Ruben Blades
Wikimp3 information about the music of Ruben Blades. On our website we have 70 albums and 70 collections of artist Ruben Blades. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Ruben Blades represents Salsa genres.
Biography
[Edit]Rubén Blades is one of the most successful vocalists in the history of Panamanian music. A former member of bands led by Ray Barretto and Willie Colón, Blades has continued to influence salsa music with his highly literate, politically tinged lyrics and his modern-minded arrangements, which substitute the usual horn and Latin percussion sections with synthesizers and drum sets. Often referred to as "the Latin Bruce Springsteen," Blades provided a musical voice for the middle class of Central America. Raised in a middle-class neighborhood in Panama City, Blades inherited his musical talents from his parents. His mother, Anoland, who emigrated from Cuba, played piano and sang in Spanish. His father, Ruben Sr., a police detective, played bongos.
Inspired by the doo wop singing of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Blades began singing North American pop and rock songs in his early teens. In 1963, he became the lead singer of a band, the Saints, formed by his older brother, Luis. The political upheaval in Panama during the mid-'60s had a profound effect as Blades became increasingly committed to his own roots, refusing to sing in any language but his native Spanish.
While studying law at the University of Panama, Blades continued to be involved with his music, singing with Conjunto Latino and Los Salvajes del Ritmo. In 1968, an album he recorded with Bush and the Magnificos reached Joe Cuba's producer in New York. Invited to join Cuba's band, he declined in order to complete college. When the Panamanian government closed the university, he made his first trip to the United States. While in the U.S., Blades recorded an album, From Panama to New York, with Pete Rodriguez. Shortly after the album's release, the University of Panama was reopened and Blades returned to complete his undergraduate studies. Although he accepted a position as a lawyer for the Bank of Panama, following his graduation, he returned to the U.S., to visit his parents, who had emigrated to Miami, in 1974.
While in the United States, Blades traveled to New York and took a job in the mailroom of the Latin-oriented Fania record label. A year later, he replaced Tito Allen as featured vocalist in Ray Barretto's band, auditioning in Fania's mailroom. When Barretto left to form a Latin fusion group, Blades took over as bandleader and renamed the group Guarare. In 1975, Blades composed and sang lead on Barretto's recording "Canto Abacua," featured on the album Barretto. As a result, Blades was named Composer of the Year by Latin New York magazine. Blades had also been playing with Willie Colón's band, and he remained with Colón for six years. Their collaboration reached its apex with the three-million-copy-selling album Siembra, which included the single "Pedro Navaja," the biggest selling single in salsa history. Blades' politically oriented lyrics were not universally accepted. In 1980, his song "Tiburon," which spoke out against superpower intervention in the Caribbean, was banned from radio airplay in Miami.
Forming his own band, Los Seis del Solar, in 1982, Blades began to perform an exciting fusion of Latin, rock, reggae, and Caribbean music. Their debut album, Buscando América, was released in 1983. A year later, Blades enrolled in the graduate school at Harvard University, eventually receiving a master's degree in international law.
Since the early '80s, Blades has balanced his musical career with acting and writing songs for such films as The Last Fight, Crossover Dreams, Critical Condition, Fatal Beauty, The Milagro Beanfield War, Dead Man Out, Disorganized Crime, The Lemon Sisters, The Two Jakes, Predator 2, One Man's War, The Josephine Baker Story, Crazy From the Heart, Color of Night, A Million to Juan, Scorpion Spring, and The Devil's Own. Blades shared the title role, with Marc Anthony, in Paul Simon's Broadway musical The Capeman.
Blades, who lives in California with his actress wife Lisa Lebenzon, has remained active with politics. The founder of a new political party in Panama, he ran for president of Panama in 1994, coming in second in the election. While much of Blades' repertoire is in the Spanish language, he recorded an English-language album, Nothing But the Truth, featuring songs by Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, and Sting, in 1988.
The 1990s were relatively busy ones for Blades musically, and he released several albums, including Ruben Blades y Son del Solar...Live! (1990), Caminando (1991), Amor y Control (1994), La Rosa de los Vientos (1996), and Tiempos (1999) before stepping back a bit in the first decade of the 21st century, releasing Mundo in 2002, the Live! In Concert DVD in 2006, and De Panama a Nueva York in 2008.
