Fania Records announces the release of a deluxe 2-disc, 30-track box set of the greatest of the mambo kings, Tito Rodriguez scheduled for November 3, 2009. Tito Rodríguez: A Man and His Music El Inolvidable includes some of the legendary singer/bandleader’s greatest numbers, including his career-defining hit “Mama Güela,” as well as “Blen, Blen, Blen,” “Cara de Payaso,” and many others.

With the best musicians in New York City (including on some tracks the legendary bassist Cachao and pianist / arranger René Hernández), the sheer quality of this timeless music will remind longtime fans of his astonishing work and will also attract a new generation of listeners. This compilation, selected by the well-known New York discographer Harry Sepúlveda, focuses on years when Rodríguez’s dance band starred at the legendary Palladium (where many of the tracks were recorded), as well as the high points of his mega-successful international career as a chart-topping singer of romantic songs.

Born in Puerto Rico, Tito Rodríguez came to New York as a teenager in the 1930’s.  After stints singing with a number of top groups he formed the Tito Rodriguez Orchestra, the most danceable band in the dance-fever era.  It was built around the voice of its leader, a versatile interpreter of every style of music who went out singing. In 1973, suffering from cancer at the age of fifty, he was rushed to the hospital after leaving the stage from a headline appearance at Madison Square Garden and died days later.  Although he passed away, his legacy continues to burn bright through his recorded music as showcased on this new release.