Bataan Nitollano, also known as Joe Bataan (born 5 November 1942) is a Filipino and American

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 ...

singer, songwriter and musician best known world-wide and in the Hispanic and Latino music scene as the "King of Latin Soul".

Early life

Bataan Nitollano was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1942, and grew up in the 103rd Street and Lexington Avenue part of East Harlem in New York. He was the son of a Filipino father and African-American mother and he grew up in Spanish Harlem.

Career

In 1966, he formed his first band, the "Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers". Bataan's music was influenced by two musical styles: the Latin

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a music genre, genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly by stateside Puerto Ricans with ...

and African American

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

. Though Bataan was neither the first nor only artist to combine doo-wop-style singing with Latin rhythms, his talent for it drew the attention of

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 ...

. After signing a record contract with them in 1966, Bataan released ''Gypsy Woman'' in 1967. (The title track is a Latin dance cover of " Gypsy Woman" by

The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, R&B, doo-wop, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthu ...

). He would, in full, release eight original titles for Fania which included the gold-selling ''Riot!''. These albums often mixed energetic Latin dance songs, sung in Spanish, with slower, English-language soul ballads sung by Bataan himself. As a vocalist, Bataan's fame in the Latin music scene at the time was only rivaled by Ralfi Pagan. Disagreements over money with Fania Records head Jerry Masucci led Bataan to eventually leave the label. While still signed to Fania however, Bataan secretly started Ghetto Records, a Latin music label which got its initial funding from a local gangster, George Febo. Bataan produced several albums for other artists, including Papo Felix, Paul Ortiz and Orquesta Son and Eddie Lebron. In 1973, he helped coin the phrase "salsoul", lending its name to his first post-Fania album. He recorded three albums for the Salsoul of Cayre brothers, (Kenneth, Stanley, and

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

) and several singles, including "Rap-O Clap-O" from 1979 which became an early

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

hit. After his 1981 album, ''Bataan II'', he retired from music-making to spend more time with his family and ended up working as a youth counselor in one of the reformatories he himself had spent time in as a teenager. In 2005, Bataan teamed up with producer Daniel Collás to break his long hiatus with the release of ''Call My Name'', a well-received album recorded in New York for Spain's Vampisoul label. In early 2009, Bataan was featured in the Kenzo Digital-produced "beat cinematic" ''City of God's Son''. Bataan was featured as the narrator of the story, playing the part of an older Nas reflecting upon his youth in the street with cohorts Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Biggie and Raekwon. In 2013, Bataan received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society. Dorothy Cordova Joe Bataan

In 2014, he met Osman Jr, from French group Setenta which, in collaboration with promoter Benjamin Levy, leads him to play for the first time in Paris in June 2015 at Le théatre des Etoiles, followed by a historic live at the Jazz Mix de Vienne in France. In September 2015, Bataan sang "My Rainbow", a soulful bolero composed by the French band. This title was released in 2016 on the album ''Paris to Nueva York'' released by Latin Big Note. With Setenta as this backing band, Bataan travels and plays on famous scenes as Selma in Stockholm (Sweden),

Ronnie Scott's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sco ...

(London), the FGO (Paris), the Summer Stage in New York and the Théatre de la Mer of Fiest'a Sète (France). In 2016, Bataan (along with the Barrio Boys) performed at the FANHS National Conference in New York- where 500 conference attendees danced to his music while cruising the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

on the Hornblower 'Infinity'. In 2017, Bataan appeared in the Puerto Rican-American film "Shine", and he collaborated with Spanglish Fly, the

revival group based in New York City, to record ''New York Rules'', written by Manuel Garcia-Orozco and Jonathan Goldman, released on the band's ''Ay Que Boogaloo!'' by record label Chaco World Music. Singing lead vocals, Bataan includes references to his famous songs "Subway Joe" and "Rap-o Clap-o." ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' calls this recording "charming, spellbinding and irresistible." A remix of the song is included on the soundtrack to ''

She's Gotta Have It ''She's Gotta Have It'' is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Spike Lee in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell ...

'' (2019), written and directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

. In 2024, Bataan, along with other artists as

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

and Puro Bandido headlined for the festival Latin Rock on the Dock in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

Personal life

Bataan is married to Yvonne Bataan; their daughter is singer

Asia Nitollano Asia Nitollano (born February 14, 1988) is an American singer, dancer, model and cheerleader. After winning the television series '' Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll'', Nitollano became a member of the Pussycat Dolls, only t ...

Discography

Studio albums * 1967: ''Gypsy Woman'' ( Fania 340) * 1968: ''Subway Joe'' (Fania 345) * 1968: ''Riot!'' (Fania 354) * 1969: ''Poor Boy'' (Fania 371) * 1970: ''Singin' Some Soul'' (Fania 375) * 1971: ''Mr. New York & The East Side Kids'' (Fania 395) * 1972: ''Sweet Soul'' (Fania 407) * 1972: ''Saint Latin's Day Massacre'' (Fania 420) * 1972: ''Live From San Frantasia'' (unreleased, Fania 432) * 1973: ''Salsoul'' (Mericana) * 1975: ''Afro-Filipino'' ( Salsoul/

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

) * 1980: ''Mestizo'' (Salsoul) * 1981: ''II'' (Salsoul) * 1997: ''Last Album, Last Song'' (Bataan Music) * 2004: ''Young, Gifted & Brown: Joe's Sweetest Soul Singin (Vampisoul) * 2005: ''Call My Name'' (Vampisoul) * 2006: ''The Message'' (ITP) * 2009: ''King of Latin Soul'' (Vampisoul) * 2016: ''My Rainbow'' on the album ''Paris to Nueva York - Setenta'' (Latin Big Note) * 2017: "New York Rules" on the album, Spanglish Fly, "Ay Que Boogaloo!" (Chaco World Music)

Filmography

* ''Un Dia Divino'' (1973) * ''Driver Parrell Lines'' (2006) * ''Alex Paddu Love Talk'' (2015) * ''Shine 2017''

References

External links

Joe Bataan Official WebsiteJoe Bataan
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

*
Joe Bataan interview by Michael 'The Dood' Edwards 'UK Vibe'
12 June 2009
Joe Bataan article in the LA Weekly
15 December 1999
Joe Bataan interview
www.clubbity.com, 20 March 2005
Joe Bataan interview
Article from APEX Express radio program, KPFA FM, Berkeley, California (MP3), 25 August 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bataan, Joe 1942 births 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American musicians of Filipino descent English-language singers from the Philippines Fania All-Stars members Fania Records artists Filipino people of African-American descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians Living people Latin pop singers Latin music songwriters People from East Harlem Rappers from Manhattan Salsoul Records artists Salsa musicians 21st-century American rappers Spanish-language singers of the United States 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers