Billo Frómeta
Luis María Frómeta Pereyra most known as Billo Frómeta (15 November 1915 – 5 May 1988) was a Dominican-Venezuelan orchestra conductor, arranger and composer. Billo's compositions achieve international fame, and those dedicated to Caracas, where he married several times and raised a family, made him the most beloved of composers. He always included Dominican Merengue and mangulinas in his recordings. Billo Frómeta with his group, Billo’s Caracas Boys. He was a great entertainer for Dominican musicians who visited Caracas such as Johnny Ventura and Wilfrido Vargas. Besides the merengue, the joropo was his great passion. Likewise, he was considered the most animated interpreter of Colombian cumbia, for which he was honored. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Santo Domingo (capital of the Dominican Republic), Died May 5, 1988 (Caracas (capital and largest city of Venezuela) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1939 - 1949
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, composer, arranger, songwriter, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 50 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | VE-5 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | Yo no puedo | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-6 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | Caña brava | Billo's Happy Boys ; Ñiñi Vásquez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-7 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | Mal pelao | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | VE-8 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | Siña Juanica | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | VE-9 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | No te retrates | Billo's Happy Boys ; Ñiñi Vásquez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-10 | 10-in. | before 9/7/1939 | La mulata caridá | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-11 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Maybá | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band, with vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-12 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Nadie | Billo's Happy Boys ; Negrito Chapuseaux | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-13 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Naufragio | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | VE-14 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | A que sabra tu boca? | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-15 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Cuando yo te quería | Billo's Happy Boys | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, composer | |
| Victor | VE-17 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Puchunguita | Billo's Happy Boys ; Negrito Chapuseaux | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-18 | 10-in. | before 9/8/1939 | Lo que quiero | Billo's Happy Boys ; Negrito Chapuseaux | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-80 | 10-in. | before 12/30/1941 | Las bellas noches de Maiquetía | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band | leader, arranger | |
| Victor | VE-82 | 10-in. | before 4/9/1942 | Dulces sonrisas | Rafa Galindo ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-84 | 10-in. | before 2/24/1942 | La cita | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-85 | 10-in. | before 12/30/1941 | Ojo pelao | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" ; Kuroky Sánchez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-100 | 10-in. | before 3/25/1942 | Ay cutiro! | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" ; Kuroky Sánchez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-148 | 10-in. | before 4/16/1945 | El caimán | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" ; Víctor Pérez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, arranger | |
| Victor | VE-149 | 10-in. | before 4/16/1945 | Despacio se va lejos | Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" ; Víctor Pérez | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, composer | |
| Victor | VE-204 | 10-in. | before 12/20/1946 | Como yo quiero | Marco Tulio Maristany ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | VE-205 | 10-in. | before 12/20/1946 | Desamor | Marco Tulio Maristany ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
| Victor | VE-207 | 10-in. | before 5/23/1947 | Arrepentida | Miguel Briceño ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
| Victor | VE-208 | 10-in. | before 5/23/1947 | Necesito una mujer | Manolo Monterrey ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, composer | |
| Victor | VE-210 | 10-in. | before 5/23/1947 | Don José | Manolo Monterrey ; Orquesta "Billo's Caracas Boys" | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Frómeta, Billo," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110708.
Frómeta, Billo. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110708.
"Frómeta, Billo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Frómeta, Billo - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98011975
Wikidata: Billo Frómeta - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q862910
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/26675944
MusicBrainz: Billo Frómeta - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8a8650d3-65a2-4eb1-93a8-5962025dbce7
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/410600 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/410600
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