Tito Rodriguez
Encyclopedia
Tito Rodríguez was a popular 1950s and 1960s Puerto Rican
singer and bandleader
. He is known by many fans as "El Inolvidable" (The Unforgettable), a moniker based on his most popular interpretation, a song written by composer Julio Gutierrez.
, Puerto Rico
, to a Dominican father and a Cuban mother, became interested in music as a child. He was always surrounded by musical toys, such as guitar
s, piano
s and trumpet
s. His older brother, Johnny Rodríguez was a popular song composer and bandleader, who inspired the younger Rodríguez to become a musician. In 1936, 13 year old Rodríguez joined the group of Ladislao (El Maestro Ladí) Martínez
, "Industrias Nativas" as a singer and when he was 16 years old, he participated in a recording with the Mayari Cuartet. In 1940, Rodríguez emigrated to New York City shortly after his parents, Jose and Severina died. He went to live with his brother Johnny, who had been living there since 1935.
player for the orchestra of Eric Madriguera. In 1941, he recorded "Amor Guajiro", "Acercate Mas" (Come Closer) and "Se Fue la Comparsa". In 1942, Rodríguez joined the band of Xavier Cugat
, and recorded "Bin, Bam, Bum" and "Ensalada de Congas" (Conga Salad).
Rodríguez joined and served in the U.S. Army for one year. After he was discharged, he returned to New York where he joined the orchestra of José Curbelo. On one occasion, the band performed at the China Doll Cabaret. There he met a young Japanese chorus girl by the name of Tobi Kei (b. Takeku Kunimatsu, 23 January 1925, Bellingham, Washington, USA), who eventually became his wife.
of the Performing Arts, where he studied the vibraphone
, xylophone
and percussion
. He renamed his band "Los Lobos del Mambo" and later he dropped the name altogether. That's when he decided to go with the name "The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra". The first song that he recorded under the band's new name which became a "hit" was "Besame La Bemba" (Kiss My Big Lips). In 1952, he was honored for having developed his own unique singing style by the "Century Conservatory of Music of New York". His orchestra won the "Gran Trofeo Award" for two consecutive years.
In 1953, Rodríguez heard a percussionist by the name of Cheo Feliciano
. Rodríguez was so impressed with Feliciano that he offered him a job in his band. Rodríguez discovered that Feliciano also knew how to sing and gave him an opportunity to sing at the Palladium Ballroom. Eventually Feliciano went to work for another band, but the friendship between the two lasted for the rest of their lives. Among the other orchestras that played at the Palladium were the Charlie Palmieri
and Tito Puente
orchestras. A rivalry, which was to last for years, quickly developed between the two Titos. The popular Latin music craze at the time was the cha-cha-cha
and the Mambo.
Rodríguez also feuded with future bandleader Johnny Pacheco
, who was once Rodríguez's musical arranger. When Pacheco went solo, he did three arrangements on hire for Puente. Since his financial situation at the time was not healthy, Pacheco later visited the band's rehearsal studio as to ask Rodriguez (who was not at the room at the time) for further work, then left. When Rodríguez returned, not only did he forbid his musicians to make any further contact with Pacheco, he wrote "A mí no me importas tú" ("I don't care about you"), an indirect jab against Pacheco which eventually became a popular salsa single.
. Latin bands began to switch their styles and started playing more salsa
and boogaloo
, which was more attractive to Latin youth of the day. Rodríguez then tried his luck with bolero
s and recorded various albums, which gave way to various hit songs, particularly "Inolvidable" (Unforgettable), composed by Julio Gutierrez
, and "En La Soledad", (In Solitude), composed by Puchi Balseiro
, which are considered by many to be his most successful songs. They sold over a million and a half copies world wide. He also produced records for other groups, such as Los Hispanos and Los Montemar.
.)
and Shirley Bassey
. Rodríguez also founded his own recording studio called TR Records.
Rodríguez's last public appearance was with Machito
and his Band on February 2, 1973 at Madison Square Garden
in New York. Tito Rodríguez died of leukemia
on February 28, 1973.
. Tito Rodríguez's Japanese style house in Puerto Rico is featured in tours of the San Juan metropolitan area. Cheo Feliciano recorded a tribute to Rodríguez honoring his memory.
On August 2010 reggae band Cultura Profetica
release the song "Me faltabas tu" in the disc "La Dulzura" were the band plays his song with a modern bolero style.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
singer and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. He is known by many fans as "El Inolvidable" (The Unforgettable), a moniker based on his most popular interpretation, a song written by composer Julio Gutierrez.
