Menudo

Artist: Menudo

LP: 7" single

Song: "Motorcycle Dreamer" 
[ listen ]

I'm clearing the riff-raff out of my record collection again. Obviously. The novelty of Menudo, a Puerto Rican boy band whose members were expelled on their 16th birthday, is hard to resist, I admit. But the music itself is some of the absolute worst you'll probably ever hear. "Motorcycle dreamer, jump on, 1-2-3, come-a riding with meeeeee. Motorcycle dreamer, let's take off and see how it feels to be freeeeee." Ugh. I don't think these kids are even old enough to drive. 

To be honest, it's hard for me to really tell how much of my abhorrence of Menudo stems from their banal lyrics and "Up With People" delivery, and how much is simply due to my resentment that, as a young teen in the early 1980s, I was never invited to join the group.

Artist: Menudo

LP: 7" single

Song: "If You're Not Here (By My Side)" 
[ listen ]

And now, of course, the ballad. Here's a list of some of the insipid rhymes you'll find within: "Why haven't you come to say goodbye / I'm so lost without you I could die." "Don't think I can take it / I know I won't make it." "There's no sense in dreamin' / My life has no meanin'." Ugh.

Artist: Menudo

LP: 7" single

Song: "Like a Cannonball" 
[ listen ]

This track from the movie CANNONBALL RUN 2 is probably the least abysmal of my trio of Menudo singles from 1984. That said, it does include some real zingers: "I gave you a license to drive me up the wall / I look at you and feel the thunder, ooo it hits me like a cannonball."

You can read all about Menudo and their myriad lineup changes on Wikipedia here, where casual reference is made to the 1991 Menudo sex scandal, with no further details provided! I did find details here though, and it's pretty disturbing. Now I almost feel bad about making fun of their terrible music. Almost.

[ Menudo, circa 1984 ]

Di Marie

Artist: Di Marie

LP: ¡¡Preciosa!!

Song: "El Libro de Mi Vida"

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Lately I've been feeling like el libro de mi vida could really use more interesting chapter headings, ya know? Not to be confused with the functional and fashionable LA-based ladies' denim line (with a huge photo of downtown Chicago on their website), this Di Marie was born in Puerto Rico, was originally named María Dolores Pérez, and she released this terrific LP on Columbia Records in early 1963. Aside from the LP liner notes included below, there's not much information available about this lovely singer whose voice simply throbs with Latin emotion. What we do know is this: the release of ¡¡Preciosa!! earned her a notice for International Special Merit in the January 19, 1963 issue of Billboard magazine!

 [ Shazam! ]

Wilkins

Artist: Wilkins

LP: Wilkins

Song: "Bella Sin Alma"

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Song: "No, No Le Digas Siempre No"

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This self-titled 1975 LP by Puerto Rican superstar Wilkins (aka. Wilkins Vélez, aka. German Wilkins Vélez) is the other of the two records I found at the Sunday outdoor flea market in Columbus, Ohio during my road trip last summer. I just recently discovered that Wilkins' "Bella Sin Alma" is actually a Spanish-language version of "I Was Waiting For You," one of my favorite songs on this Richard Cocciante album. You can listen to Richard's version on this mix tape I put together a few years ago. Anyway, back to Wilkins: Click here to read more about the handsome Latin cantador con un afro mágico de la luz, and visit the official Wilkins website here, where you can read his extended biography, find his full discography, and buy some of his wine.

Cha Cha, Anyone?

LP: Cha Cha, Anyone?

Artist: Paquitin Lara and His Latin American Orchestra

Song: "Cha Cha Me Baby"

[ listen ]

Artist: Ramon and His Orchestra

Song: "Cuidado Con La Mano"

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Here's a bit of cha-cha-cha from two Latin masters circa 1959—Paquitin Lara, featured on the first side of the record, and Ramon and His Orchestra, featured on side two. My sister and I learned the basic steps of the cha-cha in our dance class at Brigham Young University back in 1991, but even when observing qualified professionals we never saw anyone do the cha-cha while sitting on the floor.

Los Diplomáticos

Artist: Los Diplomáticos

LP: 7" single

Song: "Blanca Navidad (White Christmas)"

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Song: "Trulla Navideña"

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Here are some tracks from a neat Puerto Rican Christmas record I found at Rooky Ricardo's Records in San Francisco when I was there for my friend's wedding back in March. I'm pretty sure that woman on the cover is about to magically pull three French hens out of that box she's holding.

