Puerto Rican rock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rock in Puerto Rico has been a product of direct and indirect influence from both American rock, and its fusion with other genres. Throughout the history of music in the island, rock has suffered ups and downs, having its peak in the 90s.
Here's a breakdown of how rock evolved in the island through the decades.
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[edit] 50s and 60s
The 50s marks the introduction of the genre in the island. With all the Elvis Presley hype in the USA, some of it reached the island. But the genre didn't have much reach at that moment. At this point, the music scene in the island was dominated by ballad singers and salsa groups.
However, a young man called Alfred D. Herger started bringing rock music into the island. This input, and Herger's tutelage, ignited some young artists to start a movement that was labeled as "La Nueva Ola" (The New Wave). This movement included artists like Ednita Nazario, Chucho Avellanet, Lissette, and others.
Herger also led several nightly television shows where he showcased rock music from the island and the USA. His persistence paid well since many people started listening to rock music more and more.
[edit] Late 60s and 70s
In the late 60s, several Puerto Rican bands started springing here and there with little mainstream success. Some of these were: The Teen Sounds, The Sonsets, The Night Walkers, Abram Shoo, X-5. In the 70s, other bands like The Challengers, Bandolero, and La Banda del K-rajo pushed the music farther and had some underground success.
At the same time, a movement of Nova trova musicians was growing in the island led by singers like Roy Brown and Noel Hernández. During this time, the local radio station Alfa Rock starts broadcasting rock music in the island.
[edit] The 80s
At the dawn of the 80s, MTV reaches the island and American rock enjoys ample exposure on the island. However, little is heard from surging Rock en Español bands from Mexico, Argentina and Spain.
At this time, most of the local bands still used English as their language. Some of the bands that surfaced through this decade were: Apocalips, The MD’s, Island, Pelican In Flight. However, there were still a few bands that preferred to sing in Spanish like: Virus, Kantares and Belaris.
In 1981, Melba Miranda creates the first rock newspaper titled Rock Express with collaborators like Rucco Gandía. The newspaper would remain in circulation until 1983.
At this time, teen group Menudo records a Spanish cover of Queen's song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" showing how much the rock genre had already been established in the island. Also, singers like Wilkins and Glenn Monroig start fusing rock with pop and ballads.
In the underground scene, several heavy metal bands were formed. This sparked an ongoing "battle" between "cocolos" (people that listened salsa) and "rockeros".
The island also enjoyed concerts from bands like Cheap Trick, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Ratt, Bon Jovi, and others.
The introduction of new wave and europop in the USA started the surging of similar bands like Words Four Two, No U Turn, NeoEngland, and Nirvana (not the Kurt Cobain band).
A local heavy metal band called Mattador started gaining some heavy exposure outside of the island, getting critical success in the USA and Japan. Also, in 1988, a pop-rock band called Top Banana was signed by national label CBS. That same year, Miranda organized the First National Rock Tournament.
[edit] The 90s
During this decade, rock music reached its peak in the island. We started receiving input from Rock en Español artists like Miguel Mateos, Charly García, Hombres G and others. But after some time, radio stations started retiring the support to the genre and it was again limited to the underground scene.
Still, Mattador releases the first instance of their album Save Us From Ourselves with Ramón Ortiz, who would later go on to play with Puya. The band even opened the Iron Maiden concert at the island.
In 1994, former Menudo singer, Robi Rosa releases his first solo album, and Mattador re-releases their album, this time with Tito Rodríguez (now with Sol D’Menta) as guitarist.
A big spurt of local bands started with bands like Radio Pirata, El Manjar de los Dioses, Skapulario and Sol D'Menta gathering big audiences at their presentations. This was helped again by the exposure that Rock en Español bands started having again in the island.
In 1996, Fiel A La Vega releases its eponymous debut album reaching gold status. Their success forced the local media to open the space for the rock scene in the island. The band continued their success with another gold album with their second album, and selling out four shows at the Centro de Bellas Artes, and later selling out the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
Other bands like Puya, Cultura Profética (reggae), and La Secta Allstar reach similar success.
