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Well, the man that hired me, he didn't want my name to get changed. But other people wanted me to become Americanized. And they wanted me to have the name Joe Phillips, and I said no. Not to be vulgar, but I said: No way! I said no. I said no. Because on one side, I didn't want my father to loose... I didn't want to disrespect my father. My name was José Feliciano, and therefore, they had to accept me like that. And well, they accepted me.

The boleros started to sell well. The debt that I had with the company for the first three records that weren't successful, was being settled, because you know, artists always owe money to the companies.

Sure.

The artist never makes much money. No matter how many records you sell. You always owe them money. That's part of life. But...

And, if you had to make a choice between all those boleros, if you were asked to choose the most special, not your favorite, but the one that means more to you for some reason, which one would it be?

Well, I guess it is Amor Gitano because it was a song I heard, and it always remained in my memory. And when I recorded it, it was a hit.

Will you play a little bit for us?

It's this one...

Ayer te vi pasar con él del brazo y sin que lo notaras te seguí los pasos. Ayer pude comprobar que tú me fingías después que me juraste que no lo querías. Toma este puñal, ábreme las venas, quiero desangrarme hasta que me muera. No quiero la vida si he de verte ajena, pues sin tu cariño, ay, no vale la pena. No vale la pena.

[clapping]

Bravo, bravo. With so many songs, so many moments, which moment would you say, apart from the one of the bolero recording, which one you would say was like this?

Well, look. In 1967, Frank Sinatra and I had something in common. He had the song Strangers in the Night at the top of the lists in English, and I had it in Spanish, at number one. That was a terrific moment for me, and obviously, when I recorded Light my Fire in 1968.

Well, I was about to ask you about "Light my Fire" later, but I'll ask you now.

Ok, ask.

You were a rock'n roll lover?

Always.

So you liked The Doors?

Yes, I liked The Doors. It was a time... those were the psychedelic years.

What made you to feel like recording that song? Why?

Well, it was the producer's idea, who heard a version I did, and he told me... After we made the "Feliciano" record, that had "California Dreaming" and other songs, he said to me, "Why don't you record 'Light my Fire'?". Well, we went back and forth and finally I said, "Ok, I'll record it!"

But it is difficult to make a cover for a song like that. How did you...? What was your attitude towards the song?

Well, I was like... I said, "I don't know if I want to record it, because it was already a success". And sometimes artists are not right. And he said, "No, record it anyway!" By that time, I was with a great bassist, Ray Brown, and he says to me, "Come here, José. Let's go to the studio for a little while". Then I played the introduction and he put something on it, and I said, "Well, let's record it." And I played the guitar...

And it happened. And what's incredible about this song is that the original version is rock, and this version is all acoustic. Maybe that's why it works so well.

Yes, well, we didn't use drums but a conga.

Yes.

And there it was... when the Latin sound began to appear in the American markets. You know, African-Americans with blues and jazz and other things. Those are their roots. My roots, on the other hand, were Latin. And we decided to play Light my Fire" later High-Heeled Sneakers. After that, there was a controversy in the United States because I sang the national anthem.

The famous national anthem. Yes.

People can watch it on YouTube, if they want to. And well, it was at a game in the World Series and well, we caused, well, they stopped playing my records on the American radio stations for a while, yes. It was hard.

** And why that version of the national anthem?**

Well, because I was invited to sing, and I didn't want to sing it the way that it was normally sung by everybody else. I mixed it with soul and that was the difference. Now, everybody sings the national anthem the way they want.

Absolutely. And many don't sing it nearly as well.

No, later...

Ha, ha, ha. We will return in a few minutes, and we will continue with some questions from the audience. Don't move because we will return with more music and more José Feliciano.

[clapping]

We continue talking with José Feliciano. And José, how are your “reflections” these days?

Well, yes, Reflejos is a brand of glasses that I am producing lately.

And they're called Reflejos?

They're called Reflejos, Reflections by José Feliciano.

Ok, and those? Are those them? Those are, aren't they?

Yes, yes, exactly. And all of these are...

I have them on.

You look great with them.

Thank you.

[laughing]

They have the names of my songs like Rain, Señor bolero, California Dreaming. They're not just glasses, but also a fashion statement.

And they are made in Italy, and they're pretty.

Italy.

They're beautiful. Now, we have come to the moment in the program, that we call our "Top 20".

Ok.

I'm going to ask you some questions, and you have to answer them in an honest way without thinking about them too much.

Ok.

That means you don't have time to lie.