Johnny Pacheco/Charlie Palmieri/Jose Fajardo

LP: Las Charangas: Pacheco, Palmieri, Fajardo

Artist: Johnny Pacheco y su Charanga

Song: "Verano de Amor"

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Artist: Charlie Palmieri y su Charanga

Song: "Lloraras"

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Artist: Jose Fajardo y su Charanga

Song: "El Silver Star"

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I thought the Charanga was a sandwich until I found this terrific 1963 Alegre Records compilation at Rooky Ricardo's Records on my trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. The record features three Latin bandleaders who spearheaded the Pachanga dance craze in New York in the early 1960s. Johnny Pacheco, from the Dominican Republic, actually played with Charlie Palmieri's Latin orchestra before forming his own band in 1959. His was the first Latin band to headline at The Apollo, in 1962, and then in 1964 Pacheco created the Fania Records label with lawyer Jerry Masucci. You can read more about Johnny Pacheco here, and visit his official website here to find out what he's up to nowadays and to see where you can catch his next performance. Charlie Palmieri, known as "The Giant of the Keyboards," was born in the South Bronx in 1927 after his parents immigrated to the USA from Puerto Rico in 1926. Palmieri started playing piano by ear at an early age and was a member of Tito Puente's band by the time he was 20. Palmieri played with Puente's group from 1947-1953 after which he continued performing on his own and with artists like Celia Cruz, Herbie Mann, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaría and others until his death from a heart attack in 1988. Cuban flutist Jose Fajardo worked as a policeman in Havana before taking over flute duties from Antonio Arcaño of Arcaño y sus Maravillas in the late 1940s. After forming his own group, Fajardo y sus Estrellas, by the end of that decade, Fajardo's music took him around the globe during the 1950s. He was touring Japan in 1961 when Fidel Castro's government ordered him to steer his tour into Communist territories. Fajardo refused and settled in the United States rather than returning to Cuba. He continued to perform in New York City and Puerto Rico until his death from an aneurysm in 2001. You can read more about Jose Fajardo in his New York Times obituary here. The LP liner notes, written by Tom Rosado, are included below; LP cover art is by Abel G. Navarro and the record was produced by Al Santiago.

[ Johnny Pacheco, b. March 24, 1935 ]

 [ Charlie Palmieri: November 21, 1927 — September 12, 1988 ]

[ Jose Fajardo: 1919 — December 11, 2001 ]

Emilia Conde

 

Artist: Emilia Conde

LP: My Latin Mood

Song: "No Puedo Olvidar (Strangers In the Night)"

[ listen ]

Song: "Campanitas De Cristal"

[ listen ]

When I posted some tracks by Puerto Rican singer Emilia Conde last year, several of her relatives left comments saying what a wonderful person she was and how much they've all missed her since she passed away back in February of 1998. I only wish I'd had the chance to know her too. If anyone has more info about Emilia Conde (when and where was she born?) or maybe some nice stories or anecdotes, I'd love to hear them! In the meantime, here are a few more songs by the wonderful singer, this time from her very first LP, "My Latin Mood." English and Spanish liner notes included below, along with a neat photo taken from the back of the record.

   

  

Noro Morales & His Orchestra

Artist: Noro Morales & His Orchestra

LP: Latin Rhythms For Dancing [7" EP]

Song: "Rhumba Fantasy"
[ listen ]

Here's one from Puerto Rican pianist/bandleader Noro Morrales, who you can read about on All About Jazz here. The good news: this 4-track 7" EP is on beautiful red vinyl! The bad news: there's a little warp toward the end of the track, so I had to put a dime on the needle to keep it from skipping. You can still hear it bumping a little when the needle hits the warp. I had to post it anyhow since Noro Morales has one of the sexiest mugs in the history of show business. Look at those lips!

[ Noro Morales' Lips: January 4, 1911 — January 14, 1964 ]

Lissette

Artist: Lissette

LP: Hablame De El

Song: "Todas Las Mañanas"
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Cuban singer Lissette Álvarez was born in Lima, Peru during her TV celebrity parents' South American tour. After a spell in the USA with her sister, Lissette ended up in Puerto Rico, where she went on to become one of the island's most popular singing sensations. You can read about Lissette in English here, then in Spanish here—where you'll also find her complete discography, more photos and a place where you can write to say hello—and then you can watch Lissette's dynamic music video for her 1985 Spanish-language version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" right here.

Felipe Rodríguez

Artist: Felipe Rodríguez

LP: Insaciable

Song: "Alma"[ listen ]

Commonly known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, Felipe was the most popular male singer in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. You can read about his life and career here and watch a wonderful video clip here where "The Voz" performs "Sigue Lloviendo" with a smart-looking trio while an elderly gentleman resembling Albert Finney in the late 1980s looks on.

[ Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez: May 8, 1926 — May 26, 1999 ]

Emilia Conde

Artist: Emilia Conde

LP: In a Pop Mood / In a Latin Mood

Song: "Where, When & How"
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Song: "Mi Calle Triste"
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Here are a couple tunes (one in the pop mood, one in the Latin) from a wonderful 1970 Emilia Conde record I picked up for $3 in NYC's East Village on Monday. Sadly, there's very little info on Ms. Conde on the web—ie. nothing on Wikipedia, Google turns up no images, etc.—which is surprising, considering her resume outlined in the LP's liner notes and the fact that the Puerto Rican Cultural Association presents an "Emilia Conde Award" to an outstanding young artist every year. I did find an autographed copy of this same LP available for $10 here, if anyone's interested. I'd say it's worth it just to experience the "sense of discovery" and for the chest full of sparkly gems you'll end up with. Read the LP liner notes here:

Stunning! Masterful! Glamorous! Exciting! Beautiful!

The preceding exclamations are just a random sampling of the
superlatives with which concert, night club, radio and television
critics, and record reviewers, greeted the extraordinary artistry
of Emilia Conde as a classical vocalist and musician.

But if such response has exhausted the critics' bag of adjectives,
this new Audio Fidelity album in which Miss Conde reveals a new
dimension of her astonishing talent, is surely going to provoke
the necessity to invent new adjectives.

Although she has been singing popular songs for several years
now, it was not until very recently that Emilia made the decision
to enter the popular music idiom in a total way. "Something,"
she says, "was missing in classical music. With so much
discipline I could not express myself freely."

But if Emilia has freed herself from the restrictions of classical
music in order to involve herself full time in a style that permits
her the greatest opportunity to express herself, the expert
musicianship and the sophistication which she acquired in
the classical field has not been abandoned. Indeed, while
Miss Conde makes it abundantly clear, in this album, that
she can out-"now" the most "now" of contemporary pop singers
(that is, be responsive to and draw upon all elements of current
popular music from the cabaret genre to rock), there is nothing
shallow or ephemeral about her work. She brings to popular
music a high artist's grace, intelligence and polish that makes
everything she sings substantial and enduring.

In this album, one side of which is devoted to songs sung in
Spanish, her native language, and one side of which is in
English (she can sing, incidentally, in nine languages), Emilia
demonstrates an authority, vocal range and emotional
depth that makes of each song a true experience whether
you are familiar with the language in which it is sung or
not. Go immediately to Sunburst or I Can't Forget San
Francisco or Mi Calle Triste or Dia Tras Dia for the most
outstanding examples of her versatility and impact.

Born in Puerto Rico of French and Spanish parents, Emilia,
when she was just fifteen, received a government scholarship
to the renowned Eastman School of Music where she studied
classical piano, harmony, theory and voice. She began her
singing career as a protege of Pablo Casals and was
encouraged to develop her voice by such luminaries
as Jose Iturbi and Alexander Schneider.

Upon graduating from the Eastman School, Emilia played piano
concerts at New York's Carnegie and Town Halls and later
appeared as a soloist with various symphony orchestras
throughout the country. Extensive tours of Europe and Latin
America were followed by twenty weeks as singing star of
the Folies Bergere at the famed Tropicana in Las Vegas.
Immediately after that she was moved to the club's
Fountain Room as the star of a one-woman show. Also
among Emilia's credits are smash night club appearances
in Madrid, Mexico city, San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad,
Lisbon, London and Toronto. Among her American triumphs
are an eleven week booking at Bimbo's 365 club in San
Francisco and an engagement at Act IV in Detroit which
prompted the Detroit Free Press critic to remark, "She
sends you away with a sense of discovery."

This "sense of discovery" with which the Free Press critic
left the Act IV that evening is something which everyone
who owns this recording can now share. And it will be a
"sense of discovery" that is repeated many times over,
for the multi-dimensional talent of Emilia Conde has a
weight and substance which gives forth
new gems with each hearing.

Odilio Gonzalez

Artist: Odilio Gonzalez

LP: Odilio Gonzalez y la Navidad
Song: "Niño Jesus y la Navidad"
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Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's been snowing like a claymation Christmas special all morning in Seattle and my chilly 4-mile commute to work took over an hour by city bus! on a day like this, I figured we could all use some holiday music from someplace warm, sunny and tropical—like Puerto Rico! not sure whose hilarious idea it was to make it look like Odilio was missing a front tooth on the front and back of the LP, but I assure you that if I'd done it, the same tooth would be missing in both pictures.