Daniel Melingo was born Daniel Alejandro Melingo on October 22, 1957, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in Balvanera and Parque Patricios. Trained in classical guitar and clarinet at the National Conservatory, he first became known in Argentine rock, playing with Los Abuelos de la Nada, co-founding Los Twist with Pipo Cipolatti, and working as a saxophonist with Charly García, including on Piano Bar (1984). After time in Spain, where he formed Lions in Love and recorded Lions in Love (1989) and Psicofonías (1994), Daniel Melingo returned to Buenos Aires and began a solo career with H2O (1996). He then reshaped himself as a tango singer, songwriter, and bandleader with Tangos Bajos (1998), followed by Ufa! (1999) and the compilation Santa Milonga (2004). His international profile grew through tours with Los Ramones del Tango and Maldito Tango (2007), which won a Premio Gardel in 2009 and earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Tango Album. Daniel Melingo continued developing his theatrical, lunfardo-heavy tango language on Corazón & Hueso (2011), Linyera (2014), Anda (2016), and Oasis (2020), the latter completing a trilogy begun with Linyera. In 2022, he released the anthology S’il Vous Plaît and presented Ópera Linyera in Buenos Aires. In his final years, he worked on a reimagining of Tangos Bajos with guests including Fito Páez, Andrés Calamaro, Pity Álvarez, Julieta Laso, Maxi Prietto, and Pablo Lescano. Daniel Melingo died in Buenos Aires on June 30, 2026, at age 68.
