Universal Music Latino
presents
Jose Feliciano
also available at your favorite record store
a fantastic holiday gift!
FREE FELICIANO VIDEO
Can be viewed with Wmp (windows player) courtesy of Universal Music
Just for Fun, watch the Jose Feliciano original performance of "Light My Fire" courtesy of
http://www.fantasticjosefeliciano.com
1 DVD featuring performances of
Light My Fire
Paso La Vida Pensando
Volvere Alguna Vez
La Balada del Pianista
Start Me Up
Twist and Shout
Samba Pa Ti
Ay Cariño
Que Sera
Me Enamore
Quiero Estar A Tu Lado
plus
a special CELIA CRUZ BONUS VIDEO
1 CD Featuring 18 Hit Songs including
Grammy
winning hits
10. En Aranjuez Con Tu
Amor
other DVD's available from Ragga Force®
About the Artist
He was here before Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin. He was even
here before Gloria Estefan.
Regarded by many in the music industry as the original crossover
artist from the Spanish-language music circles to a predominantly
English-speaking pop audience, Puerto Rican-born singer/guitarist
Jose Feliciano emerged on the American music scene back in the
1960s, three decades before the recent Latin pop explosion into
mainstream America.
Feliciano topped the charts with, among others, a 1968 cover of
the Doors' "Light My Fire," a 1968 version of Tommy
Tucker's "Hi Heel Sneakers," and the 1989 Spanish and
English Christmas tune, "Feliz Navidad." Feliciano,
whose music is described as soft rock, folk-rock and tropical,
is one of the most prominent Latin-born performers of the pop
era.
He was born in 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico, with congenital glaucoma,
which left him permanently blind at birth. However, this did not
prevent young Feliciano's love affair with music. At the age of
three, he first accompanied his uncle, who played the cuatro (a
traditional Puerto Rican instrument that sounds like a mandolin),
on a tin cracker can. When he and his family moved to New York
City's Spanish Harlem during the early 1950s, Feliciano taught
himself the accordion at age six and later learned to play guitar,
also on his own. The inspiration to add vocals to his music was
largely rooted in his exposure to the rock and roll culture of
the 1950s.
Feliciano's first public performance was as a nine-year-old at
the Puerto Rican theatre in the Bronx. At age 17, he quit school
to help provide for his family while his father was not working.
He became a regular on the Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit.
Soon thereafter, Feliciano accepted a permanent gig in Detroit.
After a performance at New York's Gerde's Folk City, he signed
a contract with RCA. He soon appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival,
and in 1964, he released a single titled, "Everybody Do the
Click." His debut album, The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano,
carried traces of flamenco. Early the next year, Feliciano released
The Fantastic Feliciano.
After the 1966 release of his third album, A Bag Full of Soul,
Feliciano became dissatisfied with the direction his music was
heading. Deciding to return to his roots, he released three consecutive
Spanish-language albums on RCA International. The Latin pop charts
welcomed his singles, such as "La Copa Rota" and "Amor
Gitana." After Feliciano was truly launched into mainstream
pop stardom in 1968, with "Light My Fire" and "Hi
Heel Sneakers," he performed the national anthem at the World
Series that year. Although his distinctive Latin-jazz rendition
of the song was highly controversial among traditionalists and
nationalists, he remained a heroic facet of the counterculture.
In 1969, Feliciano recorded three albums and won a Grammy -- one
of his six to date -- for Best New Artist. After that however,
his only hit on the charts has been the theme song to the television
sitcom, Chico and the Man, in 1974. Feliciano continued to tour
annually during the 1970s and released several albums in both
Spanish and English. Also, he appeared as a guest on numerous
television series, including Kung Fu and McMillan and Wife. Although
his recorded output decreased during the next decade, Feliciano
released several albums during the 1980s, such as I'm Never Gonna
Change.
In addition to achieving more than 40 gold and platinum albums,
Feliciano has received numerous awards during his career. In 1987,
he became the 1,861st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1996,
Billboard magazine honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1998, Feliciano's hands were cast for the Wall of Fame at Madam
Tussaud's in London. But Feliciano is not just about awards and
pop hits. His symphonic pursuits are lesser known, but he has
written classical symphonic pieces that
have been performed by major orchestras.
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