Héctor Lavoe

Héctor Lavoe was among the most innovative singers in salsa history. In addition to solo recordings, he was a founding and longtime member of the Fania All-Stars. Gifted with perfect diction, a jazzman’s sense of rhythmic syncopation, and an emotive delivery, Lavoe and musical partner Willie Colón emerged as the Latin boogaloo and soul of the late 1960s evolved into the ’70s salsa boom. 1970’s classic Cosa Nuestra included the immortal anthem “Che Che Cole.” 1970′s El Gran Fuga, 1972′s El Juicio, and 1973′s Lo Mato netted ten hit singles between them and boasted future salsa standards including “Calle Luna, Calle Sol.” Lavoe went solo and Colón produced the singer’s 1975 gold-certified La Voz, 1976′s De Ti Depende, and 1978′s smash Comedia. The latter contained the Rubén Blades-penned single “El Cantante,” Lavoe’s theme song. He issued ¡Qué Sentimiento! in 1981, his only self-produced album, and 1985′s Revento was certified gold. 1987′s Strikes Back marked the final studio collaboration between Colón and Lavoe, and was nominated for a Grammy. The singer’s life was the subject of 2006′s El Cantante, a Hollywood biopic starring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.
Born Héctor Juan Perez Martinez in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1946, he was one of eight children born to Francisca Martínez and Luis Pérez. In the first of many tragedies he would experience throughout his life, Lavoe lost his mother when he was three. To cope, he sang along to radio who played records by legendary Latin singers including Daniel Santos and Jesús Sánchez Erazo (aka Chuito el de Bayamon). His father, who played guitar in local orchestras and dance bands, hoped his son would become a great saxophonist and offered him rudimentary musical instruction. He enrolled Lavoe at the Juan Morel Campos School of Music. Though he learned the basics of the horn, he soon lost interest because he wanted to sing. He was initially influenced by jibara, bomba, and other popular sounds. In addition to Santos and Bayamon, he was deeply influenced by singers Ismael Quintana, Cheo Feliciano, and Ismael Rivera.
These influences are obvious in Lavoe’s singing style. He attacks the son and montuno like the masters Rivera and Beny Moré, but Lavoe’s talent for improvisation made him popular with salsa fans. At 14 he joined his first band as a singer with his childhood friend Roberto Garcia, playing standards of the day and making $18 a night. At 17, Lavoe quit music school and emigrated to New York City in pursuit of a singing career. He arrived in May 1963 and stayed with his older sister Priscilla. Initially he worked odd jobs as a painter, window washer, baggage handler, messenger, waiter, and janitor, short order cook, and busboy. He ran into childhood friend Garcia on the street one day (he had emigrated earlier) and Garcia began taking Lavoe to dance halls and Latin music clubs in the Bronx and all over lower Manhattan. Following this cultural exposure — that excited Lavoe to no end — Garcia invited the fledgling singer to rehearse with a sextet he was forming.
In November 1964, Lavoe visited a club in Brooklyn. There he met pianist Russell Cohen, director of the New Yorker Band. Lavoe auditioned for the group and was hired as one of the outfit’s backing vocalists. In 1965 he recorded his first single with the New Yorker Band, “Mi China Me Botó,” composed by Arsenio Rodríguez with arrangements by Alfredito Valdés, Jr.
Though a member of the New Yorker Band, Lavoe moonlighted with others including the New York Orchestra, Alegre All-Stars and Francisco "Kako" Bastar’s orchestra. In the latter group he met his mentor Johnny Pacheco, who proposed to young trombonist, composer, and bandleader Willie Colón that he record a track with Lavoe on his upcoming debut album. While the bandleader already had Tony Vasquez, a vocalist who had been with him for some time, Colón gave Lavoe a shot. After hearing the playback, he asked the singer to re-record all the lead vocals for 1967′s Guisando on the young Fania Records label. Thanks to gigs at local clubs and well-chosen airplay, the album exploded first across New York and then internationally as its popularity spread to France, Panama, Colombia, and elsewhere. It changed both their lives, granting them money, fame, and steady work. Lavoe later admitted he didn’t know how to handle the pressures of this new life and began experimenting with drugs to cope.
