Everything about Gardel justifies this incredible popularity. Its timbre, which was one of a kind, was superb, warm and velvet-smooth, closer to the baritone of an opera singer than a singer with no formal training, and always absolutely in tune. The man had a hitherto ...

Everything about Gardel justifies this incredible popularity. Its timbre, which was one of a kind, was superb, warm and velvet-smooth, closer to the baritone of an opera singer than a singer with no formal training, and always absolutely in tune. The man had a hitherto unheard of mastery of phrasing which enhanced the words he sang. His sense of interpretation, which liberated tango from being a mere dance, remains without equal. All of this raised Gardel to the status of a natural born singer.