Ay Carino

LOVE, LIFE, HEALTH AND MUSIC "AY CARINO"
Amor, vida, salud y música

Feliciano was born in Lares, Puerto Rico, on September 10, 1945. The fourth child of eleven sons, Jose was born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma. He was first exposed to music at the age of 3, playing on a tin cracker can while accompanying his uncle who played the cuatro. When Feliciano was 5, his family moved to Spanish Harlem, New York City, where at the age of 9 he made his first public appearance at the Teatro Puerto Rico in The Bronx.

Feliciano's knack for music became apparent when at 7, he taught himself to play the accordion. About two years later, however, when Jose was 9 years old, his father handed him a paper bag -- with his first guitar, changing his life forever. He would play this instrument 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 some 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 Andres Segovia. In a 1969 interview, Feliciano mentioned soul music in general, and Ray Charles and Sam Cooke in particular, as influences on his singing.

At 17, in order to help support his family, Jose quit 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 .

Feliciano scored great success in the 60's and 70's including the Rick Jarred Produced remake of the Doors "Light My Fire" and Feliciano's own composition "Feliz Navidad." He also performed the theme song for the hit TV Series "Chico and the Man".

During the 1980s, after a brief stay on Motown with 2 English albums produced by Berry Gordy in 1981 and Rick Jarrard in 1983, Feliciano was a guest on the 1983 NBC television show Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever). Also during this time period Jose Feliciano's manager - Burl Hechtman, and Promoters Gary Mason and Leonardo Schultz met with President of Motown Records "Jay Lasker" and convinced him to record a Spanish album. They promised Lasker "big sales" and a Grammy Nomination. The album would be produced by Leonardo Schultz and Exec Produced by Mason under the watchful eye of Hechtman. The album entitled "Escenas Amor" was a big hit in the Latin Market and garnered a "Grammy Nomination" for best Latin Pop Performance. A second album was green lighted by Lasker, entitled "Me Enamore" with the same production team, which was an even bigger hit, and received a "Grammy"for Best Latin Pop Performance. During this time period, Mason and Schultz also arranged for Feliciano to perform at the Vina Del Mar Festival. Feliciano left Motown and released a number of successful records for that market, including the Motown albums 'Escenas de Amor' and 'Me Enamoré', as well as others from RCA, EMI, and Capitol, garnering 4 more Grammy Awards for best Latin Performer. He recorded a duet called "Por Ella" with the most popular Mexican singer at the time, José José, which became a Latin hit. In the 1980s and into the 1990s, José recorded duets with Natalie Cole ("More Than the Stars" on her 1987 album Everlasting), Gloria Estefan ("Tengo Que Decirte Algo" on her 2000 album Alma Caribeña), Chamaco Rivera ("Consuelo" on his 1984 album 'Por Fin'), jazz singer Diane Schuur ("By Design" and "The American Wedding Song" on her 1985 album 'Schuur Thing'), and Paul Simon ("Born in Puerto Rico" on his 1997 album Songs from The Capeman). In 1982, Feliciano played guitar on the DeBarge record 'All This Love (album)|All This Love.

(Above courtesy of wikipedia)

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