Willie Colón dead: Salsa trombone legend was 75
Legendary trombonist and salsa music pioneer Willie Colón has passed away. He was 75 years old.
His death was confirmed on Saturday Facebook Post by his long-time manager Pietro Carlos.
In recent days, news about the singer’s condition has been circulating on the Internet. Audio News of Yonkers Colón was admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester hospital in Bronxville, New York, on Tuesday with respiratory problems and appeared fragile, the agency reported.
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Colón, who was born William Anthony Colón Román to a Puerto Rican family in New York on April 28, 1950, first picked up the trumpet when he was in school. It seemed like a natural choice for the former bugler Boy Scout, who joined the youth program at the recommendation of his grandmother.
“So I can learn how to be a good kid,” Colón said in a 1988 interview with the Associated Press.
By the time he was 13, Colón had formed a band and played at some weddings and in New York City’s lively nightclubs. At one point he made a mock spoof. cabaret cardIt was a mandatory ID for musicians and entertainers working in establishments that served alcohol between 1940 and 1967, and required individuals to be 18 years of age or older.
New York’s exciting Latin music scene of the 1960s consumed Colón, who was deeply inspired by the Latin jazz pioneer and bandleader. Eddie Palmierihe was once part of the main show at the Palladium Ballroom and later formed the Cuban La Perfecta. unified It revolutionized the New York Latin music scene with the inclusion of two trombones played by Barry Rogers and Jose Rodriguez, instead of the expensive four-set trumpet.
But Colón’s instrumental preference changed when he heard the full-bodied timbre of Mon Rivera’s all-trombone brass cast marching towards the bomb rhythm. “This would blow my socks off,” Colón said in a 1988 interview with the Associated Press, leading the singer to teach himself how to play the instrument.
When he turned 15, Colón signed with Fania Records. Two years later, at age 17, he released his debut album, “El Malo,” which defined the fierce sounds of New York’s salsa scene and which Colón later described as the Latin equivalent of rap.
According to the old saying ticketThe name “El Malo” was given to Colón by older musicians at the time who were trying to mock his trombone range, but the young bandleader would find a way to use the label to his advantage.
On the LP, Colón’s sound moved away from the polished mambo sounds of orchestral groups of decades ago; This is largely thanks to Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe, whose vocals can be heard on tracks like the gritty “El Malo” that vows to dismantle all forms of street fraud.
The duo would go on to record total 14 albums By 1973, Lavoe’s improvisational talent complemented Colón’s raw, aggressive trombone.
“Salsa came from a situation the same way rap did,” Colon said in a 1992 interview with The Times. “It was a mix of a lot of different elements. Hector had just come from Puerto Rico and didn’t speak English. I couldn’t speak much Spanish, I was a little kid from New York. We got together and started writing songs about the baddest guy on the block, drugs and sex, with the same irreverent, rebellious attitude. Before that, the lyrics and the whole attitude of Latin music was: ‘Dance to me, listen to the drums, I’m cutting the sugar cane.’ It was a rural, folkloric emphasis; “We turned it into an inner-city culture.”
Colón’s influence went beyond live music. The “El Malo” album cover, showing two serious profiles of Colón, depicted the singer as a cunning bad boy, ultimately revealing his gangster persona; this would be a transition point for future projects, including 1968’s sophomore album “The Hustler,” which featured the band in fitted suits, smoking cigars and placing bets at the pool hall. His 1970 album “Cosa Nuestra” featured Colón smoking a cigar while looking at a dead body in broad daylight on Manhattan’s East River Bike Path. Most famously, her 1971 album “La Gran Fuga” depicted the singer in a fake FBI “Most Wanted” poster.
These mafia-like depictions emerged long before cult favorites like Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972’s “The Godfather” and Brian De Palma’s 1983’s “Scarface” became prominent gangster tales that various male acts respected in their soundtracks.
In 1973 Colón and Lavoe separated. Allegedly Lavoe’s drug addiction results in many missed concert performances – but the two would remain frequent collaborators until the latter’s death from complications of AIDS in 1993.
The Nuyorican musician would introduce Blades, whom he met years ago while visiting Panama during carnivals, as the new singer of his orchestra. They worked together briefly on Colón’s 1975 LP “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly” and solidified their partnership on the 1977 album “Metiendo Mano”; socio-political themes in this album, especially “”Pablo PuebloOther pieces, such as “Plantación Adentro,” which shares the story of a working-class man with broken dreams disrupted by the rigors of daily life, detail the story of Camilo Manrique, a fictional enslaved character who died at the hands of a Spanish colonist in 1745.
Many considered this album to be Colón’s first foray into highbrow salsa – thanks in large part to Blades. storytelling skill and political interests addressing colonialism and class inequalities (he unsuccessfully ran for president of Panama in 1994). They released three albums together; these include 1978’s “Siembra,” one of the best-selling salsa albums of the time; their trace from the beginningPlastic” It incorporated popular disco music of the moment while touching on superficial beauty standards and colorism in Latin America.
“Siembra” featured pulsating salsa rhythms that “carried messages of freedom at a time when much of Latin America was oppressed by military dictatorships,” according to The Times’ 1996 report.
By 1982, Blades and Colón had parted ways, but collaborated again on projects such as their 2005 LP “Tras La Tormenta” — which led to the band leader singing for the first time in his career: “I had to start from scratch, and it took me many years to feel comfortable,” Colón said.
This newfound independence led to some of Colón’s most famous songs; among them was his 1995 song “Talento de Televisión”; This song was an upbeat song with his distinctive trombone sound in the background as he sang about an untalented, attractive woman.
Many people in Latin America may know her 1989 song “El Gran Varon,” which tells the story of a transgender woman who was rejected by her father and likely died of AIDS. It was a groundbreaking salsa song that brought awareness to LGBTQ+ themes during the AIDS crisis. Colón would later serve as a member of the Latino Commission on AIDS. “El Gran Varon” is today’s anthem.
Colón has released more than 40 albums in total.
He also acted in films such as 1982’s “Vigilante” and the 1983 sports drama “The Last Fight,” as well as one-episode roles in TV shows such as “Miami Vice” and “The Cosby Show.” He even appeared in Bad Bunny’s “Nuevayol” video cutting a slice of cake; The 31-year-old superstar pays tribute to the singer in his lyrics: “Willie Colón, me dicen el malo, ey. Porque pasan los años y sigo dando palo”/ “Willie Colón, they say I’m bad ’cause the years go by and I still hit.”
In later years he became more interested in politics. In 1994, he ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary against U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel of the Bronx. He also ran as a Public Advocate Democrat in 2001, focusing on social issues, education and AIDS awareness, but failed to win the popular vote. He supported Hillary Rodham Clinton over Barack Obama in the 2008 primaries.
On May 26, 2014, after graduating from the Westchester County Police Academy, Colón was sworn in as a deputy sheriff with the Department of Public Safety and later became a deputy lieutenant.
When President Trump took office during his first term, Colón’s politics changed He said he would be open to performing at the 2017 inauguration to support the right-wing candidate.
Billboard magazine named him as one of: The most influential Latin artists of all time In 2018.
Colón is survived by his wife, Julia Colón, and his four sons and grandchildren.
