Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetPete "El Conde" Rodríguez
Puerto Rican musciain
Date of Birth: 31-Jan-1932
Place of Birth: Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States
Date of Death: 02-Dec-2000
Profession: musician
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius 
About Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez
- Pedro Juan Rodríguez Ferrer (January 31, 1933 – December 2, 2000), better known as Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez was a salsa singer born in Barrio Cantera, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
- His son, also named Pete Rodriguez, is also a salsa and jazz musician.Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez was a percussionist who started playing bongos at the age of five.
- After working with local groups in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he moved to The Bronx during the 1950s.
- While singing and playing the congas in a Bronx bar, he was spotted by legendary bandleader Johnny Pacheco.
- His first album was titled Suavito, which was released in 1963. Just a year later in 1964, Pacheco and his lawyer Jerry Masucci founded The Fania All-Stars, a combination of the best Latin singers and musicians at that time.
- Pete's first album under the Fania label was Canonazo.
- Between 1964 and 1973, Rodriguez and Pacheco recorded seven albums including La Perfecta Combinacion (1970), Los Compadres (1971), and Tres De Cafe Y Dos De Azucar (1973). In 1974, Rodríguez left the Fania All-Stars and concentrated on a successful solo career.
- His solo debut album El Conde (1974) was an award winner.
- His 1976 album Este Negro Si Es Sabroso was rated ninth in best Salsa records at that time.
- That album featured one of his most popular songs, "Catalina La O". During the 1980s, with the Fania All-Stars on the verge of disbanding, Rodriguez reunited with Johnny Pacheco and recorded four more albums between 1983 and 1989.
- Their 1987 album Salsobita was nominated for a Grammy.
- By 1990, he went solo again. Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez only recorded two albums in the 1990s with one of his hit songs "Esos Tus Ojos Negros" being released in 1993.
- By 2000, he was hired by Tito Puente to provide lead vocals for a tribute to the late bolero singer Benny Moré.
- However, the album was released posthumously because Puente died on 31 May 2000.
- Rodriguez also had a heart ailment, but he refused to undergo bypass surgery as Puente did.
- On 2 December 2000, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 67.
Read more at Wikipedia