Willie Colón (born April 28, 1950) – MC² (Theme Realidades) (1975)
One of the original Fania All-Stars and possibly the best-selling salsa artist of all time, Colón wrote this salsa funk bomb for his The Good, The Bad, The Ugly LP.
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Willie Colón is one of the original Fania All-Stars who may be the best-selling salsa artist of all time, estimated to have sold more than 30 million records.
William Anthony Colón Román was born in the South Bronx, New York City. His parents were from Puerto Rico, and he spent some summers on his grandmother’s sister’s farm on the island. Colón started out playing the trumpet but later switched to trombone. His talents were evident immediately, and at age 15 he was signed to Fania Records. He was only 17 when he recorded his first album, El Malo (The Bad [One]), released in 1967. Its title track was later featured on the video game soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
In 1968, Fania Records co-owner Johnny Pacheco formed a salsa super group called the Fania All-Stars, of which Colón was a founding member. They released four live albums from 1968-72, including two recorded at New York’s Cheetah Lounge and filmed for the documentary Our Latin Thing (1972) directed by Leon Gast. The All-Stars performed at a legendary August, 1973 concert at Yankee Stadium with 45,000 in attendance, recorded for the albums Live At Yankee Stadium (Vols. 1 & 2).
For his 1975 Fania album The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, which he produced, Colón wrote five out of its nine tracks, including the ultra-funky salsa funk bomb instrumental “MC² (Theme Realidades).”
It was one of two tracks on the album that were recorded for the Realidades public television show, the other being “I Feel Campesino Theme Realidades).” Realidades was broadcast on WNET Channel 13 in New York from 1975-77 and showcased Latino artists. Colón was the show’s musical director.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly featured a stellar backing band with Louis "Timbalito" Romero on timbales, “Prof. Joe” Torres and Rogers Grant on piano, Bob Porcelli on alto sax, Mario Rivera on baritone sax, Elliott Randall on electric guitar (a top session guitarist who played the solos on Steely Dan’s “Reeling In The Years” and “Fame” by Irene Cara), Eddie Rivera and Santi Gonzalez on bass, Jose Cigno on trap drum, and Milton Cardona on congas and Brazilian percussion.
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