{"id":525,"date":"2017-09-18T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T11:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/?p=525"},"modified":"2022-07-04T20:23:22","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T00:23:22","slug":"salsa-music-history-part-2-origins-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/2017\/09\/18\/salsa-music-history-part-2-origins-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"Salsa Music History, Part 2: Origins and Boom"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Salsa<\/em>\u00a0music<\/a> boom in popularity took place in the late 1960s into the early 1970s. The Latin music from urban New York had taken shape.<\/p>\n

This music combined Afro-Caribbean rhythms with jazzy brass and a contemporary urban storyline. The result was rhythmically similar to the Latin music of the ’40s and ’50s, but stylistically different.<\/p>\n

Salsa<\/em> Music Boom from Late \u201960s through Early \u201970s (New York)<\/h3>\n

Salsa<\/em> music enjoyed a great boom coming out of the ’60s and into the \u201970s. In New York, the charanga<\/em> sound that had dominated the 60s was giving way to the more solid \u201csalsa<\/em>\u201d. This occurred as\u00a0bands started experimenting with their musical formats.<\/p>\n

The Fania<\/a> label, which had started in the mid-\u201960s began recording a good number of the proliferating band-sonero groups coming out in the mid to late 60s.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Orchestra Harlow and Ismael Miranda became one of the hottest teams in the Salsa boom and of Fania Records.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Willie Colon, then still a teenager, formed a band and was paired with Hector Perez. Fania decided to rename Perez to his artistic name of Hector LaVoe (French for \u201cthe voice\u201d). Larry Harlow, the 2nd artist to record on Fania in 1965 after co-founder Johnny Pacheco, later on, teamed with a young charismatic singer Ismael Miranda in 1968.<\/p>\n

Eddie Palmieri recorded \u201cJusticia\u201d<\/em> (1969), and \u201cVamonos Pa\u2019l Monte\u201d<\/em> (1971) with Ismael Quintana. His orchestra “La Perfecta”<\/em> had been “cooking” this sound since 1962. Both these songs became huge hits.<\/p>\n

Johnny Pacheco had gone steady with his premier singer Pete \u201cEl Conde\u201d Rodriguez. “El Conde” had been part of the band on and off since 1964. However, they went on to record huge hits in the early \u201970s.<\/p>\n

Also during this time, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz team up starting with their 1969 hit \u201cEl Diferente\u201d<\/em>. Similarly, “conguero<\/em>\u201d Ray Barretto joined forces with Puerto Rican \u201csonero<\/em>\u201d Adalberto Santiago. They recorded 6 hit albums from 1966-1972. When Adalberto, timbalero Orestes Vilat\u00f3, and other members of Barretto’s band left in 1973, they formed the T\u00edpica ’73.<\/p>\n

Other Salsa<\/em>\u00a0Bands in New York<\/h3>\n

I’ve just scratched the surface of Salsa bands in New York. I didn’t mention “El Rey”<\/em> Tito Puente because he did not believe in Salsa<\/em>. Tito always argued that Salsa<\/em> is nothing more than Afro-Cuban music. I think musically he’s not far from the truth, but there’s more to it than just that.<\/p>\n

There were other lesser bands in New York that had a brief impact on Salsa<\/em> music. Bands like Ernie Agosto y La Conspiracion, Angel Canales, The Lebron Brothers, Bobby Rodriguez y La Compa\u00f1ia, and Joe Cuba and his Sextet were classics. The maestro Charlie Palmieri continued to re-invent his music with the times. Charlie had been the king of the charanga<\/em> with his La Duboney. He would continue to transform his sound through the ’60s and ’70s, becoming the master of the organ in Salsa music.<\/p>\n

Most of these bands were out of the fiefdom of Fania Records. With other labels like Alegre and Tico (before Fania bought them), bands had other alternatives. However, it was the Fania powerhouse that did the best marketing for its artists. Therefore, with few exceptions like Puente and the Palmieri brothers, Fania artists enjoyed the most commercial success. Therefore, they rode at the top of the Salsa boom.<\/p>\n

The term “Salsa<\/em>” had been used sporadically during the ’60s to describe the Afro-Caribbean music being played. In 1970, the Lebron Brothers were still trying to get name recognition in their 3-year-old band. It was then that they recorded “Salsa y Control”<\/em>. The song not only put the Lebron Brothers on the Salsa music map but also helped coin the name for the music.<\/p>\n