El Watusi by Ray Baretto
Release Date : 1961
Album : Single
El Watusi, a masterpiece of Boogaloo music and the Nuyorican Movement, is notable for several reasons. It was the first Latin single to crack the Billboard Top 100. It inspired a dance craze (named after the song) which inadvertetently inspired Adam West to create "The Batusi" for an episode of the campy 1960's Batman show. It is featured in countless films such as Carlito's Way, JFK and The Wedding Present and is quite possibly the most famous one-hit wonder of all time. So why the hell did Ray Baretto hate it so much?
Baretto began his musical career as a percussionist following a stint in World War II where he first heard the music of Dizzy Gillespie and, more specifically, his percussionist Chano Pozo. Baretto fell in love with the music and realized that it was his true calling in life. He began to play in local clubs around the New York area to hone his skills on the conga drum. He even worked briefly for Charlie "Bird" Parker and Tito Puente. Eventually he became a local house musician, regularly appearing on tracks from labels such as Prestige Records, Bluenote Records and Riverside.
However in 1961 Baretto released El Watusi, which would become his signature song, biggest hit and constant thorn in his side. Baretto felt the song typecast him into a standard Boogaloo artist and did not allow him the freedom to explore his jazz roots more openly. Indeed the song is quite representative of the Boogaloo style and is actually considered one of the original songs from this genre of music. It is also a landmark in the Nuyorican Movement, a style pioneered by exclusively Puerto Rican artists.
Baretto continued to play into the 1980's and beyond, performing session work for groups such as The Rolling Stones and The Bee Gees, but he never shed the label of El Watusi. Although he may have looked on this as a bad thing, the millions who have enjoyed this song over the years would think differently and thank him for his contribution if they had the chance. Sadly, Ray Baretto died on February 17th, 2006. He was 76 years old.
The song itself is a joy to behold, filled with excellent conga beats, a driving piano line and some excellent wind playing. The fact that it is still played so frequently in television commercials and films to this day is a testament to it's originality and uniqueness. It is well served as an addition to this archive. Here's hoping everyone enjoys at least one listen to this masterpiece by a truly under-appreciated musical genius.
Kevin Fever
For Further Reading on Ray Baretto, Boogaloo and the Nuyorican Movement check the following links....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Barretto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuyorican_Movement
http://www.musicofpuertorico.com/index.php/artists/ray_barretto/
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=RAY|BARETTO&sql=11:hifpxqw5ldje~T1
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