Boogaloo
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| Boogaloo | |
| Stylistic origins | Cuban son, Cha-cha-chá, mambo, R&B, Doo-wop, Soul music |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins | 1960s New York |
| Typical instruments | piano, conga, trumpet, trombone, bass guitar, double bass, guitar, bongos, saxophone, güiro, timbales |
| Mainstream popularity | Late 1960s |
| Regional scenes | |
| New York and Puerto Rico | |
Boogaloo or Bugalú (shing-a-ling) is a genre of Latin music and dance that was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City among teenage Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other groups. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul with mambo and son montuno. It included the use of English lyrics as well as Spanish. Boogaloo entered the mainstream through the American Bandstand television program.
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[edit] History
In the 1950s and 60s, African Americans in the United States listened to a number of styles of music, including jump blues, R&B and doo wop. Puerto Ricans in New York City shared in these tastes, but also listened to genres like mambo or chachacha. There was much intermixing of Latinos, especially Puerto Ricans and Cubans, African Americans, and others in clubs which tried to find musical common ground to attract both. Boogaloo was the result of this search, a marriage of many styles including Cuban son montuno, guajira, guaracha and mambo and most uniquely, American R&B and soul.
Boogaloo can be seen as "the first Nuyorican music" (René López), and has been called "the greatest potential that Cuban rhythms had to really cross over in terms of music" (Izzy Sanabria). Styles like doo wop also left a sizable influence, through Tony Pabón (of Pete Rodríguez Band), Bobby Marín, King Nando, Johnny Colón and his vocalists Tony Rojas and Tito Ramos.
Though boogaloo did not become mainstream nationwide until later in the decade, two early Top 20 hits came in 1963: Mongo Santamaria's performance of the Herbie Hancock piece Watermelon Man and Ray Barretto's El Watusi. Inspired by these two successes, a number of bands began imitating their infectious rhythms (which were Latinized R&B), intense conga rhythms and clever novelty lyrics. Boogaloo was the only Cuban-style rhythm which acquired English lyrics – some of the time. Some established Latin musicians recorded the occasional boogaloo number, including Perez Prado, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente. Most of the performers were young, and some were teenagers, like The Latin Souls, The Lat-Teens, Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers, Joe Bataan and The Latinaires.
The older generation of Latin musicians have been accused of initially using their influence to repress the young movement, for commercial reasons. There was certainly pressure on booking agents by the established bands.[1] The term boogaloo was probably coined in about 1966 by Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The biggest boogaloo hit of the 60s was Bang Bang by the Joe Cuba Sextet, which achieved unprecedented success for Latin music in the United States in 1966 when it sold over one million copies. El Pito was another hit by this popular combo. Hits by other groups included Johnny Colón’s Boogaloo Blues, Pete Rodríguez’s I like it like that, and Hector Rivera’s At the Party. Boogaloo also spread to Puerto Rico, where top band El Gran Combo released some material. The craze was mostly over by 1970, perhaps because of the hostility of established bands and key booking agents.[2] Almost every major and minor Latin dance artist of the time had recorded at least a few boogaloos on their albums.
The same year as Joe Cuba's pop success, 1966, saw the closing of New York City's Palladium Ballroom, a well-known venue that had been the home of big band mambo for many years. The closing marked the end of mainstream mambo, and boogaloo ruled the Latin charts for several years before salsa began to take over.
Boogaloo remains extremely popular to this day in Cali, Colombia, where the genre is played extensively, along with salsa and pachanga, in various FM and AM radio stations and hundreds of dance clubs. Caleños sometimes speed up cha-cha-chá and boogaloo tunes from 33 to 45 RPM to suit the tastes of the dancers for faster music.
[edit] References
[edit] Discography
- Ray Barretto, Viva Watusi! (UA Latino, 1965)
- Ricardo Ray, Se soltó (On the loose) (Tico, 1966)
- Ricardo Ray, Jala jala boogaloo (Tico, 1967)
- Joe Cuba Sextet, Bang! Bang! & Push, push, push (Tico, 1967)
- Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers, The Best of Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers (Ace, 1966-1970)
- Johnny Colon, Boogaloo Blues (Fania, 1967)
- Willie Colon, El Malo (Fania, 1967)