In 1968, their partnership produced The Hustler. Lavoe, whose stage name was derived from his nickname “La Voz,” only sang in Spanish at the time. Colón used that to their advantage by focusing their sound directly at the Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban sounds. It included the bolero “Que Lio,” as well as the proto son/salsa jams “Se Acaba Este Mundo,” and “Eso Se Baila Así.” that showcased the band’s command of the pan-Latin sounds. That year Lavoe began a romantic relationship with Carmen Castro, who became pregnant, but refused to marry him because of his lifestyle. His first son, José Alberto Pérez, was born on October 30, 1968. On the very night the child was baptized, the singer received a call informing him that another of his girlfriends, Nilda “Puchi” Román, was also pregnant. Lavoe’s second son, Héctor Pérez, Jr. was born on September 25, 1969. Following the child’s birth, the couple married.
Also in 1968, the Fania Records brass — Jerry Masucci and Pacheco — formed a revolving supergroup they hoped would tour and record. The Fania All-Stars enlisted Lavoe as one of its first singers alongside Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Ismael Miranda, and Adalberto Santiago. Their first two recordings were Live at the Red Garter, Vols. 1 & 2 in 1968.
1969′s classic Guisando was co-credited to Colón and Lavoe, and their first album to showcase the band’s darker, more aggressive, trombone-dominant sound enlisted guaracha, son, guajira, and guaguancó, resulting in the hit singles “Guisando,” “No Me Den Candela,” and “Te Estan Buscando.” They followed it in 1970 with Cosa Nuestra, which showcased their emergent salsa sound on now immortal anthems such as “Che Che Cole,” “No Me Llores Mas,” and the steamy bolero “Ausencia.” On Halloween 1970, the fully mature sound of the band was made plain on the long-player El Gran Fuga. It netted four smash singles in “Ghana’ E,” “Sigue Feliz,” “Barrunto,” and “Panameña.” That year the pair also issued the first of their holiday collections, Asalto Navideño. The band toured the Eastern U.S. and the Caribbean, becoming sell-out attractions in Panama, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. They also appeared live on television and radio.
In 1971, the band toured almost constantly, and the pressure to keep the pace and perform in top shape each night saw Lavoe increase his drug use. He began behaving erratically and would often show up late to performances — or not at all. Following their return to New York City, Lavoe entered rehab for the first time. In August, he joined the restructured Fania All-Stars and played several nights at a sold-out Cheetah Club, a one-time rock and R&B venue that had once hosted Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin. The band’s performances resulted in two charting albums, Live at the Cheetah, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, both issued the following year. 1972 also saw the release of the duo’s El Juicio. It boasted no less than three charting singles in “Ah-Ah/O-No,” “Piraña,” “Soñando Despierto.” Further, the bolero “I Will Continue Without You” proved prescient in the relationship between Colón and Lavoe.
In 1973, the pair issued Asalto Navideño, Vol. 2 and Lo Mato; the latter was the final album to feature Colón’s youthful dual trombone sound. Recorded at the height of their creative powers, the set boasted three hit singles in “El Día de Mi Suerte,” “Todo Tengo Su Final,” and the salsa classic, “Calle Luna, Calle Sol.” In August, Lavoe appeared in the Fania All-Stars’ chorus for the seminal Live at Yankee Stadium. In November, they performed the inaugural show at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan. Lavoe got a solo during this show; it was the first time he performed the iconic “Mi Gente,” written for him by Pacheco.
In 1974 Colón, fed up with Lavoe’s excesses, planned to record an album featuring himself on lead vocals. Lavoe was touring internationally with the Fania All-Stars. That September, the All-Stars played a concert at the three-day Zaire 74 Festival organized by Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine. Originally planned to promote the Rumble in the Jungle heavyweight bout between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, the fight had to be postponed for six weeks due to a Foreman injury, but the concert, featuring 17 artists from Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and 14 from overseas including James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, the Spinners, Celia Cruz, and the Fania All-Stars, went on. Lavoe reprised his solo performance of “Mi Gente” during the show to a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, Colón was recording a much more expansive album showcasing his own lead vocals and those of Panamanian singer and songwriter Rubén Blades, who had just left Ray Barretto’s band. 1975′s The Good, The Bad, The Ugly offered a much wider and more mature musical palette than any of his previous collaborations with Lavoe had; it also featured Yomo Toro on cuatro throughout, and Lavoe only took two lead vocals on the set. Before the tour, Colón formed a new band and left Lavoe their orchestra, which the latter used to kick off his solo career.
