existence the Shakers remained almost exclusively focused on the Beatles and showed little curiosity about other British Invasion acts. EMI/Odeon in Argentina signed them, and their debut single "Break It All" appeared in 1965. They quickly became stars in Uruguay and Argentina while also performing across additional South American nations.

The group never mounted a serious campaign for English-language territories and never performed in North America, yet the small New York imprint Audio Fidelity surprisingly put out the album Break It All domestically in early 1966. That LP largely comprised fresh recordings—strong ones—of tracks from their first Uruguayan album plus selected singles; because Hugo's voice was strained, Osvaldo took over several of his brother's lead vocals. Consequently the American version does not contain the original South American cuts, though Ace's Por Favor reissue gathers most of those early recordings.

Through 1968 the Shakers continued tracing the Beatles' trajectory, adding Revolver-style guitars and backwards tape techniques, then Magical Mystery Tour-style psychedelia, while occasionally incorporating native South American rhythms and forms. Despite the evident sources of inspiration, the songwriting, instrumental work, and harmonies stayed impressive on their third and final album, 1968's La Conferencia Secreta del Toto's Bar. Toward the close of the decade the Shakers disbanded. The Fattoruso brothers cut an Odeon album in 1969, spent several years in the United States collaborating with Airto Moreira, and subsequently formed the Latin rock outfit Opa. Drummer Caio Vila and bassist Pelin Capobianco, joined by two of Capobianco's brothers, released a 1971 album, and in 1981 the Fattoruso siblings participated in a reunion project credited to the Otroshakers.