After a series of successful albums for Fania between 1967 and 1972, Ray Barretto suffered a body blow when his lead vocalist Adalberto Santiago, timbalero Orestes Vilató, bongocero Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez, trumpeter René López and bassist Dave Pérez left to found Típica 73 along with pianist / arranger Sonny Bravo (from José Fajardo’s charanga), trombonist Leopoldo Pineda (from Orchestra Harlow) and trumpeter, pianist and arranger Joe Mannozzi (from Orquesta Flamboyán). Rare in salsa, Típica 73 were a co-operative with Dandy as president and Bravo as musical director whose history came to epitomize the fragmentation of bands that occurred during the 1970s salsa boom. They began as a two-trumpet / trombone-led conjunto playing típico Latin music in a contemporary style on Típica 73 (1973) on Fania’s sister label Inca, produced by Johnny Pacheco. "Mañoñó" from this album was their first hit; its arranger, Louie Cruz, was Barretto’s pianist and key arranger from 1967 to 1974. Típica 73 continued in a similar vein for another two albums, Típica 73 (1974) and La Candela (1975) both on Inca, before Vilató, Santiago, Mannozzi and Nelson González (who joined on Típica’s second album) left in 1976 to form Los Kimbos. Accounts vary about the reasons for the split, citing musical differences, financial mismanagement or religious differences as the cause. Los Kimbos pretty much kept to the típico path, while a regrouped Típica 73 steered a more experimental course. The original Los Kimbos splintered after only two albums: Adalberto went solo; González turned bandleader and Vilató continued the Los Kimbos name for a further couple of albums. Típica 73 added new personnel after their 1976 split, including ex-Barretto vocalist Tito Allen and young Cuban violinist Alfredo de la Fé, an original participant in the 1972 Monday night gigs at the New York club And Vinnies that led to the band’s formation. Whilst remaining firmly wedded to Cuban roots, the versatility afforded by their new instrumentation enabled Típica to launch a "new sound", whereby they could "burn with their brass on one song, swing charanga style on another, and still interchange styles within the songs for diverse musical colours" (from Carlos De León’s liner notes to 1976’s Rumba Caliente). More personnel changes followed. The band made a further four albums, Salsa Encendida (Inca, 1978), Típica 73 En Cuba: Intercambio Cultural (Fania, 1979) – the first album to be recorded by a US-based salsa orchestra in Cuba under the Fidel Castro government – Charangueando Con La Típica 73 (Fania, recorded in 1978, but not released until 1980) and Into The 80’s (Fania, 1981). Woefully, the band became stigmatized for performing in Cuba; gigs started to dry up and Típica eventually disbanded. "When we went to Cuba, the Cubans over here (in the USA) didn’t go for it too much," said timbalero Nicky Marrero, who joined Típica in 1977. "They threatened some of us. I remember hearing it from the guys. They didn’t threaten me ’cause I lived in the Bronx (laughs)."
- John Child

Tipica 73 discography

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After spending the best part of a decade singing with the bands of Fania Records co-founder Johnny Pacheco, Puerto Rican-born Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez (1933-2000) – like so many salsa band lead singers at the height of the 1970s New York salsa boom – decided to cash in on his well-deserved fame and go solo. He recorded a handful of solo albums on Fania between 1974 and 1982 retaining the typical Cuban two-trumpet conjunto format used by Pacheco, who directed his bestselling and award-winning debut El Conde (1974). Louie Ramírez produced his 1976 bestselling follow-up Este Negro Si Es Sabroso, which spawned his trademark hits "Catalina La O" (composed by Johnny Ortiz and arranged by José Febles) and "Pueblo Latino", a call for Latino unity written by "Tite" Curet Alonso and arranged by Louie Cruz. He reunited with Pacheco for four albums between 1983 and 1989 and then went solo again in 1990 with El Rey, an unconvincing stab at salsa romántica produced and directed by Pacheco. He broke out of the two-trumpet conjunto mould in favour of a salsa orquesta with a frontline of three trombones, two trumpets and alto sax for the refreshing Generaciones (Marcas, 1993) featuring his daughter Cita Rodríguez and son Pete Emilio Rodríguez singing chorus and sharing lead vocals. In 1996 he shared lead vocals with Junior González, Melcochita, Ray de la Paz and Carlos Santos on Gozando! on Asefra by Mascara Salsera’s Gold Stars and teamed-up with Papo Lucca for Pete y Papo back on Fania. While a member of Pacheco’s group Nuevo Tumbao, he became a founder member of the Fania All Stars, whose debut at Greenwich Village’s Red Garter club was immortalised in Live At The Red Garter, Vols. 1 & 2 (1968). After this recording, Rodríguez went on to make a further 16 albums with the Fania All Stars and appeared with them in the landmark movies Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa) (1972) and Salsa (1976). He also recorded with Larry Harlow, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Familia RMM, Jimmy Bosch and Eddie Palmieri, among others.
- John Child

Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez discography

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Although known as El Rey Del Bajo (The King of the Bass), ironically Bobby Valentín was a 15-year-old trumpeter when he arrived in New York from his native Puerto Rico in 1956. Two years later he made his professional debut with the band of Joe Quijano, with whom he made his earliest recordings such as the classic album La Pachanga Se Baila Asi (c. 1961) on Columbia Records. Then he worked with the bands of Willie Rosario, Charlie Palmieri, Tito Rodríguez and Ray Barretto, playing bass with the latter. It was with Willie Rosario’s orchestra that he started arranging and playing bass in addition to trumpet. He began playing guitar at the age of six, so he learnt the bass with ease. His influences as an arranger include Ray Santos and René Hernández, who both wrote for Tito Rodríguez, one of New York’s trinity of Mambo Kings. Bobby formed his own band in 1965 and debuted with them on Ritmo Pa Goza (1966) on the Fonseca Records label. Fania Records co-founder Johnny Pacheco knew Bobby from the days when his group used to alternate with Tito Rodríguez’s band. He enlisted Valentín as one of the first arrangers for his group Nuevo Tumbao, producing hits like "Sarandonga" on Pacheco te Invita a Bailar (c. ‘65 on Fania Records). Johnny arranged for Bobby’s band to audition for Fania president Jerry Masucci (1934-1997) and he signed with the company in 1965. He released nine albums on the label between 1966 and 1974, beginning with Young Man With A Horn / Best In Bugaloo. Bobby returned to live in Puerto Rico in 1968. From 1971, he settled for a horn combination of two trumpets, trombone, tenor and baritone saxophones that represent each section of a big band, enabling his arrangements to produce a big band sound that belies the actual size of his ensemble. Apart from substituting alto for tenor sax in 1976, Valentín retained this combination into the nineties. After 1974’s In Motion, Bobby founded his own Bronco Records label on which he has released and reissued productions by his own orchestra and others into the 21st century. He performed on the inaugural album by the Fania All Stars and continued to be active with the band. In addition, Bobby has lent one or more of his various talents to recordings by an impressive array of artists and bands over the last five decades.
- John Child

Bobby Valentin discography

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After making his name during a five-year stint with the great Puerto Rican institution Sonora Ponceña, singer Tito Gómez jumped ship in 1973 for a brief spell with the breakaway La Terrifica. Thereafter, a couple of albums with Ray Barretto in 1975 and 1976 further raised his profile. Presumably the bosses at Fania Records (which controlled Inca) decided that the solo project Para Gozar Borinquen was the next logical step for Tito. But as it turned out, his solo career did not begin in earnest until the 1990s. Tito returned to Ponceña in 1978 and went on to work with Tito Valentín, Venezuela’s La Amistad, La Terrifica, La Máquina De Los 80, Rubby Haddock and Colombia’s Grupo Niche before successfully resuming his solo career in 1991. Much to the sadness of his fans across the world, Tito died of a heart attack on June 11th, 2007 at the age of 59. – John Child

Tito Gomez discography

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Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1950, talented sonero and composer Fernando Lavoy (nicknamed "El Montunero") arrived in the USA in 1980. That year he was introduced on Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros’ Y Sigo Con Mi Son on SAR performing extended interpretations, arranged by Cuban pianist Alfredo Valdés Jr., of six songs associated with the Cuban bands Sonora Nacional and Conjunto Bolero. (The six cuts from Y Sigo Con Mi Son are collected in the SAR anthologies Lo Mejor De Chocolate Vol. 1, 1990, and Y Sigo Con Mi Son – Lo Mejor Vol. 2, 1991). In 1981 Fernando made notable contributions to SAR All Stars Recorded Live In Club Ochentas, Album 1 and SAR All Stars Interpretan A Rafael Hernández. Fernando recorded and composed half the material for two albums on SAR, Los Soneros (1981) and Fernando Lavoy y Los Soneros (1982), with the band Los Soneros featuring the distinguished Cuban musicians Juan González (musical director, arranger and trumpeter) and Juan Méndez on bongo. Both albums followed the SAR policy of stretched-out numbers with plenty of spaces for improvisation. Los Soneros were one of the few aggregations to record for SAR (and the allied Guajiro, Toboga and Neon imprints) not comprised of the label’s house musicians. Fernando relocated to Miami, where he sessioned as a chorus singer during the remainder of the ’80s. In 1989 he returned with the yet to be reissued Fernando Lavoy Con El Conjunto Dinastiadiez on Don Mateo / Codiscos, recorded in Bogotá, Colombia and Miami. He was murdered in the mid-’90s in a case of mistaken identity. – John Child

Fernando Lavoy discography