Friday, March 22, 2019

José Feliciano Souled [1968]


RCA Victor LSP-4045 

Feliciano's "Light My Fire" and "Feliz Navidad" come to mind but do you know about Feliciano's "Star-Spangled Banner"?

On October 7, 1968, at the height of protests against the Vietnam War, Feliciano was invited by Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell to perform The Star-Spangled Banner at Tiger Stadium in Detroit during Game 5 pre-game ceremonies of the 1968 World Series between the Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. His personalized, slow, Latin jazz performance proved highly controversial and damaging to José's career in the months, even in the years that followed. In an October 2006 NPR broadcast, however, he expressed pride at being the one to open the door for artists to later interpret the nation's anthem. His World Series rendition, which features Feliciano accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar, was released as a single that charted for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 50, the first time the United States' anthem appeared on the American music charts. That recording of the national anthem is now on permanent exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  [Wikipedia]



Tracklist:
1 Younger Generation
2 I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
3 Sleep Late, My Lady Friend
4 And The Sun Will Shine
5 She's Too Good To Me
6 Hey! Baby!
7 Hitchcock Railway
8 My World Is Empty Without You
9 You've Got A Lot of Style
10 The Sad Gypsy
11 Hi-Heel Sneakers


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