* please note the audio samples listed here do not correspond with this release due to technical issues *Feliciano had mastered acoustic and 12-string guitar as a teenager in Spanish Harlem, New York where he had lived with his family since the age of five. Just as Bob Dylan had done before him, he began making a name for himself playing the coffeehouse circuit of New York’s Greenwich Village where he performed folk, R&B and Latin American songs. As his profile and reputation grew, he signed with RCA Records following a concert at New York’s Gerde’s Folk City. While he had some success with his initial RCA releases, which covered everything from novelty songs to flamenco, he grew tired of the musical direction in which he was heading. As a result, he returned to his roots and recorded three albums in Spanish, which made him a star in Central and South America and the US’s Hispanic communities. Given his status as one of the most influential and successful Latin American music artists of all time, it would remiss for his musical heritage and background not to be represented. So, this album includes La Bamba, a 1958 hit for Latin music’s first rock ’n’ roll star Ritchie Valens and which has been performed by Feliciano since the 1960s. Also featured on this album is Volveré Alguna Vez, a song that was first part of a Spanish-language album recorded by Matt Monro and which became a big success for the British singer in several Latin American countries. It was later included on an album Feliciano made for Motown Records after he became the first artist signed to the legendary music company’s new Latin music division. The newest song on this compilation is Right Here Waiting, originally a worldwide hit for its composer Richard Marx in 1989 but which Feliciano then made his own. The one original song included is Rain, which was written by him and his first wife Hilda and first featured on the 1969 studio album 10 to 23. It also became a US Billboard Hot 100 hit.Side 1 1. Light My Fire 2. Right Here Waiting 3. La Bamba 4. Rain 5. The Last Time 6. Stay With Me Baby 7. Time After Time Side 2 1. Jealous Guy 2. Daniel 3. Hi-Heel Sneakers 4. Volveré Alguna Vez 5. You Send Me 6. California Dreaming
