Tito Puente Explained

Tito Puente
Background:non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth Name:Ernest Anthony Puente Jr.
Birth Date:1923 4, mf=yes
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Years Active:1946–2000

Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000),[1] commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music.

Puente and his music have appeared in films including The Mambo Kings and Fernando Trueba's Calle 54. He guest-starred on television shows, including Sesame Street and The Simpsons two-part episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?".

Early life

Puente was born on April 20, 1923, at Harlem Hospital Center in the New York borough of Manhattan, the son of Ernest and Felicia Puente, Puerto Ricans living in New York City's Spanish Harlem.[2] [3] His family moved frequently, but he spent the majority of his childhood in Spanish Harlem.[2] Puente's father was the foreman at a razor blade factory.[4] His family called him, Spanish for Little Ernest, and this became shortened to "Tito".[5]

As a child, he was described as hyperactive, and after neighbors complained of hearing seven-year-old Puente beating on pots and window frames, his mother sent him to 25-cent piano lessons.[4] He switched to percussion by the age of 10, drawing influence from jazz drummer Gene Krupa.[4] He later created a song-and-dance duo with his sister Anna in the 1930s and intended to become a dancer, but an ankle tendon injury prevented him from pursuing dance as a career.[3] [4] When the drummer in Machito's band was drafted to the army, Puente subsequently took his place.[4]

Career

Puente served in the Navy for three years during World War II after being drafted in 1942.[6] He was discharged with a Presidential Unit Citation for serving in nine battles on the escort aircraft carrier USS Santee (CVE-29) where his duties included playing alto saxophone and clarinet in the ship's big band as well as occasionally drum set, piano during mess hall, acting as the ship's bugler, and serving as a machine gunner during battles. The G.I. Bill allowed him to study music at Juilliard School of Music, where he completed his formal education in conducting, orchestration, and theory after three years.

During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his popularity and helped to bring Cuban and Caribbean sounds like mambo, son, and cha-cha-chá, to mainstream audiences. His album Dance Mania was released in 1958.

Among his compositions is the cha-cha-chá song "Oye Cómo Va" (1963),[7] popularized by Latin rock musician Carlos Santana and later interpreted, among others, by Julio Iglesias, Irakere and Celia Cruz. In 1969, he received the key to the City of New York from former Mayor John Lindsay. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Congressional Record and in 1993, he received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.[8]

Puente is one of the subjects of La Época – The Palladium Era,[9] a documentary about the Palladium era in New York, Cuban music and rhythms, mambo and salsa as dances and music and much more. The documentary discusses many of Puente's, as well as Arsenio Rodríguez's, contributions and features interviews with some of the musicians Puente recorded with.

Personal life and death

Puente's oldest son Ron Puente is from a first marriage to Mirta Sanchez. Richard "Richie" Puente was the percussionist in the 1970s funk band Foxy. Puente's youngest son, Tito Puente Jr., has performed and recorded many of Puente's songs. His daughter Audrey Puente is a television meteorologist for WNYW and WWOR-TV in New York City.

After a show in Puerto Rico on May 31, 2000, Puente suffered a massive heart attack and was flown to New York City for surgery to repair a heart valve, but complications developed, and he died on June 1, 2000.[10] He was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Awards and recognition

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Dizzy Gillespie

With Benny Golson

With Quincy Jones

With Hilton Ruiz

With Sonny Stitt

With Bobby Sanabria

Filmography

Selected feature films

Documentaries

Concert films

The Simpsons

Puente appeared in the two-part whodunit drama "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" in the sixth season finale and seventh season premiere of American comedy cartoon show The Simpsons in 1995. In the shows, Puente joins Springfield Elementary School as a music teacher after the school discovers it is located over an oil well. However, Mr. Burns manages to pump the oil first, which makes him the legal owner of the well. This causes the school to fall into debt with budget cuts to the music and maintenance departments, causing Puente to lose his job. When Burns is later shot, Puente becomes one of the prime suspects but manages to clear himself by performing one of his songs for Chief Wiggum. Seven alternative endings were filmed of various characters shooting Burns; Puente is one of the alternates. Although all endings were animated, the ending of Maggie Simpson shooting Burns was the ending chosen to air.

The Emmy-nominated song "Señor Burns" from the episode is featured on both the 1997 album Songs in the Key of Springfield and the 1999 album Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tito Puente biography. BookRags.com. October 31, 2012.
  2. News: The New York Legacy of Tito Puente. Siegal. Nina. The New York Times. June 6, 2000. March 26, 2012.
  3. Web site: Tito Puente – Biography. Ginell. Richard S.. AllMusic. March 26, 2012.
  4. News: He Beat The Drum For Latin Music. Obejas. Achy. Chicago Tribune. June 2, 2000. March 23, 2012.
  5. Book: American National Biography . 448–449 . John A. Garraty . Mark C. Carnes . Oxford University Press . 2005 . 9780199771493.
  6. Web site: Shadow box . 2022-10-11 . navy.togetherweserved.com.
  7. Web site: Oye Como Va History . Phish.net. October 27, 2019.
  8. http://newsdesk.si.edu/awards/awards_medals.htm
  9. Web site: Mambo, Salsa, On2, On1, On 2, On 1, Clave, Arsenio Rodriguez, Johnny Pacheco, Alfonso El Panameño, Agustin Caraballoso, Freddy Rios, Mike Ramos, Cuban Pete, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Fania, Cuban, Palladium, Palladium-era, Palladium era, The Palladium. Laepocafilm.com . January 31, 2009. October 31, 2012.
  10. News: Latin musician Tito Puente dies after heart surgery. June 1, 2000. CNN. June 1, 2010.
  11. Lannert. John. June 10, 1995. "El Premio Billboard" Award Recognizes Tito Puente For His Latin And Afro-Caribbean Musical Contributions. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 107. 23. 60. April 11, 2014.
  12. Web site: MUSICIAN PUENTE JAZZED OVER HONORARY DOCTORATE. May 29, 1995. Deseret.com. October 27, 2019.
  13. Web site: Lifetime Honors: National Medal of Arts . Nea.gov . October 31, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130826194408/http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#97 . August 26, 2013 . mdy-all .
  14. Alava, S. H. (2007). Spanish Harlem’s Musical Legacy: 1930-1980. Arcadia Publishing Library Editions.
  15. News: Rosero, Jessica. 'La vida es un carnaval' North Hudson celebrates 6th annual Cuban Day Parade. The Hudson Reporter. May 26, 2006. October 31, 2012.
  16. de Fontenay. Sounni. International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Latin American Rhythm Magazine. 7 December 1998. 18 October 2014.
  17. Web site: List of Honorary Degrees from Columbia University. Secretary.columbia.edu.
  18. Web site: When the King Became a Doctor – News from Columbia's Rare Book & Manuscript Library . 2023-08-07 . blogs.cul.columbia.edu.
  19. Web site: Latin Legends . 2023-04-19 . postalmuseum.si.edu . en.
  20. Web site: 2022-10-11 . Who was Tito Puente and how did he die? Google celebrates entertainer . 2022-10-11 . Newsweek . en.
  21. Web site: Tito Puente And His Orchestra – Mucho Cha-Cha . Discogs.com . 1959 . 9 February 2017.
  22. Web site: Entertainment . Freshbreadgroup.com . October 31, 2012.
  23. Web site: Calle 54. IMDb.com. October 31, 2012.

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