Tommy Olivencia

Vocalist and bandleader Tommy Olivencia was a pioneer within the advancement of Puerto Rican salsa music. His renowned support combo, la Primerisima, was the releasing pad for upcoming superstars including Frankie Ruiz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Marvin Santiago. Delivered Ángel Tomás Olivencia Pagán within the Santurce portion of San Juan on, may 15, 1938, he spent a lot of his adolescence in the town of Arecibo, where he discovered to try out trumpet. By his mid-teens Olivencia was a staple of regional dance rings, and in 1960 founded his initial group, la Primerisima Orchestra de Puerto Rico. Making use of their brassy fusion of golf swing and Latin rhythms, la Primerisima would emerge because the top Puerto Rican music group of its era, both because of its important sound in addition to its virtuoso lineup — at different moments, Olivencia also utilized famous brands Chamaco Ramirez, Sammy “Un Rolo” González, Simon Perez, Paquito Guzmán, Ubaldo “Lalo” Rodriguez, Hector Tricoche, Carlos Alexis, Hector “Pichie” Perez, Paquito “Junior” Acosta, and Mel Martínez, successfully a who’s who of salsa’s formative years. Upon putting your signature on towards the Inca label, Olivencia have scored his first main strike with 1972’s “Secuestro,” inaugurating some smashes including 1974’s “Juntos de Nuevo” and 1975’s “Plante Bandera” — over the period of four years, he recorded near two dozen LPs in every, yielding such salsa classics mainly because “Casimira,” “Como Lo Hacen,” and “Trucutru.” In August 2000, Olivencia celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary in music with an all-star la Primerisima display at San Juan’s Tito Puente Theatre; he passed away from cardiac and renal failing at his Carolina house on Sept 22, 2006.