Title: Live in the Netherlands
Artist: Ruben Blades, Willie Colón / Willie Colon
Genre: Jazz, World Music
Title: Eba Say Ajá / Eba Say Aja
Artist: Ruben Blades, Cheo Feliciano
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin
Title: Todos Vuelven Live, Vol. 2 (with Seis del Solar)
Artist: Ruben Blades
Genre: World Music, Latin
Title: Todos Vuelven Live, Vol. 1
Artist: Ruben Blades, Seis Del Solar
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin
Collections
Title: Beat Street, Vol. 1
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Salsa - A Musical History
Title: Mamá... para Ti / Mama... para Ti
Genre: Latin
Title: Rough Guide to Salsa
Title: Viernes Social... a Lo Tropical
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin
Title: Latin DJ All Stars
Title: World Christmas
Genre: Traditional Pop Music
Title: Tribute to XTC - A Testimonial Dinner
Genre: Rock, Pop, Alternative
Title: Lo Mejor de Nuestra Musica Popular
Genre: Latin
Title: Salsa Classic Hits, Vol. 3
Title: Armada Fania
Title: Salsa Party Vol. 2
Genre: Latin
Title: Fania Signature Vol IV - Hard Salsa
Genre: Electronica
Title: Los #1 en Salsa
Title: Salsa Simply the Best
Title: Latina Fever 2015
Genre: Latin
Title: Panete Salsa: Le Meilleur de la Musique Latine
Genre: World Music
Title: The Alegre Records Story
Genre: Electronica
Title: Latin Lounge Jazz San Juan
Genre: Electronica
Title: Cuba Caliente
Title: Fania Live 03
Genre: Latin
Title: Lo Esencial de Fania, Vol. 4
Title: Querida Madre
Genre: Latin
Title: SalsaHits 2005
Title: Fania Signature Vol I - Hot Salsa
Genre: Electronica
Title: Leyendas De La Fania Vol 2
Genre: Latin
Title: Leyendas De La Fania, Vol. 5
Genre: Latin
Title: Christian Salsa
Genre: Latin
Title: Que Viva la Salsa
Title: Leyendas de la Fania, Vol. 7
Title: Latina Fever 2014
Genre: World Music
Title: Hammock House Eastbound L
Genre: Latin
Title: DANCE WITH ME
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: COMPACT DISC CLUB - CORAZON LATINO CD 1
Genre: Latin
Title: Compact Disc Club - Mojito CD 2
Genre: Latin
Title: Enciclopedia De La Salsa Vol 11
Genre: Salsa
Title: Enciclopedia De La Salsa Vol 19
Genre: Salsa
Title: Enciclopedia De La Salsa Vol 47
Genre: Salsa
Title: A Carnival Of Cuban Music
Genre: Latin
Title: Latino CD11
Genre: World Music, Pop
Title: Mega Salsa CD3
Genre: Latin
Title: Mega Salsa CD2
Genre: Latin
Title: Mega Salsa CD4
Genre: Latin
Title: Lo Esencial De La Salsa (Disc 2)
Genre: Pop
Title: Lo Esencial De La Salsa (Disc 3)
Genre: Salsa, World Music, Latin, Pop
Title: Lo Esencial De La Salsa (Disc 4)
Genre: Salsa
Title: Bailando TU Salsa Vol. 4 CD1
Genre: World Music, Latin
Featuring albums
Title: Songs from The Capeman
Artist: Paul Simon
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock, World Music, Pop, Songwriter/Lyricist, Theatre/Soundtrack, Psychedelic
Title: The Complete Albums Collection
Artist: Paul Simon
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock, World Music, Pop, Songwriter/Lyricist, Psychedelic
Title: Got the Bug 2 (Mixed By Bugz In the Attic)
Artist: Bugz In The Attic
Genre: Dancefloor, Dance Pop
Title: The Very Best of Fania All Stars (The Originals) Vol.1
Artist: Fania All Stars
Genre: World Music, Latin
Title: Dance With Me: Music From The Motion Picture
Artist: Original Soundtrack
Genre: Electronica, Dancefloor
Title: Do The Right Thing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: The Best Of 1984 - 1994. Fields Of Gold
Artist: Sting
Genre: Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Rock & Roll
Title: Encuentro Draco Rosa J L Guerra Y Ruben Blades
Artist: Juan Luis Guerra Y La 440
Genre: Latin
Title: Hands of Stone (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Latina Fever 2017 : The Best of Reggaeton, Kizomba, Bachata and Salsa
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: World Music, Latin
Title: Playa Chica Tarifa, Vol. 2 (Latin, Combo, Boogaloo)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronica, Latin