Tito Puente is a musical legend whose success and popularity helped bring the music and culture of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Africa to larger mainstream audiences around the world. Very often referred to as the “King of Timbales”, Puente was born in NYC in 1923 to immigrant Puerto Rican parents, and was raised in Spanish Harlem. A naturally talented and artistic child, his career spanned six decades of the 20th century, with many, many international performances, achievements, and awards; and his discography is considered a cultural treasure. A couple of notable examples of his lasting legacy are: his 1958 album Dance Mania is listed in the National Recording Registry, and his song, “Oye Como Va”, which is considered a standard (and which Carlos Santana took to even greater heights when he released his version in 1963.)

Here he is performing his pulsating, hypnotic “Mambo Rama” with his orchestra in 1955; and man do those horns sound amazing. On the New York label TICO.

 

Tito Puente - Mambo Rama