Feliz Navidad (1970) - Jose Feliciano 12/23/20

A Holiday Season story of artistic redemption:

In 1967, Puerto Rico's Jose' Feliciano was still looking for his big break in Europe and North America. He'd been touring the Far East and South America with great success...but unfortunately had been hampered to a certain extent by the fact he was blind.

In fact, he was set to play some gigs in England, but customs officials wouldn't let his seeing eye dog in the country without first being quarantined for several weeks.

Instead, he was able to perform in small venues and coffee houses in both the US and Canada, playing a mix of pop and traditional songs in both Spanish and English. Slowly but surely, he gained a strong fan base and caught the attention of RCA records, who signed him to a recording contract. Before long, he had a hit record: a Latin-flavored cover version of The Doors' “Light My Fire,” which reached #3 in the US on the Hot 100...and #1 in Canada and Brazil. It sold over a million copies, and Jose won TWO 1968 Grammy Awards: “Best New Artist” and “Best Pop Male Performance.”

Finally, Jose's break had come...but then...a HUGE setback.

In 1968, The Detroit Tigers were headed for the World Series, and legendary Tigers play-by-play announcer Ernie Harwell suggested they book Jose to sing the National Anthem before Game 5 at Tiger Stadium.

It seemed like an excellent idea...but as popular as Jose had become, THOUSANDS people did NOT like the fact Jose added some extra vocal touches to the song. That's a fairly common thing in 2020, but NOT in 1968, and TV viewers were FURIOUS. So much so, it took a few years for Jose's career to regain its momentum. The fact that Ernie praised Jose's heartfelt rendition--and it actually charted at #50 on the Hot 100—made no difference. Gigs were canceled and record sales dropped significantly.

But then, in 1970, Jose decided to record a Christmas album and release one of his original compositions: “Feliz Navidad,” a Latin-flavored bi-lingual song that has become a one of Billboard's “Top 25 Most-Played Christmas Songs of All Time!”

In fact, as I write this, the song is CURRENTLY #10 on the Hot 100—exactly 50 years after it's release!

The song is also in the Grammy Hall of Fame!

Redemption!

“Feliz Navidad:” It's a “Great Song of the 70s, and today.” And I mean that from the bottom of my heart!

“The Star Spangled Banner:” (1968)

“Light My Fire:” (1968)