Héctor Lavoe

As Latin music evolved from the boogaloo of the late 1960s to the salsa boom of the '70s, Héctor Lavoe was at its forefront and "El Cantante" (the singer) of some of its most representative songs. Born Héctor Juan Perez in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 30, 1946, he was influenced by the Latin singers he heard on the radio: Daniel Santos and Chuito el de Bayamon, just to name a couple. As he grew more involved in music, he drew his inspiration from Puerto Rico's great sonero Ismael Rivera as well as Cheo Feliciano. These influences are obvious in Lavoe's singing style: he att...