Fania All-Stars

Name:  Fania All-Stars
Formed in 1964, New York, NY

Fania All-Stars created music using a variety of genres, including those of salsa, boogaloo, Cuban Jazz and Latin R&B. Jerry Masucci, an Italian-American lawyer and Johnny Pacheco, a talented composer and bandleader born in the Dominican Republic, founded Fania Records in New York City.

Fania started of with distributing its records and selling their merchandise out of car trunks. Eventually good old word-of-mouth coupled with Johnny Pacheco's successful Cañonaso recording, led the label to develop its roster. Masucci and Pacheco began acquiring fresh and creative NYC artists like Bobby Valentín, Larry Harlow and Ray Barreto, residents of the city's working-class and immigrant filled suburbs and boroughs who had moved to the city from their homelands along with their music. As a result of the era's musical renaissance and understanding in NYC, Fania and its All-Stars were born. The star-studded group, became renowned in the 1970’s, for their spectaculair one-of-a-kind musical performances and because of that their music lives on today through a series of best-selling live recordings.

The most treasured of their recordings is the legendary "Fania All Stars: Live at the Cheetah, Volumes 1 and 2", which exhibits the entire All-Star family performing before a full house in New York's Cheetah Lounge. The volumes are considered by many as the essence of Latin music, and went on to become the biggest-selling Latin albums ever produced by one group from one concert.

Having had sell-out concerts in Puerto Rico, Chicago and Panama, the All-Stars embarked on their first appearance at New York's Yankee Stadium to a strong 63,000 crowd on August 24th, 1973. In 1974, the All Stars had performed in Zaire, Africa, at the 80,000-seat Stadu du Hai in Kinshasa. The performance was captured on film by Gast and released as "Live In Africa" ("Salsa Madness" in the UK).

Fania made a deal with Columbia Records to attain a wider market for salsa. The first project was the lukewarm "Delicate & Jumpy" (1976), in which Steve Winwood united with the All Stars' Pacheco, Valentin, Barreto and Roena. It was also in 1976 that the Fania All Stars made their sole UK appearance. They produced a memorable sell-out concert at London’s Lyceum Ballroom, with Steve Winwood. In 1978 the All-Stars released "Live," the band’s recording in concert at New York's Madison Square Garden in September and in 1979, Fania All-Stars travelled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival.

Fania suffered setbacks during the recession of the late 1970s including an unsuccessful movie attempt as well as tension from artists with unpaid royalties along with failed distribution deals with Columbia and Atlantic Records. In addition, the New York salsa scene, had begun to succumb to the rise of merengue from Dominican Republic and salsa romantica from Puerto Rico. By the end of the decade the All-Stars recorded fewer albums together, and it was pretty clear that the star-studded group had reached the end of its golden era. However, it had given rise to many great salsa stars such as Hector Lavoe, Celia Cruz, Wilie Colon, Cheo Feliciano, who went on to craft their individual success stories.
 
Only a few of the original All-Stars remain alive today. Nevertheless, the legacy lives on for many generations. Having sold millions of records and fostering an enthusiastic fan base throughout the globe, the legendary Fania All-Stars continue to be treasured and recognized as the quintessential Latin band of all time.

Trivia:
The All Stars 1975 performance "Live at Yankee Stadium" was included in
the second set of 50 recordings in the List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry, solidifying the All-Stars as "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."

Discography:
1968 Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 1 y 2
1972 Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa Latina)
1974 Latin-Soul-Rock
1975 Salsa
1976 Delicate and Jumpy
1976 A Tribute to Tito Rodríguez
1977 Rhythm Machine
1978 Spanish Fever
1979 Habana Jam
1980 Commitment
1981 Social Change
1984 Lo Que Pide La Gente
1997 Bravo 97


By Lourd Vijay
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About the Author: Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in) in India.