On April 28 of 1950, one of salsa's greatest geniuses was born in the Bronx: William Anthony Colón Román, established during the second half of the '60s as El Malote, Willie Colón.

Willie was raised in the barrio by his grandmother Antonia Román Pintor, the endearing Doña Toña. “She would talk to me in Spanish," Willie told me during an interview for the book Cada Cabeza es un Mundo: La Historia de Héctor Lavoe. During my childhood, I listened to the danzas of Rafael Alers and Juan Morel Campos on the radio.”

The only other musician in the family was his uncle Gilberto Román, who died from meningitis as a child. He played the sax. Soon enough, Doña Toña noticed Willie’s musical interest and gave him a trumpet, which he learned how to play together with the tutelage of Tijoe an African American trumpetist who lived in his building. In 1964, when he was only 14 years old, he formed the band The Latin Jazz All-Stars. The group would be renamed La Dinámica when Willie decided to change the instrumentation to two valve trombones.

They recorded a demo that included the tracks “Mama Güela,” “Dolores la Pachanguera” and “Fuego en el Barrio,” with Tony Vázquez, his first singer. Futura Records released “Fuego en el Barrio,” motivating the Fania label to sign him. Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco convinced him to put Héctor Lavoe on lead vocals in 1966 on the El Malo LP giving birth to the most notorious duo in the history of salsa.

Few could have imagined that the young man who played third trombone with the Fania All Stars next to Barry Rogers and Reynaldo Jorge would become salsa's most successful and influential producer.

Like King Midas, everything that Willie touched turned promptly into gold. His albums with Héctor Lavoe broke sales records. The recordings he produced with Mon Rivera, Rubén Blades, Sophy, Celia Cruz, Soledad Bravo and Ismael Miranda stand out as some of salsa's best.

The influence of Lavoe can be heard on his albums as a solo singer. “Héctor taught me how to sing with good rhymes and a sense of humor - that which salseros call malicia," explains Willie. "A combination of cadence, clave, and lyrics that are inventive, streetwise and funny.”

This compilation brings together the greatest hits that Willie recorded for Fania. His contribution to urban salsa is apparent on narratives like “Calle Luna, Calle Sol” and “Juanito Alimaña.” He pioneered of symphonic salsa, as evidenced by “Sin Poderte Hablar” from the album Solo, and is responsible for underscoring the African side of Puerto Rican folklore on tracks like “Pena de Amor,” recorded with Mon Rivera, and “El Día De Mi Suerte.”

An arranger blessed with a vision that is both pan-American and cosmopolitan is revealed on “La Murga” and “Amor Verdadero.” His communion with the religious devotion of the Latin barrios, a product of the Caribbean diaspora which migrated to New York during the '50s, '60s and '70s, can be heard on “Aguanile.”

Willie Colón will always be remembered as a salsa genius. His contribution to the genre will never be equaled. Enjoy his greatest Fania hits.



Written by Jaime Torres Torres
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