Though they no longer played together, Colón continued producing Lavoe’s solo albums. 1976′s chart-topping, gold-certified La Voz re-confirmed his singing ability and proved the engine of his stardom. In addition to the first studio recording of “Mi Gente,” it included the hit singles “Rompe Saragüey,” “Emborrachame de Amor,” “Un Amor de la Calle,” and the sultry bolero “Tus Ojos.” Fania couldn’t have been happier with the duo’s split — they now had two hitmaking acts.
After recording Tribute to Tito Rodríguez with the Fania All-Stars, Lavoe released De Ti Depende with Colón as producer. With the title track as his muse, Lavoe bet big on boleros in his repertoire here and also cut “Consejo de Oro” and “Tanto Como Ayer.” Other standouts included the burning salsa “Vamos a Reír un Poco.”
While the albums sold well and Lavoe was rightfully celebrated for his vocal innovations, his live performances were often erratic and uneven due to his drug and alcohol abuse, which profoundly affected his reputation with fans and critics who were openly speculating that he was finished. In 1977, during a period of severe clinical depression, Lavoe abandoned his tour and entered treatment again for his drug addiction. After a period of recovery he returned to international touring in 1978.
That year the singer recorded and released the Colón-produced Comedia. The gold-certified album re-invigorated reinvigorated reputation and gave him “El Cantante,” a song that provided him with his immortal nickname. Further, its ambitious orchestral backdrops melded well with son, montuno, classic son, bolero, and salsa. Colón had commissioned Blades to write something special for them to record. When he read the lyrics, he was so moved he convinced Blades to give the song to Lavoe. “El Cantate” became a worldwide smash. In addition to playing headline shows on his own, Lavoe performed with the Fania All-Stars at Madison Square Garden that year and guested on Tito Puente’s Homenaje a Beny Moré, Vol. 2. The following year saw the release of Lavoe’s Recordando a Felipe Pirela (Remembering Felipe Pirela), a tribute to the Venezuelan singer, and Feliz Navidad, another holiday album.
In 1980 the singer released El Sabio. Though the Colón-produced date sold very well — everything Lavoe recorded did — it was a creative curiosity. For starters, the seven-song set included only five new titles. “Para Ochum” and “Noche de Farra” had been recorded several years earlier for De Ti Depende, but were left off as Lavoe didn’t like his vocals on either. Further, the song “Ajeate” was given to him by Mexican composer/arranger Raúl René Rosado in hopes he would record it Mexico, but technical difficulties made that impossible. Interestingly, the set’s closing track was a cover of jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan’s “Ceora.”
By the end of 1980, Lavoe’s performances had once again become erratic due to his problems with addiction although he managed to record and tour with Fania All-Stars and tour internationally on his own. In spite of his problems, Lavoe issued his most ambitious work in 1981′s ¡Qué Sentimiento! the only album in his catalog he arranged and produced himself. So instinctive and seamless was the recording that three of its songs, “Soy Vagabundo,” “No Hay Quien Te Aguante,” and “Amor Soñado,” though written by others, seemed tailored to Lavoe’s stylistic strengths.
The following year, the Fania label, troubled by the inconsistent nature of Lavoe’s concert performances, felt they could get him back on track by re-teaming him with Colón, and the pair recorded the soundtrack to the Fania-produced film Vigilante. Though not released until 1983, it performed well at radio and in the marketplace, while the film wasn’t nearly as popular. In 1985, the singer released Revento, as close to a straight salsa album as he’d recorded since the ’70s. The seven-song set was co-produced by Masucci and wife Nilda "Puchi" Roman. Among the standouts were “Déjala Que Sigue,” “De Qué Size Es Tu Amor,” and “La Fama,” a self-composed song and arrangement detailing the price fame extracts from those who achieve it. That same year, Lavoe performed “Tumba Tumbador” with Tito Puente on the album Homenaje a Beny Moré, Vol. 3.
