Willie Colón
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the Nuyorican musician; for the football player, see Willie Colon (American football)
William Anthony Colón (born 28 April 1950) is a Nuyorican
Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau of the terms "New York" and "Puerto Rican" and refers to the members or culture of the Puerto Rican diaspora located in or around New York State especially the New York City metropolitan area, or of their descendants...
salsa music
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...
ian. Primarily a trombonist
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Colón also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in municipal politics in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early years
Willie Colón was born in the South Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents. He picked up the trumpet from a young age, and later switched to trombone, inspired by the all-trombone sound of Mon RiveraMon Rivera
Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians , namely Monserrate Rivera Alers and his oldest son, Efraín Rivera Castillo Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican musicians (both born in Mayagüez), namely Monserrate Rivera Alers (originally...
and Barry Rogers
Barry Rogers
Barry Rogers was a salsa musician and jazz fusion trombonist.Born Barron W. Rogers in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews who came to New York City via London and was raised in Spanish Harlem...
. He spent some summers at his maternal grandmother’s sister’s (La finca de Celín y Ramón) farm in in the outskirts of Manatí, Puerto Rico
Manatí, Puerto Rico
Manatí is a municipality of Puerto Rico in the northern coast, north of Morovis and Ciales; east of Florida and Barceloneta; and west of Vega Baja. Manatí is spread over 8 wards and Manatí Pueblo...
on the road to neighboring Ciales, Puerto Rico
Ciales, Puerto Rico
Ciales is a municipality of Puerto Rico, located on the Central Mountain Range, northwest of Orocovis; south of Florida and Manatí; east of Utuado and Jayuya; and west of Morovis. Ciales is spread over eight wards and Ciales Pueblo...
.
He was signed to Fania Records
Fania Records
Fania Records was a New York based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964. The label took its name from an old Cuban song by the singer Reinaldo Bolaño. Fania is known for its promotion of what has become...
at 15 and recorded his first album at age 17, which ultimately sold more than 300,000 copies. Due to fortuitous events, the main record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
at Fania at the time, 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:...
, recommended Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
to him.
Mr. Colón has been a civil rights, community and political activist since the age of 16. He has served as a member of the Latino Commission on AIDS
Latino Commission on AIDS
The Latino Commission on AIDS is an advocacy and service nonprofit membership organization formed in 1990 with a mission to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Latino community in the United States of America including its territories...
and the United Nations Immigrant Foundation, President of the Arthur Schomburg Coalition for a Better New York, member of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. In 1995, Mr. Colón became the first minority to serve on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) national board and is now a member of the ASCAP FOUNDATION.
Musical career
Beyond the trombone, he has also worked as a composer, arranger, and singer, and eventually as a producer and director. Combining elements of jazz, rock, and salsa, his work incorporates the rhythms of traditional music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and "that 'other' ancestral homeland, Africa", representing the mostly one-way flow from Puerto Rico to the New York-based diaspora. "His life and music commute back and forth between his home turf in the Bronx and his ancestral Puerto Rico, with more than casual stop-offs in other musical zones of the Caribbean." Colón "makes the relation between diaspora and Caribbean homeland the central theme of his work," particularly in his 1971 Christmas album, Asalto navideño. The lyrics and music of the songs on this album "enact the diaspora addressing the island culture in a complex, loving but at the same time mildly challenging way."He went on to have many successful collaborations with salsa musicians and singers such as Ismael Miranda
Ismael Miranda
Ismael Miranda a.k.a. El niño bonito de la Salsa is a composer and a singer of salsa music.-Early years:...
, Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
and Soledad Bravo
Soledad Bravo
Soledad Bravo , is a Venezuelan singer.Born in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain her father was a Spanish republican, moving to Venezuela with his family when his daughter was still at an early age. At 24, Soledad began studying architecture and philosophy at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, where she...
, and singer-songwriter Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
. On his website, Colón claims to hold the "all time record for sales in the Salsa genre, [having] created 40 productions that have sold more than thirty million records worldwide."
One significant overarching theme in Colón's music, which draws from many cultures and several different styles, is an exploration of the competing associations that Puerto Ricans have with their home and with the United States. Colón uses his songs to depict and investigate the problems of living in the U.S. as a Puerto Rican, and also to imply the cultural contributions that Puerto Ricans have to offer.
Recent accomplishments
In 2001, Willie Colón ran for Public Advocate of the City of New York, garnering a respectable 101,393 votes. More votes thanmany other citywide candidates.
In September 2004, Colón received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Latin Grammy Awards
A Latin Grammy Award is an accolade by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. Unlike the regular Grammy Award which primarily honors music produced in the United States, the Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the...
. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with notable musicians such as the Fania All Stars, Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
, Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres...
, David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
, and Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
. Siembra, his record with Rubén Blades, was the best selling album for its genre.
Colón has served as the chair of the Association of Hispanic Arts
Association of Hispanic Arts
Association of Hispanic Arts is a New York-based non-profit organization founded in 1975 that promotes the work of Hispanic artists. It holds an annual Hispanic Arts Festival in the city, and publishes a quarterly magazine, AHA! Hispanic Arts News....
.
In addition to serving as a visiting professor and receiving honorary degrees for music and humane letters at various universities, in 1991, Colón received Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
’s Chubb Fellowship.
In 2006, Willie Colón is portrayed by actor John Ortiz
John Ortiz
John Ortiz is an American actor and Artistic Director/Co-Founder of LAByrinth Theater Company.-Career:In 1993, John made his film debut as Al Pacino’s young cousin ‘Guajiro’ in Carlito’s Way. He went on to appear in over 30 films including El Cantante, Take the Lead, Before Night Falls, Amistad,...
to Marc Anthony's Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
in the movie El Cantante starring Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
. The movie is about the late great Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
and it covers their early career as the top Salsa Duo from the 60s through the mid 70s.
Colón currently serves as NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
’s representative advisor & liaison to the Latin Media Entertainment Commission
Latin Media and Entertainment Commission
The Latin Media and Entertainment Commission is an entity of the government of New York City. The LMEC was founded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in October 2003, to help position New York as a major Latin-American media and entertainment center....
(to which Robert DeNiro and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
serve as the celebrity chairs). Willie's base of operations, ELMALO,Inc. Creative Services is in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
.
On April 16, 2008, Colón announced his endorsement of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton in her 2008 presidential campaign
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
Colón has also recently released two new singles, in promotion for his new album El Malo Vol II: Prisioneros del Mambo, "Amor de Internet" and "Corazón Partido."
On April 25, 2010, Willie Colón appeared at The National Mall for The Earth Day Climate Rally along with Sting, John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
, Passion Pit
Passion Pit
Passion Pit is an American electropop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group, which formed in 2007, consists of Michael Angelakos , Ian Hultquist , Ayad Al Adhamy , Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer...
, Bob Weir
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Robert Randolph, Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
, Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
, Booker T, Honor Society
Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
Tao Rodríguez-Seeger
Tao Rodríguez-Seeger is an American contemporary folk musician. He plays banjo, guitar, harmonica, and sings in Spanish and in English. He is known as a founder of The Mammals and is the grandson of folk musician Pete Seeger....
.
