José Feliciano Channels Spirit of 1960s

Posted September 27, 2007, 5:17 pm in Music by Growing Bolder


José Feliciano is back with his first English-language album in a decade, and it's his boldest album yet.

If you only know him as the "Feliz Navidad" singer, wait until you meet the real José Feliciano.

He told the Growing Bolder Radio Show that his new album, "Soundtrax of My Life," features songs that he wrote himself. As if that wasn't gutsy enough, he also produced the album.

"I got tired of producers. To me, I think this step of producing this album myself, along with my friend Al Payson, was a very bold step," José told us. "A lot of times people think that if you're producing an album as the artist yourself that you're not objective enough. I think people will really enjoy this album, the fact that all of the songs on this album I wrote."

As he enters his 60s, the spirit of the 1960s is also on his mind. For the first time, José says he gathered the courage to write a protest song. He says he's always listened to artists like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and the new album features a song called, "Killing's Not the Answer."

"It's a big milestone for me. I've never really written too many protest songs of that nature," he said.

Rather than the angry tone of many anti-war songs circulating in the music world these days, José's light touch and melodic guitar strumming strike a note of longing for a peaceful world.

Here are some of the lyrics:

Weapons of war
Lets all work so we won't need them anymore
I know it's easier said than done
But people, now the time has come
Killing's not the answer

José tells Growing Bolder that as he's matured, he has a few regrets about the arrogance of his youth.

To find out how he once snubbed Ed Sullivan and why it's haunted him since, click the play button below the play button on the right.


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