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Willie Colón
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Willie Colón was born in the South Bronx in New York in 1950, the son of Puerto Rican parents. He began on trumpet and switched to trombone, inspired by the all-trombone sound of Mon Rivera and Barry Rogers. At fifteen he signed with Fania Records, and at seventeen he recorded his first album, which sold more than three hundred thousand copies. The producer Johnny Pacheco recommended the singer Héctor Lavoe to him. Colón died in 2026.
Music and breakthrough
Colón was a pioneer of salsa and one of the key figures of the New York scene around Fania. He combined jazz, rock and salsa with rhythms from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Brazil. On records such as El malo, The Hustler and Cosa nuestra from 1968 and 1969 he deliberately adopted a gangster image, before that became common in the culture. With Lavoe he made, among other things, Aguanilé, and he also collaborated with Celia Cruz, Ismael Miranda and Rubén Blades. The album Siembra with Blades is regarded as the best-selling salsa album. His Christmas album Asalto navideño, from 1971 or 1972, lets the Puerto Rican diaspora in New York speak to the island, lovingly but also defiantly.
Influence
The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States is a recurring theme in his lyrics. He was also active in New York politics, among other things as an aide to Mayor David Dinkins, and worked as an actor. In 2004 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Recording Academy. Colón brought the trombone to the fore in salsa, with a raw, sharp sound, and turned the Spanish-language street story into a sound recognised worldwide.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1968El malo
- 1968The Hustler
- 1969Cosa nuestra
- 1969Guisando (Doing a Job)
- 1970The Big Break - La gran fuga
- 1972Asalto navideño
- 1972El juicio
- 1973Asalto navideño, vol. II
- 1973Lo mato (Si no compra este LP)
- 1975The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
- 1975There Goes the Neighborhood: Se chavó el vecindario
- 1977El baquiné de angelitos negros
- 1977Metiendo mano
- 1977Only They Could Have Made This Album
- 1978Siembra
- 1979Solo
- 1980Doble energía
- 1981Canciones del solar de los aburridos
- 1981Celia y Willie
- 1981Fantasmas
- 1982Corazón guerrero
- 1982The Last Fight (soundtrack)
- 1983Vigilante
- 1984Criollo
- 1984Tiempo pa' matar
- 1986Contrabando
- 1987The Winners
- 1989Top Secrets
- 1990Color americano
- 1991Honra y cultura
- 1992Asalto navideño, vol. II
- 1993Hecho en Puerto Rico
- 1995Tras la tormenta
- 1995Y vuelve otra vez
- 1998Demasiado corazón (soundtrack)
- 2000Idilio
- 2008El malo
- 2020Amor verdadero
Mentioned in other articles
- Salsa Genre
The label Fania, with Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and Celia Cruz, made salsa big in the 1970s.