Ralfi Pagán (born Rafael Pagán; 1946–1978) was a

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York-based

Latin soul Latin soul (occasionally used synonymously with boogaloo) was a short-lived musical genre that had developed in the 1960s in New York City. It consisted of a blend of Cuban music such as mambo, along with elements of Latin jazz and soul music. Al ...

and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

singer of Puerto Rican descent who was active from the mid-1960s until his death in 1978. He specialized in

soul ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Ballads ...

s, sung both in Spanish and English and released five albums during the 1970s. He is well-known for the duet with

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanterpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylv ...

entitled "Soul Je T'aime" and for his solo version of " Make It with You" previously recorded by

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (born December 11, 1940) is a retired American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread (band), Bread, which reached the top of the musical ch ...

and

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

. Ralfi toured with music producer and promoter

Eddie Torres Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also kn ...

for several years throughout Southwest United States. Prior to leaving on tour, Pagan visited Torres' home to share he was leaving for

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Torres told Pagan he had a bad feeling about the trip and advised Pagan not to go, but the singer went to Colombia against Torres' advice. In 1978, Pagan was murdered while on a promotional tour in Colombia. His murder remains unsolved.

Early career

The first recording released by Pagán was an all-but-unnoticed

45RPM A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

single recorded in New York and released in 1966 on the

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

label under the name Ray Paige. Subsequently, as a backing vocalist Pagán featured on a number of recordings by King Nando's Orchestra (real name Fernando Rivera) until 1969. Pagán released the self-titled album ''Ralfi Pagan'' on

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York City, New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964 in music, 1964. The label took its name from a popular luncheonette fre ...

in 1971, produced by

Kenny Vance Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg, December 9, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer who was a founding member of Jay and the Americans. His career spans from the 1950s to today, with projects ranging from starting doo-wo ...

. It was issued twice, first with all Spanish sung titles and shortly after with four English song titles substituted for the four Spanish titles. Pagán's falsetto tenor favored

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

such as "Who Is the Girl for Me", "Don't Stop Now", and "I Can't See Me Without You". This made him highly popular among young Latino Americans, particularly in the urban centers of Los Angeles and New York, where Pagán made a significant cultural impact. He was also adept on up-tempo salsa such as his cover of

Oscar Brown Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, actor, and civil rights activist (Brown was African-American). Brown discovered The Jackson 5. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully ...

's "Brother, Where Are You?". In 1971, he broke through nationally with a Latin cover of " Make It with You" which entered the ''Billboard'' R&B chart on 10 July 1971 for an eleven-week run during which it peaked at No. 32. It sold 250,000 copies nationally and Pagán appeared on the nationally syndicated TV show ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

'', making him one of the first Latino artists to ever appear on the program. Pagán released his second album titled ''With Love'' in 1971, produced by Harvey Averne and Jerry Masucci. Recorded in New York, the project consolidated his status among urban Latinos. The album featured some of Pagán's most iconic work such as "To Say I Love You", "Stray Women", his hit single "Make It with You", and Joe Baatan's love song "Just One of Your Kisses". Pagán had his own style of

vocalizing, playing a large part in the reason why he is considered the epitome of the genre. A further R&B hit in 1973 with "Soul Je T'Aime", a duet with

on Vibration Records was his last appearance on the national charts. The ''Ralfi'' album containing Latin soul and salsa-influenced tracks was released the same year. In 1975, he released his fourth and final Fania album ''I Can See'', which included his take on the

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

the Miracles The Miracles (later known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most ...

track " Ooh Baby Baby", and "Stay Out of My Life".

Chicano favorite

By 1976, Pagan was based in Los Angeles where he connected with Colombian band leader drummer percussionist Mike Rojas. He found particular favor among young Chicanos for whom his persona as a sensitive Latin lover resonated. In Los Angeles, he recorded his last album ''El Flaco De Oro'' with Mike Rojas, who features with a timbal solo on the song titled "Cubita Triste". Pagan became a regular on the thriving club and salsa dance circuit that included The Gold Dust on Garfield Avenue in Montebello, The King's Table in Pico Rivera, The Monterey West in East Los Angeles and the Mardi Gras across from

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake, Los Angeles, Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and la ...

. Pagán maintained a parallel career as a salsa singer and as a Latin style disco singer. He released "Girl from the Mountain" on

Coco Records Harvey Averne (born 1936, Brooklyn, New York) has been described as "one of several prominent Jewish Americans in New York's bustling Latin music scene." Introduction Harvey Averne is an American record producer, and the founder of CoCo Record ...

in 1976, a record aimed primarily at the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

market. The album ''El Flaco De Oro'' (sung entirely in Spanish), however, represented him as a

singer. This release appeared on Pumpkris Records, for whom he also handled production duties on an album by Johnny Nelson entitled ''Ralfi Pagan Presenta Johnny Nelson - El Principe de La Salsa''. Pagan's final known release is the disco sounding "Take Me with You" b/w "Heaven Sent You", also on Pumpkris. An album, ''Take Me with You'' was scheduled, but Pagan's early death curtailed its release.

Death in Colombia

Pagan had a large following in Latin America and regularly appeared in South America. Substituting for fellow Fania Records performer

Joe Bataan Bataan Nitollano, also known as Joe Bataan (born 5 November 1942) is a Filipino and American Latin soul singer, songwriter and musician best known world-wide and in the Hispanic and Latino music scene as the "King of Latin Soul". Early life Bat ...

while on tour in Colombia in 1978, Pagan was murdered. His family was told that a promoter arranged for his murder to avoid payment of money due, with his body being left on a local beach. Most of Pagan's back catalogue has been made available since the mid-1990s, and he is now probably better known to the general music-listening public than he was during his lifetime. A Fania track from 1973, "The Gambler", was featured in the

Leon Ichaso Leon Ichaso (August 3, 1948 – May 21, 2023) was a Cuban-born American writer and film director. Some of his prominent works included '' El Super'', ''Crossover Dreams'', '' Bitter Sugar,'' '' Piñero'', and '' El Cantante''. Biography Early l ...

film ''Pinero'' (2001) starring

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' ...

as the poet-playwright-actor

Miguel Pinero --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

Discography

Albums

*1971: ''Ralfi Pagan'' *1971: ''With Love'' *1973: ''Ralfi'' *1975: ''I Can See'' *1978: ''El Flaco de Oro'' *1978: ''Take Me with You'' (unreleased)

Selected singles

*1966: "Don't Stop Now / Ain't No Soul (Left in These Shoes)" *1969: "Who Is the Girl for Me" *1970: "Don't Stop Now" *1971: " Make It with You / Stray Woman" - US #104; US R&B #32 *1971: "Mi Camacho / Negrona" *1971: " Baby I'm-a Want You / Look at Her" *1971: "I Can't See Me Without You" *1972: "Up on the Roof / The Gambler" *1973: "Soul Je T'Aime" (with Sylvia) *1974: "Wonderful Thing / To Say I Love You" *1975: "Just for a Little While" *1975: "La Vida" *1976: "Girl from the Mountain" *1978: "Take Me with You / Heaven Sent You"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pagan, Ralfi 1947 births 1978 deaths Musicians from the Bronx Record producers from New York (state) American people of Puerto Rican descent Fania Records artists Salsa musicians 20th-century American singers 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male singers Unsolved murders in South America