William N. Law Blog: Clip History of Latin Boogaloo

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Clip History of Latin Boogaloo

Today I thought I'd do things a little different. Rather than write at length about the history of a sexy Latin music in the mid-1960s that you might not know much about, I figured I'd illustrate its evolution through a series of YouTube clips.

First, some context. In today's Wall Street Journal, I've written an essay for the Arts in Review page on the history of the Latin boogaloo (go here) and a new documentary on the dance form called We Like It Like That (go here). The Latin-soul style was developed by Puerto Rican musicians in New York's East Harlem in an attempt to join the youth culture on their own terms. They fused Latin rhythms with jazz, funk and soul, creating an enormously exciting style that became hugely popular in Latin and African-American dance clubs between 1965 and 1973. The sound also left its mark on pop music.

Driving the new sound was an African-American dance called the boogaloo that improvised on the freestyle dance moves of the twist—the first dance that let couples dance separately, as they wished, without the rigidity of formal steps.

But by the early '70s, the Latin boogaloo ran its course, eclipsed by the more traditional sound known as salsa, which emerged at the start of the disco era. I grew up in Washington Heights just as the Latin-boogaloo was catching on. I still recall summer drives downtown in my parents' Rambler, listening at red lights to the sound of the Latin boogaloo emerge from radios and record players in shops along Broadway. [Pictured above, left, Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe]

What was the Latin boogaloo exactly and where did it come from? Let me illustrate, starting with where the music came from and how the music evolved to become a dance craze and potent Latin-soul style. Just listen to the music evolve toward the boogaloo.

Part 1: Roots of Boogaloo

Here's Horace Silver's Opus de Funk...

Here's Machito's Conversation, arranged by A.K. Salim, from his Kenya album in 1958...

Here's Ray Barretto's El Watusi from 1961...

Here's Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man in 1962...

Here's Mongo Santamaria's cover of Watermelon Man in 1962...

Here's Willie Bobo's Do That Thing in 1963...

Here's Lee Morgan's Sidewinder in 1964...

Here's Tom and Jerrio's Boo-Ga-Loo in 1965...

Part 2: Latin Boogaloo Arrives

Here's Joe Cuba's Bang! Bang! Dig the Latin-soul freestyle dance feel. Also, dig where Donna Summer picked up the "Ah, beep-beep" for Bad Girls (co-wrtten with Eddie Hokenson, Bruce Sudano and Joe "Bean" Esposito)...

Here's Johnny Colon's Boogaloo Blues...

 

Here's Joe Bataan's Gypsy Woman...

Here's Willie Bobo's Evil Ways (1967)...

Here's Ray Barretto's Mercy, Mercy Baby (1968)...

Here's Eddie Palmieri and Cal Tjader's Guajira en Azul (1968)...

Part 3: The Influence

The Latin boogaloo was so popular in the mid-1960s that pop, R&B and rock artists used it for instrumental color.

Here's the Flamingos' Boogaloo Party (1966)...

Here's the Fantastic Johnny C's Boogaloo Down Broadway (1967)...

Here's Hugh Masekela's Grazing in the Grass (1968)...

Here's Tommy James and the Shondells' Crystal Blue Persuasion (1968)...

Here's Santana's cover of Evil Ways (1969)...

Here's Eric Burdon and War's Spill the Wine (1970)...

Part 4: End of the Boogaloo

Here's an early example of what would become known generically as "salsa," a return to traditional Latin dance music, featuring Willie Colon and vocalist Hector Lavoe singing Calle Luna Calle Sol (1972)...