Discography
| Title | Producer | Label | Released | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Malo El Malo -Track listing:# "Jazzy" Colón - 4:06# "Willie Baby" Colón - 2:47# "Borinquen" Public Domain - 3:20# "Willie Whopper" Colón - 2:41# "El Malo" Colón - 4:01# "Skinny Papa" Colón - 4:05# "Chonqui" Brewster, Colón - 4:10# "Quimbombo" Brewster, Colón - 5:01... |
Jerry Masucci Jerry Masucci Jerry Masucci was a co-founder of Fania Records.-Early life:Masucci was born October 7, 1934, in Brooklyn, to parents Urbano and Elvira Masucci. He had a brother named Alex Masucci... 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:... |
Fania Records Fania Records Fania Records was a New York based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964. The label took its name from an old Cuban song by the singer Reinaldo Bolaño. Fania is known for its promotion of what has become... |
1967 | |
| The Hustler The Hustler (album) -Cover:The image of Willie posing in front of a pool table on the cover is a reference to the 1961 film The Hustler featuring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason... |
Jerry Masucci Johnny Pacheco |
Fania Records | 1968 | |
| Guisando | 1969 | |||
| Cosa Nuestra Cosa Nuestra -Personnel:*Eric Matos: Trombone*Little “Louie” Romero: Timbal*Milton Cardona: Conga*José Mangual Jr.: Bongo, Cowbell*Santi González: Bass*Professor Joe Torres: Piano*Producer: Jerry Masucci*Audio Engineer: Irv Greenbaum*Recording Director: Johnny Pacheco... |
1970 | |||
| Asalto Navideño | 1971 | |||
| La Gran Fuga | 1971 | |||
| El Juicio | 1972 | |||
| Asalto Navideño Vol.2 | 1972 | |||
| Lo Mato | 1973 | |||
| Crime Pays | 1973 | |||
| Willie | 1974 | |||
| Se Chavó el Vecindario! | 1975 | |||
| The Good, The Bad & The Ugly | 1976 | |||
| El Baquine de Angelitos Negros El Baquine de Angelitos Negros El Baquine de Angelitos Negros is a dark eclectic concept album by Willie Colón.-Track listing:# "Angustia Maternal" - 4:00# "Camino al Barrio" - 3:34# "Son Guajira del Encuentro" - 4:00... |
Willie Colón | Fania Records | 1977 | |
| Metiendo Mano!! | 1977 | |||
| Sólo Ellos Pudieron Hacer Éste Álbum | 1977 | |||
| 47 MINUTES | 1978 | |||
| Déjà Vu | 1978 | |||
| Siembra Siembra Siembra is an album by Rubén Blades and Willie Colón released by Fania Records in 1978.-Background:At that time, it became the best-selling salsa record in history. This record was broken with the release of Cuenta Conmigo by Jerry Rivera in the 1990s... |
Willie Colón Ruben Blades Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres... |
Fania Records Fania Records Fania Records was a New York based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964. The label took its name from an old Cuban song by the singer Reinaldo Bolaño. Fania is known for its promotion of what has become... |
1978 | |
| Solo | 1979 | |||
| Doble Energía | 1980 | |||
| Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos | 1981 | |||
| Celia & Willie | 1981 | |||
| Fantasmas Ghosts (Fantasmas) Fantasmas is a salsa album by Willie Colón. The album was released in 1981 during the Romantic Salsa period and gave him a musical vehicle to explore his new interests.-Track listing:# "Oh Que Sera" Chico Buarque - 6:10... |
Willie Colón | Fania Records | 1981 | |
| Corazón Guerrero | 1982 | |||
| The Last Fight | 1982 | |||
| Vigilante | 1983 | |||
| Criollo | 1983 | |||
| Tiempo pa' Matar | 1984 | |||
| Contrabando Especial N°5 | 1985 | |||
| Los Triunfadores | 1987 | |||
| Top Secrets/Legal Alien | 1989 | |||
| Color Americano | 1990 | |||
| Honra y Cultura | 1991 | |||
| Willie Colón & Tito Puente | 1993 | |||
| Bad boys 2 | 1994 | |||
| Hecho en Puerto Rico | 1993 | |||
| The Best Vol. 2 | 1994 | |||
| Tras la Tormenta | 1995 | |||
| Y Vuelve Otra Vez!!! | 1995 | |||
| Demasiado Corazón | 1998 | |||
| Quien Eres | 1999 | |||
| Idilio | 2000 | |||
| Guerrero de Corazón | 2000 | |||
| Experiencia | 2004 | |||
| The Player | 2007 | |||
| El Malo Vol II: Prisioneros del Mambo | 2008 | |||
| Asalto Navideño Live/En Vivo | 2008 |