Early years
Rodríguez (birth name: Pablo Rodríguez Lozada), born in SanturceSanturce
Santurce can refer to:*Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, a district of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico*Santurtzi, a town near Bilbao, the Basque Country, Spain...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, to a Dominican father and a Cuban mother, became interested in music as a child. He was always surrounded by musical toys, such as guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s. His older brother, Johnny Rodríguez was a popular song composer and bandleader, who inspired the younger Rodríguez to become a musician. In 1936, 13 year old Rodríguez joined the group of Ladislao (El Maestro Ladí) Martínez
Ladislao Martinez
Ladislao Martinez a.k.a. "El Maestro Ladi" , was a master cuatro musician. He became the first Puerto Rican to play a cuatro solo on the radio.-Early years:...
, "Industrias Nativas" as a singer and when he was 16 years old, he participated in a recording with the Mayari Cuartet. In 1940, Rodríguez emigrated to New York City shortly after his parents, Jose and Severina died. He went to live with his brother Johnny, who had been living there since 1935.
Musical career
In New York, Rodríguez found a job as a singer and bongoBongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
player for the orchestra of Eric Madriguera. In 1941, he recorded "Amor Guajiro", "Acercate Mas" (Come Closer) and "Se Fue la Comparsa". In 1942, Rodríguez joined the band of Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
, and recorded "Bin, Bam, Bum" and "Ensalada de Congas" (Conga Salad).
Rodríguez joined and served in the U.S. Army for one year. After he was discharged, he returned to New York where he joined the orchestra of José Curbelo. On one occasion, the band performed at the China Doll Cabaret. There he met a young Japanese chorus girl by the name of Tobi Kei (b. Takeku Kunimatsu, 23 January 1925, Bellingham, Washington, USA), who eventually became his wife.
Solo debut
In 1947, Rodríguez made his "solo" debut and finally organized his own band, which he named "Los Diablos del Mambo". In 1950, he enrolled in The Juilliard SchoolJuilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
of the Performing Arts, where he studied the vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. He renamed his band "Los Lobos del Mambo" and later he dropped the name altogether. That's when he decided to go with the name "The Tito Rodríguez Orchestra". The first song that he recorded under the band's new name which became a "hit" was "Besame La Bemba" (Kiss My Big Lips). In 1952, he was honored for having developed his own unique singing style by the "Century Conservatory of Music of New York". His orchestra won the "Gran Trofeo Award" for two consecutive years.
In 1953, Rodríguez heard a percussionist by the name of Cheo Feliciano
Cheo Feliciano
José Feliciano, better known as Cheo Feliciano , is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music.-Early years:...
. Rodríguez was so impressed with Feliciano that he offered him a job in his band. Rodríguez discovered that Feliciano also knew how to sing and gave him an opportunity to sing at the Palladium Ballroom. Eventually Feliciano went to work for another band, but the friendship between the two lasted for the rest of their lives. Among the other orchestras that played at the Palladium were the Charlie Palmieri
Charlie Palmieri
Charlie Palmieri was a renowned Bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as "The Giant of the Keyboards".-Early years:...
and Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
orchestras. A rivalry, which was to last for years, quickly developed between the two Titos. The popular Latin music craze at the time was the cha-cha-cha
Cha-cha-cha (music)
The Cha-cha-chá is a style of Cuban music. It is popular dance music which developed from the danzón in the early 1950s.- Origin :As a dance music genre, cha-cha-chá is unusual in that its creation can be attributed to a single composer, Enrique Jorrín, then violinist and songwriter with the...
and the Mambo.
Feuds
The feud between the two Titos was reflected on some of Rodriguez's recordings. "Avisale a Mi Contrario Que Aqui Estoy Yo" (Tell My Counterpart That I Am Here) and "Que Pena Me Da" (I Pity You), are just two examples of the bad feelings between them.Rodríguez also feuded with future bandleader Johnny Pacheco
Johnny Pacheco
Johnny Pacheco is a Dominican producer, musician, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in American salsa music.-Early life:...
, who was once Rodríguez's musical arranger. When Pacheco went solo, he did three arrangements on hire for Puente. Since his financial situation at the time was not healthy, Pacheco later visited the band's rehearsal studio as to ask Rodriguez (who was not at the room at the time) for further work, then left. When Rodríguez returned, not only did he forbid his musicians to make any further contact with Pacheco, he wrote "A mí no me importas tú" ("I don't care about you"), an indirect jab against Pacheco which eventually became a popular salsa single.
