Song:El Todopoderoso
Album:Greatest Hits
Whether he is singing with Willie Colon's band, The Fania All Stars or his solo albums, Hector Lavoe is one of the all time greats of Latin music. Sadly, drug addiction and personal problems led to his premature death. He was born Hector Juan Perez Martinez Sept. 30, 1946 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His father and grandfather were both folksingers and by age 17, he moved to New York City to pursue a singing career. He lived with his sister in The Bronx. He worked with various bands including Johnny Pacheco. His manager suggested the nickname La Voz (The Voice). But Hector took it as his surname Lavoe. His big break came when he met trombonist and bandleader Willie Colon. What started as an informal recording session turned into one of the most successful partnerships in Latin music history. In the late 60s, Willie Colon's band was hot and so was Hector Lavoe. Unfortunately, Lavoe did not handle success very well. He became addicted to heroin and became unreliable. Colon couldn't afford to have his lead singer missing gigs. In 1973, Colon quit touring to devote himself to record production. He gave Lavoe his own band and Lavoe was also frequent lead singer of The Fania All Stars. El Todopoderoso is from Lavoe's 1975 solo debut La Voz. Colon produced his solo albums and Lavoe had a lot of success. But personal problems took over his life. He was diagnosed with HIV and things got worse. After performing in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Lavoe jumped out of the ninth floor of the Regency Condado Hotel on June 26, 1988. He survived the suicide attempt but was never the same after that died on June 19, 1993 at age 46. This comp is the perfect intro to his music. Marc Anthony played Lavoe and Jennifer Lopez played his wife in the 2007 film La Cantate. They also produced the film. If you have never heard of Hector Lavoe, here's your chance to discover one of the most important figures in the development of Latin music in the 60s and 70s. Here's Hector Lavoe performing El Todopoderoso in Mexico 1978.
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