Known for his fiery guitar work and achingly soulful singing voice, Jose Feliciano is one of the greatest music artists of his generation. Perhaps he is slightly lesser known as the first Latin Artist to cross over to the English music market, allowing other artists that followed an easier time to enter the commercial thus lucrative pop mainstream industry.
Yet he is mainly known for his version of “Light My Fire” and his own “Feliz Navidad,” both of which became international sensations.
Jose mostly plays an acoustic nylon string, or “classical” guitar, and with his adaptation of flamenco picking approach, which evolved into a wild unique masterful blending of styles – rock, latin, jazz, classical, soul, blues genres, and who knows what else!
Feliciano was discovered in 1963 while performing at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village and was immediately signed to RCA Victor. He released a single in 1964 with some success, and in 1965 and 1966 he released his first albums: The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano and A Bag Full Of Soul. Jose’s popularity grew, and Jose has at this point, 2022, recorded over fifty albums worldwide, in both English and Spanish.
Born blind in Puerto Rico, the fourth of eleven sons, Jose was first exposed to music at the age of 3, accompanying his uncle’s quatro playing on a cracker tin. At age 5 he moved with his family to Spanish Harlem, New York City, where he made his first public appearance at a Latin community music hall in the South Bronx section of New York City at the age of 9.
Jose taught himself accordion at age 7, revealing a knack for music. Then at age 9 his father gave him his first guitar, which he would play in his room for up to 14 hours a day, learning by listening to rock and roll on the radio, and records of jazz great Wes Montgomery and classical legend Andres Segovia, his favorites, among others. After attending The Light House School for the Blind in NYC, Jose left high school at 17 to help support his family. After meager “pass-the-hat” earnings from frequent gigs in the Village, Jose made his first contracted professional performance at The Retort, a coffee house in Detroit, Michigan. With his innovative Latin-infused stylings not too far off in the future, Jose was soon due to become JOSE FELICIANO, international music star!
After performing in Argentina the RCA Victor executives were so taken by Feliciano that they insisted he record an album for them in Spanish. He did, and as they say, the rest is history. With so many accomplishments, accolades, honors, etc. it is impossible to cram even a tenth of them in here. Yes, at this date, January 2022, Jose is anxious to get back out playing for his fans. Unreal! In my book, Jose Feliciano is a superstar by any standard and is helping to bring Latin and English speaking peoples closer together. Bravo!