Ok.

Number one: What is the greatest compliment that you have received?

Well, they have said that I am the best guitarist nowadays or something like that. I guess that's one of the greatest.

What is the biggest lie that you have told in an interview?

I don't have an answer because I always try to be honest about my feelings in interviews. That's all I can say.

Describe your perfect night.

My perfect night? One night where I'm very sleepy.

[laughing]

Two records that you would like to bring with you to a deserted island?

I would like to take with me... Oh, God! That's... Well, I would like a Ricardo Montaner who's my friend, and also a record by Tito Rodríguez.

Which song makes you cry?

¿Y cómo es él?

What do you spend lots of your money on?

Almost anything.

Really?

I mean, not for me, I'm not too extravagant with myself. I like clothes. Yes, on clothes. We will say on clothes.

&&What would you give as a present to your friend Ricardo Montaner?**

To Ricardo? I guess my friendship and my time.

And to Ricky Martin?

To Ricky? Ricky already has everything. What would you give him?

[laughing]

Do you sleep with pajamas or without pajamas?

I sleep without pajamas but with socks.

[laughing]

What is it that men will never understand about women?

I don't know. I guess their job, right? I don't know.

Your worst fault?

My worst fault? That I always want to do things perfectly.

Your biggest virtue?

I hope to be a charitable person.

Your greatest treasure?

My treasure... I guess it is life, right?

What is your worst fear?

Questions like those that you're asking me now.

[laughing]

Something that you always take with you?

Well, that's very personal.

[laughing]

A fault that you can't stand in a person?

Patience... I mean with kids. People who don't have patience with kids, that can't understand when they cry or when they want to express themselves. I don't have patience with people like that.

What do you do before you jump onto the stage?

I always say a prayer in my mind. I always ask God for everything to go well.

Do you have any good luck charms?

I have some, yes. I have one of... I have a cross, and I have the Guadalupe's Virgin.

The most important quality in a woman?

I guess the way she expresses herself.

And finally... You'll love this one! Your favorite vice?

I'm not gonna tell you that.

[laughing]

I guess it is food. Seriously. And not just food from my country, but foods from different countries.

Perfect! You survived the "Top 20", José. Thank you.

Excellent!

And now I'm going to give the audience a chance because there were a couple of questions that they wanted to ask.

I wanted to ask you... Since you have played many different music genres... Would you adapt one of your old songs to reggaeton?

I guess it has already been done. It has happened.

Do you remember which one?

Well now, for example, on the record that we are making now in bachata terms, one of the songs that will be made in reggaeton is "Mar y cielo" with Rakim & Ken-Y. Yes.

You told me that you are not opposed to experimenting with any genre... that you are open-minded.

Yes, absolutely.

What advice would you give to all of those disabled people that are afraid to realize their artistic dreams for the fear of other people's rejection?

Well, they must fight. They must be strong, and they must teach and show the world that they're not disabled. I believe that society is more disabled than we are.

For Christmas.

For Christmas. But what I want to say, even more importantly... well, I don't know, is that this particular song generates a lot of money. It is one of the ten most played songs every year during Christmas.

You could retire with your Feliz Navidad and yet... With Feliz Navidad, and the awards that you have won, the Grammies, the millions of gold records, platinum records, and yet, you continue playing. You continue to tour. Why? Why don't you retire?

Because I like what I'm doing. I believe that sometimes, the one who retires dies because he doesn't have anything to do. And God has given me an opportunity to enjoy life. If I have good health, why should I retire?

Well José, it has been my pleasure to have you here with us. God willing, you won't retire in the future, or the near future. And I always like to be bold and request that our guests end the show with a special song for us. Something that you could play to close the show.

Well, yes, yes. I have a song that I composed for my country. It is a song about moral obligations. First, I want to thank Siente Music because they allowed me to include this song on my bachata record. It's called "¿Qué le estará pasando a Puerto Rico?" And it goes like this:

I'm Leila Cobo, Thanks to all of you! See you soon…

¿Qué le estará pasando a mi Puerto Rico? Cubierto de cemento el verdor no se está viendo, tu juventud está perdida, los niños se están muriendo, le hace falta cariño, le hace falta alimento.* ¿Qué le estará pasando a Borinquen? El Coquí ya no canta como antes, parece que se da cuenta, el progreso no hay quién lo aguante, los ancianos se sienten muy solos, no hay nadie que escuche su historia, parece que se refugian en su memoria.

THE END

José Feliciano en Estudio Billboard [1] [2] [3]