Tito Nieves - Biography
By Nick Castro
Tito Nieves has become one of salsa music's most famous singers. He was born in 1958, as Humberto Nieves, in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He moved to the US as a young child and spent his formative years in the musical hotbed of New York City. He trained as a musician when still a young child, and he showed tremendous talent and vocal power by the time he was a young teen. His family was a musical one, with his father and uncle both working as musicians as well. His professional gigs were when he was still 15. He got a job singing for Orquesta Cimarron and was soon lead singer in the band. All the while Nieves was listening to the Fania Records roster of artists as well as pop and blues records. His first major breakthrough, musically, was when he began to work with the band of Hector Lavoe in the late 70's and then singing for a group called Tairbori, for whom he would perform on his first recording date.
By the late 80's Nieves had enough professional experience to go out on his own. He recorded his first solo album, The Classic (1988 - RMM), which contained the hit song "Sonámbulo". This would the first of many records he would record for the label. His next album would be Yo Quiero Cantar (1989 - RMM), which contained his first crossover English-language song, "I'll Always Love You". It was his third record though, that would become, what many consider, his finest work to date. The album Deame Vivir (1990 - RMM), established Nieves as on the of the genre's most formidable voices to emerge in recent years. Nieves contributes his own composition to the album, with his title track. Like his previous three albums, producer Sergio George sets the scene for Nieves' fourth album, Rompecabeza: The Puzzle (1992 - RMM), which continued his ascent as one of salsa's fastest rising stars. Many of salsa's purists have criticized Nieves though, disputing his use of synthesizers and programming as not authentic. Regardless, Nieves was able to sell a lot of records so remained in the good graces of the record label, and his output maintained a certain aesthetic that the record buying public loved.
Nieves' next albums were Un Tipo Común (1994 - RMM), which was mainly a collection of love ballads, and the album Dale Cara a La Vida (1995 - RMM). It was his next, English language crossover, album that would bring him success outside of the salsa market. His album I Like it Like That (1996 - RMM), which harkens back to golden age of boogaloo in New York City. This can mainly be heard on his remake of the classic 60's song "I Like it Like That", which was written by Pete Rodriguez and Tony Pabón. This is the least salsa sounding record Nieves had made up to that point. Instead this album followed in a vein of latin soul and includes version of old pop standards like "Heart of Mine". The title track also brought Nieves some success when it was used as the theme song for the movie of the same name. The record label began to market the song in more commercial venues as well, bringing Nieve's many financial gains, along with further suspicions from the salsa illuminati.
Towards the end of the 90's Nieves began to receive further accolades from the press. He won awards, such as the Ace Awards and was nominated for Billboard and Grammy awards as well. He tried to ride the wave of success of his last album by releasing Clase Aparte (1998 - RMM), which featured some English language songs, and Asi mismi Fué (1999 - RMM), which would be his last for the RMM label, who he had been with since his first solo effort.
Soon Nieves signed with the WEA Latina label and this opened many doors for him, including recording a duet with famed salsa artist, Rubén Blades, called "Como Llegó tu Amor" for his album En Otra Onda (2000 - WEA). His next album, Muy Agradecido (2002 - WEA) put him in collaboration with Celia Cruz, perhaps the most legendary salsa singer of all time. The song he recorded with her, "La Salsa Vive", was his biggest hit from the record.
His newer records are Fabricando Fantasias (2004 - SGZ) and Hoy, Mañana y Siempre (2006 - SGZ). These albums find Nieves attempting to incorporate younger elements into his music, such as reggaeton. He continued to shun the disapprovals of salsa purists, and instead focused his energies on creating music his fans would like. One of his newest album, Canciones Clasicas de Marco Solis (2007 - UMG), is a collection of songs by the Mexican singer, Marco Antonio Solis. In 2007 Nieves released the album Tito Nieves en Vivo (2007 - Calle), which was a fine example of his live shows.
Nieves is still working towards a reggaeton salsa blend as well as covering Solis songs when he can. He maintains a working tour schedule around the Americas still.
