Marc Anthony - Salsa
Marc Anthony was born Marco Antonio Muniz, on September 16, 1969 in New
York City. Today he is considered to be one of the leading
salsa and
latin pop music performers in the world.
Marc Anthony began his career as a session vocalist for pop and dance
acts. His Puerto Rican parents boasted a strong Latin music heritage and
named their son after a Mexican singer. Under his new name, Marc Anthony
worked as a songwriter and backup vocalist for pop acts including
Menudo and the Latin Rascals. He subsequently collaborated with House
producer Vega, Little Louie, who featured the singer on the Latin-flavoured
club hit "Ride On The Rhythm" and "When The Night Is
In 1992, Vega and Marc Anthony opened for Puerto Rican bandleader
Tito Puente at New York's Madison Square Garden. Seeking new inspiration
from the music of Tito Puente,
Ruben Blades and Juan Gabriel, Marc Anthony performed at the Latin music
convention Radio y Musica; his first step on the road to salsa stardom. He
released his Spanish -language debut recording,
Otra Nota, in 1993, and
achieved his first taste of mainstream success performing the hit duet
Vivir
lo Nuestro with salsa singer
La India in 1994.
Subsequent tours throughout the Americas, including an opening slot for
Ruben Blades established Marc Anthony as one of the hottest new stars in
salsa. His excellent 1995 collection, Todo A Su
Tiempo, was nominated for a Grammy. The more traditional -sounding
follow-up, Contra La Corriente,
was promoted by a sell-out solo concert at Madison Square Garden, which
included hits such as "Si Te Vas". Marc Anthony also appeared alongside
Blades in Paul Simon's 1998 stage musical, The Capeman, which closed after
only 68 regular performances.
Rebounding from that failure, Marc Anthony began working on his English
language debut with a crew of leading producers, including Rodney Jerkins and
Walter Afanasieff. Released in September 1999, and promoted by the US Top 5
hit single 'I Need To Know', the self-titled collection was a clear attempt to
emulate the crossover success of
Jennifer Lopez and
Ricky Martin, at the risk of angering his traditional salsa fans. Marc
Anthony had already appeared with Lopez on the duet "No Me Ames", taken from
her "On The 6" collection.
That year also saw the release of his next album, the self-titled
Marc Anthony. His first English language album, it
featured hit songs "I Need to Know" and "You Sang to Me". Moreover, the album
demonstrated that Anthony could deliver his great voice equally well in
English as his native Spanish. While some critics maintained that the work
fell short of the energy of his earlier salsa-laden Spanish language albums,
it was well received in the mainstream USA market.
A wonderful compilation album, Desde Un Principio
was also released that year. It included one of the most sensually haunting
songs in any language:
Hasta
Ayer, and Anthony's rendition of the Puerto Rican classic song composed
by
Rafael Hernández, "Preciosa". To round out that busy year of 1999, Marc
Anthony appeared alongside Nicolas Cage in Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out
The Dead.
Libre, released in English and Spanish
versions, both in 2001. The album follows in the spirit of his hugely
successful album, Contra La Corriente. The CD has nine tracks including
including the hit single "Celos" and several other wondefully crafted and
executed songs, such as "Este Loco Que te Mira" and "Barco a la Deriva" and
ending with the bolero, "Caminaré".
Anthony's most recent effort was the album
Mended, released in 2002, consisted of songs mostly in English but still
wildly successful.