In 1986, he appeared on the Fania All-Stars’ Viva La Charanga. In March, Lavoe re-entered the studio with Colón as his recording producer. The band cut a total of 16 songs. Eight were selected by Masucci and the creators for the seminal Strikes Back. The remainder were issued posthumously in 1993. That August the Fania All Stars celebrated their 20th anniversary with a gig at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico. It brought back the Colón and Lavoe duo — who had last played live with the All-Stars in 1973 — and they performed the songs “Mi Gente” and “La Murga” to standing ovations.
By 1987, Lavoe’s life had spiraled out of control. Nodding off with a lit cigarette, he burned down his apartment and only narrowly escaped by jumping out of a window, sustaining serious injuries. While in a body cast and recovering, Lavoe’s mother-in-law was murdered, causing the singer a nervous breakdown. In May his youngest son, Héctor Pérez, Jr., died from an accidental gunshot wound while his friend was cleaning a gun. Lavoe, still in a nursing home, relapsed into drug and alcohol abuse and checked himself out. In the midst of all this, Strikes Back proved a chart and commercial success. It was nominated for the 1988 Grammy Awards as Best Tropical Latin Performance and was selected by Billboard magazine as one of the year’s 20 best albums. During a promotional tour for Strikes Back, Lavoe fell ill and was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS from reusing unclean syringes. He appeared on the Fania All-Stars’ album Bamboleo, singing lead on the track “Siento,” his final recorded studio performance. In June, following a disastrous concert appearance and an argument with his wife, Lavoe jumped from a ninth story hotel window. Miraculously, he lived, but broke both arms, a leg, and some ribs; the event compounded complications from his earlier injuries. His many friends from Fania and the Latin music scene held benefit concerts for him in Puerto Rico, New York, Panama, Colombia, and Mexico City.
Lavoe tried hard to make a comeback, playing limited concerts as he attempted to recover his health. Unfortunately, he was exploited by unscrupulous musicians, promoters, and venues who sought to make him perform whether his body could handle the physical strain or not. He was plied with drugs, offers of money, and other tangibles. In addition to AIDS, he was also diagnosed with diabetes.
On September 2, 1990, Lavoe accepted an invitation to appear with the Fania All-Stars at a New Jersey concert. He was nowhere near well enough to perform. Colón, also on the bill, refused to perform in protest, knowing his old friend was incapable. Toward the end of the show, Lavoe arrived on-stage to hugs and kisses from his fellow performers and thunderous applause from the sold-out stadium’s crowd. After the band started to play “Mi Gente,” he was handed a microphone. For five minutes he mumbled and babbled unintelligibly, unable to sing. The singers stepped in to finish the songs and at the end, both Cheo Feliciano and Johnny Pacheco turned from the crowd and wept; Ray Barretto leaned down and folded himself over his congas. He didn’t rise until the curtain fell.
The following year, Lavoe suffered a major stroke that left him unable to speak, let alone sing. He was subjected to abject poverty after signing over his power of attorney to an unscrupulous music business executive and former friend. Lavoe’s family later successfully sued for criminal fraud. He suffered a fatal heart attack on June 29, 1993, at Memorial Hospital in Queens. He was 46 years old. That December, Fania released a posthumous album, The Master & the Protege. They shouldn’t have. Lavoe’s voice appeared on just a few songs as he was too ill during the 1986 sessions to attend them all. The label completed the recording with Van Lester, a singer Masucci called in.
In 2006, Leon Ichaso’s biopic El Cantante opened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Marc Anthony in the lead role and Jennifer Lopez as wife Puchi (who died in 2002), was savaged by film critics though it did well enough at the box office when it opened in 2007. Colón and Ismael Miranda both condemned it for glorifying Lavoe’s drug addiction over his musical contributions. Anthony won a Grammy for his performances on the soundtrack, while Lopez complained she should have won an Oscar for best supporting actress. Since his passing, Lavoe has been the subject of countless compilations. His entire catalog has been remastered and re-released in several format, and his influence continues to inspire performers and fans. ~ Thom Jurek