*Multi-Award winning Latin singer, composer and guitarist Jose Feliciano was in California but on his way to the airport to continue on with his tour, when we spoke. Thrilled by his 2008 first time win of a Latin Grammy, (Jose won in the Best Contemporary Tropical Album category for his album Señor Bachata), Mr. Feliciano talked about returning to his childhood home state of New York where he is scheduled to perform at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx on Saturday, December 13th at 8:00 p.m.
“I am on the road. ‘Mr. Road Dog’ they call me,” chuckled Feliciano who was heading to his next venue in Austin, Texas, as part of his extensive tour. “I did a Mariachi tour this time. I played with one of the best Mariachi bands around called Con El Mariachi Sol De Mexico, remarked the talented singer/composer. “The tour has been going well. We played a casino that was packed to the rafters and I must admit it’s always great to go out and meet my fans. I am so grateful to the fans. They have kept me going for the last 52 years of my career. I started playing accordion at age 9 until the guitar stole my heart away. Then it was good-bye accordion, hello guitar!”
Born in Puerto Rico to a family of 11 boys, initially Feliciano’s family was concerned how Jose’s blindness would affect his future. However, God had plans for Jose who fell in love with music and worked hard to become a good guitarist. “I knew I was going to be a good musician. I didn’t know I would become famous but I worked hard at becoming good. I tried to combine my Latin roots with my soul roots. Aside from Spanish music, my influences were African American musicians and singers. People like Sam Cooke who to me was really my vocal teacher because I listened to his records constantly and learned phrasing. I also listened to Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder who I enjoyed during his early Motown days but I really appreciated him later when in the 1970s, Stevie began to write his own compositions,” stated Jose, who claims to be a late bloomer when it came to writing his own compositions. “I listened to Muddy Waters and the Blues. I understood the blues or how people struggled. As a youth, my family was living a meager existence, so I knew about being poor,” said Jose who has never forgotten his scanty beginnings so tries to give back by working with food banks. “There are a lot of people around the world who are needy. But there are also many people right here in America who are also in need of help. So, I do my best to give back” claimed Jose.
In 1996, Feliciano received Billboard's Lifetime Achievement Award, and NYC honored him by renaming Public School 155 in East Harlem, the José Feliciano Performing Arts School. Mr. Feliciano has performed his classical compositions, as well as his guitar transcriptions of works by other composers, with many of the top symphony orchestras. His compositions, which include his well known Christmas song Feliz Navidad and Light My Fire have been featured in television, films, and on the stage. PolyGram released Feliciano's most important recording in many years. Señor Bolero marked a return to his musical roots and earned him a sixteenth Grammy nomination, for Best Latin Pop Performance. Jose also documented and produced a beautiful album in 2007, The Soundtrax of my Life, a collection of original songs which set to music in large degree the chapters of his life. “I am very proud of that album because I did everything on it, wrote it and produced it and even talked about my relationship with my children,” commented Jose with pride.
A winner of 45 gold and platinum records and 7 Grammys, Jose appreciates his good fortune. “I count my blessings. America has been good to me. My fans and most importantly God has been good to me because without God nothing can happen. I am very grateful. I don’t take stardom for granted. A lot of artists get involved in their grandeur but I try to remain humble and really am always pleasantly surprised and pleased when people attend my concerts. I have won several Grammys but each time is like the first time. Each time I get excited and often don’t even expect to win. When I won the Latin Grammy I was so surprised, I didn’t know what to say when I got up to accept it. Winning it was very special for me,” remarked the eclectic performer who is comfortable in all genres of music whether it be soul, pop, Latin or classical. Jose has been able to endure and connect musically with each passing generation. “If you change with the times people remember you because you are appealing to each generation that goes by,” claimed the talented performer. “That is what made Ray Charles great, Bob Dillion, great, Louie Armstrong and the Beatles great. They all remained current because they had the ability to connect with each generation.”
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is located at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY. Tickets for the 8:00 p.m., Saturday, December 13th performance of JOSÉ FELICIANO ~ FELIZ NAVIDAD are: $45, $35, $25 and $20 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718.960.8833 (Mon. through Fri., 10AM–5PM, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Free parking is available.