José Feliciano
José Montserrate Feliciano García (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse feliˈsjano]; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "Feliz Navidad". Music genres he explores consist of fusion of many styles, such as Latin, blues, jazz, soul and rock music, created primarily with the help of his signature acoustic guitar sound.[1]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Feliciano and the second or maternal family name is García.
José Feliciano
José Montserrate Feliciano García
September 10, 1945
Lares, Puerto Rico
- Musician
- singer
- composer
- Guitar
- cuatro
- vocals
1962–present
In the United States, Feliciano became popular in the 1960s, particularly after his 1968 album Feliciano! reached number 2 on the music charts.[1] Since then in his career, he released over 50 albums worldwide in both English and Spanish language.
Early life and family[edit]
José Montserrate Feliciano Garcia was born on September 10, 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico, the fourth child of eleven sons. He was born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma.[2][3] He was first exposed to music at the age of three, playing on a cracker tin can while accompanying his uncle who played the cuatro.[4] When Feliciano was five, his family moved to Spanish Harlem, New York City, where he made his first public appearance at the Teatro Puerto Rico in The Bronx.[5]
Feliciano's knack for music became apparent when at age seven, he taught himself to play the accordion. About two years later, when he was nine years old, his father gave him his first guitar. He would play his guitar by himself in his room for up to 14 hours a day and would learn by listening to 1950s rock and roll, records of classical guitarists, and jazz players. Andrés Segovia and Wes Montgomery were among his favorites. As a teenager, Feliciano took classical guitar lessons with Harold Morris, a staff music teacher at The Light House School for the Blind in New York City. Morris himself had once been a student of Segovia.[6] In a 1969 interview, Feliciano mentioned soul music in general, and Ray Charles and Sam Cooke in particular, as influences on his singing.[7]
At the age of 17, to help support his family, Feliciano left high school. He started frequenting the coffee houses of Greenwich Village, "passing the hat" as his "salary" in those clubs where he was invited to play. His first professional contracted performance was at The Retort, a coffee house in Detroit, Michigan.[8]
Career[edit]
1960s[edit]
In 1963, while gaining recognition in pubs, coffee houses and clubs throughout the U.S. and Canada, especially in Greenwich Village, New York, and Vancouver, British Columbia, he was discovered while performing at Gerde's Folk City in the Village and immediately signed by Jack Somer, an executive at RCA Victor.[9] Feliciano recounts the story of doing an impression of Bob Dylan, only to find that Dylan was in the audience.[8] In 1964, he released his first single, "Everybody Do the Click" (which became a hit in the Philippines, at No. 2, staying 14 weeks in the Top Ten Hit parade) and was invited to the 1964 Newport Folk Festival.[10] In 1965 and 1966, he released his first albums: The Voice and Guitar of José Feliciano and A Bag Full of Soul, two folk-pop-soul albums that showcased his talent on radios across the US, where in July 1963 he had been described by New York Times columnist, Robert Shelton as a "10-fingered wizard".
In 1966, Feliciano visited Mar del Plata, Argentina, to perform at the Festival de Mar del Plata. There, he so impressed the RCA Victor executives, that they wanted him to stay and record an album for them in Spanish. They were unsure how they wanted to record, so Feliciano suggested he record some of the bolero music of his parents where Feliciano then added his blues and folk influences from his experiences while playing in the Village. The result was two smash hits with the singles "Poquita Fe" ("Little Faith", also titled "Sin Fe", or "Without Faith"), and "Usted". This was the beginning of a series of successful singles, albums and gold records throughout Latin America and Hispanic communities in the United States where Feliciano revolutionized the sound of the bolero. Some of his most beloved interpretations include "La Copa Rota", "La Carcel de Sing Sing" and "Extraños en la Noche", which charted concurrently as the Spanish version of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".
A year later, Feliciano was scheduled to perform in the United Kingdom but the authorities would not allow his guide dog, Trudy, into the country unless she was quarantined for six months. The stringent quarantine measures of those days were intended to prevent the spread of rabies. Devastated by their actions, Feliciano wrote a song about his experience entitled "No Dogs Allowed" (becoming a Netherlands Top 10 hit in 1969), which told the story of this first visit to London.[11]
During his British visit on July 16, 1967, Feliciano gave a live performance on the pirate radio stations Radio 227 and Radio 355, on board the MV Laissez Faire off the British coast less than a month before the stations were due to be closed by the UK's Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967. He also guested on a popular British television show with Dusty Springfield and recorded a rare single for RCA in England called "My Foolish Heart / Only Once" which was played on London radio .
Accolades[edit]
In Ponce, he is recognized at the Illustrious Ponce Citizens Plaza of the Parque del Tricentenario.[33]
In 1996, Feliciano was awarded the El Premio Billboard.[34]
He was also awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.[35]
In 2000, Feliciano was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.[36]
He was also inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.[37]