Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
 Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | "El Conde" |
| Born | Pedro Juan Rodríguez Ferrer (1933-01-31)January 31, 1933 Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Died | December 1, 2000(2000-12-01) (aged 67) Bronx, New York, United States[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Years active | 1963–2000 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1953–1956 |
Pedro Juan Rodríguez Ferrer (January 31, 1933 – December 1, 2000),[2] better known asPete "El Conde" Rodríguez, was asalsa singer born inBarrio Cantera,[3]Ponce, Puerto Rico.[4] His son, also namedPete Rodriguez, is also a salsa and jazz musician.[5] His daughter, Cita Rodriguez, is also an accomplished salsa singer.
Rodríguez was a percussionist who started playing bongos at the age of five in his father's quartetEl Conjunto Gondolero.[6] After his father's death, at age 12 he moved toThe Bronx,New York, during the 1950s.[4] He graduated from Patrick Henry High School and from TheNew York School of Printing.[7] He worked as a printer however was denied membership in the printer’s union, "which was notorious for its discriminatory practices denied him membership."[8] In 1953 he was drafted into theU.S. Army. From 1953 to 1956, Rodriguez served as a paratrooper inFort Benning, Georgia, andFort Bragg, North Carolina duringJim Crow segregation.[9] After returning to New York, he performed with La Oriental Cubana, Los Jovenes Estrella de Cuba, and Hector Ceno’s La Novel.[10] While singing and playing the congas in a Bronx Club Los Panchos, he was spotted by the bandleaderJohnny Pacheco.[4] His first album was titledSuavito, which was released in 1963.[4]
Just a year later in 1964, Pacheco and his lawyerJerry Masucci founded TheFania All-Stars, a combination of the best Latin singers and musicians at that time. Rodríguez's first album under theFania label wasCanonazo.[4] Between 1964 and 1973, Rodriguez and Pacheco recorded seven albums includingLa Perfecta Combinacion (1970),Los Compadres (1971), andTres De Cafe Y Dos De Azucar (1973).[4]
In 1974, Rodríguez left the Fania All-Stars and concentrated on a successful solo career. His solo debut albumEl Conde (1974) was an award winner.[4] His 1976 albumEste Negro Si Es Sabroso,[4] was rated ninth in best Salsa records at that time. That album featured one of his most popular songs, "Catalina La O." Effected by the discrimination he faced during his career, "Rodriguez recorded songs of freedom throughout salsa’s biggest decade, including “La Abolición”(“The Abolition”) in 1976 [written byTite Curet Alonso], invoking the systemic conditions of Black oppression in the aftermath of emancipation in the Caribbean and Latin America."[11]
During the 1980s, with the Fania All-Stars on the verge of disbanding, Rodriguez reunited with Johnny Pacheco and recorded four more albums between 1983 and 1989.[4] Their 1987 albumSalsobita was nominated for a Grammy Award. By 1990, he went solo again.
Rodríguez only recorded two albums in the 1990s with one of his hit songs "Esos Tus Ojos Negros" being released in 1993. By 2000, he was hired byTito Puente to provide lead vocals for a tribute to the late bolero singerBenny Moré. However, the album was released posthumously because Puente died on 31 May 2000. Rodriguez also had a heart ailment, but he refused to undergo bypass surgery as Puente did. On 2 December 2000, Rodriguez suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 67. He was buried at thePuerto Rico National Cemetery inBayamón, Puerto Rico.
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