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José Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares,
Puerto Rico|Lares), is a Puerto Rican singer. The
victim of congenital glaucoma, he was left
permanently Blindness|blind at birth. Feliciano
overcame the effects of his handicap to score many
international hits.

He was first exposed to music at age 3. At five,
his family moved to Spanish_Harlem|Spanish Harlem,
New York City. At age 9, he played on the Teatro
Puerto Rico. He could play various instruments
(such as the accordion) by then but he wanted to
learn to play the guitar. To learn, he locked
himself in his room for up to 14 hours a day to
listen to 1950s rock albums.

At 17, he quit school to play in nightclub|clubs,
because his family was going through a precarious
economic situation. That year also, he had his
first professional, contracted performance. He
went to Detroit, Michigan|Detroit for that. 

In 1966, he went to Mar Del Plata, Argentina, to
perform at the Festival de Mar Del Plata. There,
he impressed RCA Victor officials, who told him to
stay there to record an album in Spanish
language|Spanish. They weren't sure what they
wanted to record, but Feliciano suggested they
record bolero music. The result was two smashing
hits with the singles Poquita Fe (Little Faith)
and Uste ( You, uste(d) being a more respectful
way to say you in Spanish).

After two more, successful albums, Feliciano had
become a household name all over Latin America.
Then, he moved to Los Angeles, California|Los
Angeles, to pursue his dream of becoming a house
hold name in the United States too. Feliciano then
composed Feliz Navidad (I wanna wish you a Merry
Christmas) which has become a Christmas classic in
the United States as well as in Latin-America, and
his own version of The Doors' song Light My Fire.
He immediately became a sensation all across North
America and he sold millions of albums there with
those two songs. 

In 1968, at the height of protests against the
Vietnam War, Feliciano was given the opportunity
to sing the Star-Spangled Banner during the World
Series. His highly personalized, slow, Latin-jazz
performance proved highly controversial. Some
called his rendition unpatriotic and a disgrace;
some called for his exportation. Others understood
the emotions and sincerity of his performance, and
he emerged as a counterculture hero. The rendition
was released as a single which charted for 5 weeks
on the Billboard magazine|Billboard Hot 100,
peaking at #50.

Feliciano's Star-Spangled Banner took place 10
months before the now famous Jimi Hendrix
rendition at Woodstock festival|Woodstock.

Feliciano holds the distinction of being one of
the few singers to have enjoyed success both in
Spanish music and in English language|English rock
and roll. 

He received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame
in 1987, after continuing on being a very popular
singer during the 1980s. He had his hands cast on
the famous Madame Tussaud's museum's Wall of Fame,
and he has a star in the Walk of Fame of his natal
Puerto Rico. 

In 1995, Feliciano was honored by the government
of New York, which re-named Public School 155 the
Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School.

In 2001, Feliciano admitted to having inpregnated
a woman outside his marriage. The woman gave birth
to a baby boy. Sadly, the boy was born with
serious health problems and passed away a few
weeks after birth.

==See also==
* List of famous Puerto Ricans
* Blind musicians
----

External link: 
http://www.josefeliciano.com/ Jose Feliciano
Official Site