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Jose Jose

Jose Jose is a legend.

His voice has literally transcended geography, making him one of the most famous and respected singers in the spanish language.

Unless you all  were living in a hobbit hole  for the past 15 years, I'm sure you've heard of the man dubbed "El Principe de la Cancion." I can point to many of his songs and tell you where in my timeline Jose Jose's voice touched my life. (I think he came over to our house when I was a teeny child, or so they told me. Apparently, my father was part of the band that played his music in one of his many performances in the Dominican Republic.)

So when I heard that Univision was taking the time to honor him in the recent Latin Grammy's, I was understandably excited.

How sad was I to hear one of Jose Jose's compatriotas butchering hi classic. Ana Barbara sounded terrible singing "Lo Pasado, Pasado". (Makes me want to tell my cousin to get her money back for her records) But I was also rejoiced to see new modern spins put on some other classics. My least-liked Bachata group, Aventura, did a respectable rendition of "Lagrimas." Cruz Martinez ripped it of course. But my biggest surprise was the rendition of "Lo Dudo/Anda y ve" by Victor Manuel.

I'm not in any way a fan of Victor Manuel, but he did his diddy when it came to that song. And I must say, from all of the singers that paid homage to "El principe", he got the coolest reaction out of him and his family. Even if you don't like salsa or may not understand all the words, you know there's emotion and sincerity in the music.

Check it out.

Posted by Maurel Merette at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)