![]() As a child Puente also attended a dancing school and played baseball before seriously injuring his ankle in a bicycle accident. ![]() While his father, Ernest Anthony Puente, Sr., worked as a foreman in a razor blade factory, his mother, Ercilia Puente, was the first to notice her eldest son’s musical talent, enrolling him in 25-cent piano lessons when he was seven. Shortly before his birth, Puente’s parents had left their native Puerto Rico to settle in the East Side of Harlem known as “El Barrio” for its large Hispanic population. He has also appeared in several films, received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and performed on television’s The David Letterman Show.Įrnest Anthony Puente, Jr., was born on April 20, 1923, in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. As a testament to his popularity with a younger audience, Puente has recorded with rocker Carlos Santana and has performed regularly at college concerts throughout the country. While Puente is perhaps best known for his all-time best-selling 1958 mambo album Dance Mania, his eclectic sound has continued to transcend cultural and generational boundaries. “In a day when pop singers fake their way to the top and when for many artists, success is the child of hype, Puente is one of only a handful of musicians who deserve the title ‘legendary,'” Mark Holston stated in Américas.Ĭredited with introducing the timbal - a double tom-tom played with sticks - and the vibraphone to Afro-Cuban music, Puente also plays the trap drums, the conga drums, the claves, the piano, and occasionally, the saxophone and the clarinet. ![]() Known as “El Rey,” or The King of Mambo, he has recorded an unprecedented 100 albums, published more than 400 compositions, and won four Grammy awards. Tito Puente is internationally recognized for his seminal contributions to Latin music as a bandleader, composer, arranger, and percussionist. In 1995, Puente received the Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award.Birthplace: Spanish Harlem, New York City.īreakthrough: In the early-1950s when his band took up residence at the Palladium, a dance venue on Broadway. In 2010, “Guantanamera” by Celia Cruz, featuring Puente, landed at No. In 1992, “Ran Kan Kan” entered the top 10 of Billboard‘s Dance Club Songs chart. His journey began with “Ran Kan Kan,” his first recorded track, which is featured in the Google Doodle. In the late ‘60s, Tito Puente joined New York’s maverick troupe Fania All-Stars, also featuring Eddie Palmeri, Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz. He penned timeless hits such as “Oye Como Va,” which was famously covered by Santana, “Mambo Gozón” (1958), “La Guarachera” (1966) with Celia Cruz, and many more. In his lifetime, he released an immense discography that includes more than 100 full-length albums that showcased his propulsive dance rhythms and jubilant brass melodies. In 1969, he was bestowed the key to New York City. He led his first orchestra in the late ‘40s, and by the 1950s, he became an unrivaled master of timbales and vibraphone. on April 20, 1923, in New York City’s Spanish Harlem to Puerto Rican parents, the young Nuyorican musician grew up surrounded by the rich Latin diversity the city is known for. Tito Puente’s Enduring Legacy Celebrated in New Animated Google Doodleīorn Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr.
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