1960s
With the beginning of the 1960s, all that was going to change with the popularity gained by rock musicRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. Latin bands began to switch their styles and started playing more salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and boogaloo
Boogaloo
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance that was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City among teenage Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other groups. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul with mambo and son montuno...
, which was more attractive to Latin youth of the day. Rodríguez then tried his luck with bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
s and recorded various albums, which gave way to various hit songs, particularly "Inolvidable" (Unforgettable), composed by Julio Gutierrez
Julio Gutiérrez
Julio Gutiérrez is a Chilean football striker. He currently plays for Mineros de Guayana in the Venezuelan Primera División. He also spent much time playing in Italy from 2000 to 2005....
, and "En La Soledad", (In Solitude), composed by Puchi Balseiro
Puchi Balseiro
Puchi Balseiro, , November 1, 1926 – January 11, 2007 born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was a "feeling" composer.-Early years:...
, which are considered by many to be his most successful songs. They sold over a million and a half copies world wide. He also produced records for other groups, such as Los Hispanos and Los Montemar.
Selected discography
Represented by Sony International (née Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.)
- 19__ WSLatino "Esta es mi Historia"
- 1960 United Artists "Tito Rodríguez Live at the Palladium"
- 1961 WS Latino "Charanga, Pachanga"
- 1961 WS Latino "Tito Returns to the Palladium - Live"
- 1962 WS Latino "Latin Twist"
- 1962 WS Latino "Tito's Hits"
- 1962 WSLatino "Let's do the Bossanova"
- 1963 Palladium Records "Tito Rodríguez from Hollywood"
- 1963 Palladium Records "Tito Rodríguez Live at Birdland"
- 1963 WS Latino "From Tito With Love"
- 1964 WSLatino "Carnaval de las Américas"
- 1967 WS Latino "En la Oscuridad"
- 1968 WSLatino "Esta es mi Orquesta"
- 1969 TR Records "Inolvidable"
- 1971 Fania "Tito Dice... Sepárala También" con el Sexteto La Playa
- 1972 (1949 a 1958) Tico Records-Fania Legend "Nostalgia con Tito Rodríguez"
- 1993 Palacio de la Música-WS Latino "Tito Rodríguez con la Rondalla Venezolana: Eternamente"
- 1995 Palacio América "Cindy & Tito Rodríguez: Alma con Alma"
- 1999 Palacio de la Música-WS Latino "Tito Rodríguez con la Rondalla Venezolana: Nuevamente Juntos"
Later years
Rodríguez returned to Puerto Rico in 1970 and built a Japanese style house in Santurce, where he lived with his family. Rodríguez produced his own television show called "El Show de Tito Rodríguez" which was transmitted through San Juan's television Channel 7 (whose call letters were WRIK-TV at the time). Among the special guest stars that appeared in his show were Sammy Davis Jr., Tony BennettTony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
and Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
. Rodríguez also founded his own recording studio called TR Records.
Rodríguez's last public appearance was with Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
and his Band on February 2, 1973 at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York. Tito Rodríguez died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
on February 28, 1973.
Legacy
On April 1999 Tito Rodríguez was represented by his son, Tito Rodríguez Jr., in the induction ceremonies of the International Latin Music Hall of FameInternational Latin Music Hall of Fame
The International Latin Music Hall of Fame was established in 1999.In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the award ceremonies include Special Recognition Awards and Beny Moré Memorial Award.-1999:...
. Tito Rodríguez's Japanese style house in Puerto Rico is featured in tours of the San Juan metropolitan area. Cheo Feliciano recorded a tribute to Rodríguez honoring his memory.
On August 2010 reggae band Cultura Profetica
Cultura Profética
Cultura Profética is a Puerto Rican reggae band that debuted in 1996. They have toured in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Mexico and the United States...
release the song "Me faltabas tu" in the disc "La Dulzura" were the band plays his song with a modern bolero style.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- CharangaCharangaCharanga is a term given to traditional ensembles of Cuban dance music. They made Cuban dance music popular in the 1940s and their music consisted of heavily son-influenced material, performed on European instruments such as violin and flute by a Charanga orchestra....
- Mambo
- Puchi BalseiroPuchi BalseiroPuchi Balseiro, , November 1, 1926 – January 11, 2007 born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was a "feeling" composer.-Early years:...