During the artistic and commercial apex that it reached from the late '60s to the early '80s, the Fania label managed the seemingly impossible: to house almost every single superstar in Afro-Caribbean music under the same roof, founding a happy family that left all egos aside in favor of the common good.

Imagine members of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen recording and touring together all in the name of fun.  Sounds like a naïve dream, right?  And yet, that's exactly what the Fania All Stars did within salsa.  Legendary soneros like Cheo Feliciano, Héctor Lavoe, Santitos Colón and Ismael Miranda would share the spotlight, putting each other down playfully on extended jams like "Quítate Tú."  Meanwhile, famed bandleaders were quite content with playing their respective instruments as part of a larger orchestra:  Larry Harlow and Papo Lucca on keyboards; Roberto Roena on bongó; Ray Barretto on congas; Willie Colón on trombone - the list goes on.

Celebrating the amazing trajectory of the most epic conglomerate that Latin music has ever experienced, we have just released Ponte Duro - The Fania All Stars Story, a lavish box set containing four CDs of music and a booklet with brand new liner notes and previously unreleased photos.

The Fania All Stars was, above all, a live outfit.  Its performances at the Red Garter, the Cheetah and the Yankee Stadium trace the salsa explosion of the '70s from homegrown phenomenon to international stardom.  Fittingly, three of the four CDs in this collection are culled from concert performances - including an 18 minute-long "Quítate Tú/Hang On Sloopy," straight from the Fania vaults, recorded in the mid-'70s with Stevie Wonder as honorary guest.

Some indelible moments from salsa history are also represented:  a torrid "Guantanamera" with Celia Cruz singing from a stage in Africa.  Roberto Roena's electrifying bongó solo on the marathon jam "Ponte Duro."  And Cheo Feliciano's raucous vocalizing on the timeless 1971 recording of "Anacaona" at the Cheetah club.

The fourth disc encompasses three decades of studio recordings.  Under the musical direction of Johnny Pacheco, the group blossomed in the studio, experimenting with funk, soul and rock, playing every single Latin format under the horizon, from velvety charanga instrumentations to straight ahead salsa. Celia Cruz channeling the Gypsy Kings on "Bamboleo," the All Stars exploring Chicano rock on "Viva Tirado" and Justo Betancourt going big band on "Cara De Payaso" are just a few of the many highlights to be found here.

Click on the image to order this Never-before released 4 cd box set in a coffee table quality package. Contains over 50 tracks and 25 Pages of English and Spanish liner notes with the history and photos.