José Feliciano
José Feliciano at a concert (2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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José Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares ) is a Puerto Rican singer and guitarist .
Life
José Feliciano was born the son of a farmer. He has one older brother and nine younger ones. Because of a congenital glaucoma , he has since he was born blind . At the age of five, he and his family moved to Harlem , New York City . At the age of nine he played in the Puerto Rico Theater . He could already play various instruments, including the accordion , but then became interested in the guitar . In order to be undisturbed, he would sometimes lock himself in his room for 14 hours a day and listen to rock music from the 1950s.
At 17, he left school to play in clubs and thus support his family. That year he also made his first professional contract appearance in Detroit .
In 1966 he went to Mar del Plata , Argentina , to perform at a festival. There he was discovered by RCA Victor who wanted to record an album with him in Spanish . Feliciano suggested bolero music and the result was the two successful hits Poquita Fe ( Little Trust ) and Usté ( “You” by Usted ).
After two more successful records, Feliciano had achieved a high level of awareness in Latin America. In order to become famous in the USA too, he moved to Los Angeles . He composed the song Feliz Navidad ( Merry Christmas ), which has now become a Christmas classic, and his own version of The Doors song Light My Fire . With the two pieces he was suddenly successful and so he sold millions of albums.
José Feliciano had an appearance in 1975 with David Carradine and Cannonball Adderley in the 55th episode of the American television series Kung Fu .
In 1968 he won the Grammy for "All Best New Artist Of The Year".
At the height of the 1968 Vietnam War protests , Feliciano had the opportunity to sing the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, during the World Series . His very personal, slow latino jazz version was very controversial. Some called his performance unpatriotic and even demanded that he be deported. Others understood the feelings and sincerity of his performance, and so he became a hero of the counter-movement. The recording was released as a single and made it to the top 50 on the Billboard charts.
Feliciano is one of the few singers who has managed to be successful with both Spanish music and English rock and roll. In 1987 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .
In 1995, Feliciano was honored by the New York Government, which renamed No. 155 Public School the José Feliciano Performing Arts School . In 1996 he made a brief appearance in the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning film Fargo , in which he played himself.
In 2018 , a riverside path was named after him in Leobersdorf , Austria , where Feliciano has lived with his family since 2015 . The christening for the José Feliciano promenade was carried out on September 30, 2018 in recognition of his many years of service to the Regenbogental Children's Therapy Center.
In 1988 he set a monument to his adopted home with the song The Sound of Vienna . In 2011 he opened a café in Vienna, where he serves his own coffee brand, Cafe Don Feliciano .
José Feliciano had a illegitimate son who died a few weeks after he was born. He and his wife Susan have a daughter and two sons.
Discography
English / International
- 1964 - The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano
- 1965 - Fantastic Feliciano
- 1966 - A Bag Full of Soul
- 1968 - Feliciano!
- 1968 - Souled
- 1969 - Feliciano - 10 to 23
- 1969 - Alive Alive-O!
- 1970 - Fireworks
- 1970 - Christmas album
- 1971 - Encore!
- 1971 - Ché Sara
- 1971 - That the Spirit Needs
- 1972 - Sings
- 1972 - Memphis Menu
- 1973 - Compartments
- 1973 - Peter Stuyvesant presents José Feliciano in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra
- 1974 - For My Love, Mother Music
- 1974 - And The Feeling's Good
- 1975 - Just Wanna Rock and Roll
- 1976 - Angela
- 1977 - Sweet Soul Music
- 1981 - Jose Feliciano
- 1983 Romance In The Night
- 1988 - VSOP, Jose Feliciano & Wiener Symphoniker
- 1989 - I'm Never Gonna Change
- 1990 - Steppin 'Out
- 1996 - Present Tense
- 1996 - On Second Thought
- 2000 - The Season Of your Heart
- 2006 - Six String Lady (the instrumental album)
- 2007 - The Soundtrax Of My Life
- 2009 - Djangoisms (the instrumental album to Django Reinhardt)
- 2009 - American Classics
Spanish
- 1966 - El sentimiento - La voz y la guitarra
- 1966 - La copa rota
- 1967 - Sombra
- 1967 - ¡El fantástico!
- 1967 - Mas éxitos de José
- 1968 - Felicidades con lo mejor de José Feliciano
- 1968 - Sin luz
- 1971 - En mi soledad - No llores
- 1971 - José Feliciano dos cruces
- 1971 - José Feliciano January 71
- 1971 - José Feliciano canta otra
- 1982 - Escenas de amor
- 1983 - Me enamoré
- 1984 - Como tú quieres
- 1985 - Ya soy tuyo
- 1986 - Te amaré
- 1987 - Tu inmenso amor
- 1990 - Niña
- 1992 - Latin Street '92
- 1996 - Americano
- 1998 - Señor Bolero (US:× 2Double platinum )
- 2001 - Señor Bolero 2
- 2003 - Guitarra mía - Tribute
- 2005 - A México, con amor
- 2006 - José Feliciano y amigos (US:gold)
Awards for music sales
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
Country / Region | silver | gold | platinum | Sales | swell |
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Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
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Australia (ARIA) | - | gold1 | - | 35,000 | aria.com.au |
Denmark (IFPI) | - | gold1 | - | 45,000 | ifpi.dk |
Italy (FIMI) | - | gold1 | - | 25,000 | fimi.it |
United States (RIAA) | - | 4 × gold4th | 2 × platinum2 | 240,000 | riaa.com |
United Kingdom (BPI) | silver1 | - | - | 200,000 | bpi.co.uk |
All in all | silver1 | 7 × gold7th | 2 × platinum2 |
swell
- ↑ US singles: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 . Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 . / US albums: Joel Whitburn : Joel Whitburn presents the Billboard Albums . 6th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
- ^ Billboard 200, May 24, 2003
- ↑ Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ^ Daniel Meier, Every year the same song, in: NZZ am Sonntag, December 22, 2013, p. 17.
- ↑ grammy.com
- ↑ http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19834/m1/
- ↑ leobersdorf.at: Honoring meeting the market town Leobersdorf
Web links
- José Feliciano in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website
- José Feliciano at Discogs (English)
- The Feliciano Fiesta Fan Site
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Feliciano, José |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Puerto Rican singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 10, 1945 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Lares , Puerto Rico |