[2] Upon meeting singer Leroy Gómez in Paris, the duo recruited him for the group's first record, "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", which debuted on the independent French label, Fauves Puma.
[3] Originally written in 1964 for Nina Simone, her version had failed to chart, and the song was picked up by British rock band the Animals the following year, to great success.
In late 1977, Santa Esmeralda scored a top 20 disco hit with a dance version of another song made famous by the Animals, "The House of the Rising Sun".
Don't Be Shy Tonight, Hush and Green Talisman marked the band's foray into experimentation with a wider variety of sounds including reggae.
In 2011, footage of the band's performance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, Chile, in 1979 was released on DVD by the European company Soul Collectors.