Los Angeles – “I have never tasted balut, but can you please get me some?” the sprightly Puerto Rican music legend José Feliciano told us when we talked to him recently.
The 68-year-old virtuoso guitarist-singer-composer, known for his version of The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” and the best-selling Christmas single, “Feliz Navidad,” impressed us with his sense of humor, straightforward attitude and great memory.
JOSÉ FELICIANO (Ruben V. Nepales)
He even recalled the time he went to the Philippines, performing in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao and Manila for the Marcoses, and enjoying Filipino food.
“When I want to know about the people in each place that I go to, I eat the food,” he said. “So don’t go to the Philippines and have McDonald’s. So when I go to a country, I eat their food and it tells me a lot about the people.”
José, who has performed with some of the biggest music icons, recalled one anecdote when he performed with Frank Sinatra.
“One time, I was playing in a function at the Statue of Liberty. I was sitting on stage tuning the guitar for soundcheck. Frank Sinatra came up behind me, and he said, ‘Guess who?’ I said, ‘Mr. Sinatra.’ I never called him Frank because I think those people have earned a certain amount of respect. I knew him for 10 years but I never called him Frank. It was always Mr. Sinatra. I think that is one of the things he liked about me. Even though, maybe, in his eyes, I was a young punk kid, at least I had the sense of showing him respect.”
Asked what he would tell upcoming young musicians who want to make it in the industry, José said, “That there’s a lot they have to sacrifice. I would also tell them not to be late for concerts, which many of these young kids do today. I find that deplorable. Nobody should leave fans waiting one, two, three hours and then finally show up – a lot of the young artists do that.
“One thing about me, even when I was 19 years old, I never cancelled a show. I never got so high that I could not go out and perform. Well, I do not mean to make you laugh, but it is a truism here. When you are going to see an artist and they don’t show up for three hours, is that cool? No, it isn’t.
“So I would say for somebody up-and-coming, do the best that you can, be good to the fans, because without the fans, you have nothing. Also, be polite and kind to the press. Even if they give you a bad review, it’s not your fault. It’s their fault that maybe they didn’t understand your music or what you were trying to say. You just go forward and you move on.”
José, who was supposed to perform in the Philippines and do “a bunch of concerts,” admitted that he felt bad they were cancelled, particularly when he heard of the devastation brought by Typhoon Haiyan in the country. “I wish I could have gone because music heals I always say and I love the Philippines.”
Asked how he views the music of today from rap, techno and so on, José replied, “Well, I just listen. It is like anything, you make choices. I am not a tremendous fan of rap, but I understand what some of the rap artists are trying to portray.”
Blind since birth because of congenital glaucoma, José never felt sorry for himself. “My mother did not want me to be a burden on anyone,” he pointed out. “My mother used to say, ‘José, I am teaching you these things because if a woman should be attracted to you, you should not be a burden to her. You should not be somebody who she would have to do everything for.’”
Close to his family, José remarked, “I am surrounded by a wonderful family. If I had to do it all over again, I would do everything the same.”
Email the writer at janetrnepales@gmail.com for your comments or questions.
José Feliciano on music’s healing power, lessons from momSource: Mb.com.ph (June 01, 2014 at 10:00PM)
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