José Feliciano was born in September 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico, the fourth child of eleven sons. He was born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma. Feliciano’s knack for music became apparent when at age seven, he taught himself to play the accordian. About two years later, when he was nine years old, his father gave him his first guitar. He would play his guitar by himself in his room for up to 14 hours a day and would learn by listening to 1950s rock and roll, records of classical guitarists, and jazz players.
In 1963, while gaining recognition in pubs, coffee houses and clubs throughout the U.S. and Canada, especially in Greenwich Village, New York, and Vancouver, he was discovered while performing at Gerde’s Folk City in the Village and immediately signed by Jack Somer, an executive at RCA Victor. Feliciano recounts the story of doing an impression of Bob Dylan, only to find that Dylan was in the audience. In 1964, he released his first single, “Everybody Do the Click” (which became a hit in the Philippines, at No. 2, staying 14 weeks in the Top Ten Hit parade) and was invited to the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. In 1965 and 1966, he released his first albums: The Voice and Guitar of José Feliciano and A Bag Full of Soul, two folk-pop-soul albums that showcased his talent on radios across the US, where in July 1963 he had been described by New York Times columnist, Robert Shelton as a “10-fingered wizard”.
After two more successful albums, Feliciano, now a household name throughout Latin America, moved to Los Angeles. He was introduced to RCA Victor producer, Rick Jarrard. They recorded the hit album Feliciano! together, including the Doors’ song “Light My Fire”. Feliciano’s style was clearly defining itself by that time as that of an innovative crossover artist with soul, folk and rock influences, infused with a substantial Latin flair. RCA released “California Dreamin'” as the first single during the summer of 1968 with “Light My Fire” as the B-side. A DJ behind the mic at KJR-Radio in Seattle, Washington liked that song on the flip side, played it on the air, and it took off, reaching No. 3 on the US pop charts with over one million copies sold in the US market alone. The song became a No. 1 hit in many countries, including Canada, Brazil and the UK and was awarded a gold disc.
In 1970, Feliciano released an album of Christmas music, again with Rick Jarrard, originally entitled Jose Feliciano, festively resembling a Christmas present in gold wrapping with a big green and red bow. Later, the album would assume the name of its most unlikely selection, that of Feliciano’s composition “Feliz Navidad”. During the recording process, Jarrard had suggested that Feliciano write a new Christmas song for the album. Feliciano thought it impractical but began reminiscing about his childhood in Puerto Rico, and soon “Feliz Navidad” was born. “Feliz Navidad” has been covered internationally by hundreds of artists, becoming a traditional part of the musical landscape around the world at Christmas time.
Feliciano received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 1987. Feliciano was honored by the New York, which renamed Public School 155 as the Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School. His hands were cast on Madame Tussards Museum’s Wall of Fame and he has a star on the Walk of Fame of his native Puerto Rico. He also had a hit in 1987 in Austria with the song “The Sound of Vienna”, which reached number 1 there for 4 weeks, and recorded with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra also performed with him live on national television at Danube Park in Vienna before more than 60,000 people.
