Joe Cuba Tico Records

I think I'm going to make a few posts about my Latin record collection. One of the first Latin artists I started to collect was Joe Cuba. I'd heard his song "El Pito" and was totally blown away by the energy. The song just keeps going and going. He's got that same energy going with "Bang, Bang" too, especially when it fades out and comes back in (I always forget about that stupid fade when I'm spinning the record out). Both of these tracks are good examples of boogaloo, in fact "Bang, Bang" has the honor of being the most popular boogaloo track ever. Both of these tracks are fairly easy to come by and are fairly affordable, especially when compared to albums on Fania. There are some great records on Tico and I try to pick them up whenever I come across them. You can read more about the record label here and see some great album covers for Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Ray Barreto to just name a few.
 
I'm also posting a third track by Joe Cuba which is taken from his self-titled album on Embajador records. It's much earlier than the two boogaloo tracks and has much more of a cha cha cha/mambo feel to it, but you can sense the R&B/soul tinges that are creeping their way into his music.

El Pito by The Joe Cuba Sextet from Estamos Haciendo Algo Bien!
Bang Bang by The Joe Cuba Sextet from Bang! Bang! Push! Push!
Bochinosa by Joe Cuba from Joe Cuba on Embajador Records