Willie Colón Tribute on Ritmo Sunday, February 22nd

Sunday, February 22nd, 12-2pm on Ritmo: DJ C-Town and DJ Media Mail celebrate the great legacy of Willie Colón, who we lost February 20th. Colon was a prominent Salsa musician, producer, and singer. He rose to fame with Fania Records in the 1960s. His first album, El Malo, was released when he was only 17, featuring a little-known singer by the name of Hector Lavoe. From 1967 to 1973, Willie and Hector collaborated for eight hard-driving hit albums that came to define the genre of ‘Salsa’, blending Afro-Cuban rhythms with R&B, Jazz, and folkloric styles from the Caribbean and Latin America – epitomizing the ‘New York sound’. After Lavoe split from Willie’s group to start his solo career, Willie stayed on to play on and produce Hector’s albums. Willie continued his own successful solo career with Fania, including the best-selling album Siembra (with Ruben Blades, 1978) and hits such as “Oh Qué Será” (1981). From the late 1970s into the 80s, Willie released successful collaborations with Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, and Ismael Miranda, and later signed with CBS/Sony in 1989. In 1993, Colón released what became one of his most enduring songs, “Idilio”. Catch the archive if you miss the episode.