The Battle for Top Billing

Latin Beat Magazine, March, 2001 by Max Salazar

"Tito balances his albums to sell in different countries and different parts of the United States. You know this is true because his orchestra is the only one invited to San Francisco to perform alongside Santana, Malo and Azteca. I heard him once say he was going to play on the moon. If Richard Nader gave him top billing over Ismael Rivera and La Lupe, it's because Nader believes Puente will be the draw. I've been in this business a long time and I never heard a promoter say that Puente twisted his arm in order to get top billing. All this fuss about Tito hurting these other guys financially is a smoke screen. They all want what Tito gets now. If you don't believe me, watch what happens after Tito leaves the scene. There will be a mad scramble for his spot and those who tell you how terrible Tito was will do things that will make Tito look like a saint. Be sincere with me, who can be compared with Tito today? If Puente didn't have a showdown with Tito Rodríguez in 1962, Rodríguez may not have gone on to be as great as he turned out to be. It is the same as when Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were on the way to breaking Babe Ruth's homerun record. They both drove each other beyond their endurance. Puente was not better than Rodríguez and Rodríguez was not better than Puente. One is a percussionist the other a vocalist. Puente made Rodríguez so damn mad that Rodríguez was determined to make good. Without Puente's push, what incentive did Rodríguez have to top Puente? Ask Joe Loco, Alfredito Levy and Charlie Palmieri if Tito is a villain. Puente may not win a popularity contest with his peers while he remains a bandleader but with the public he is still proving that he is number one and he deserves the top line alone." (Mr. 2X was the numerical code assigned in 1973 to popular NYC DJ Symphony Sid Torin).

The Battle For Top Billing is now out in the open and there may be some readers who may believe that enough wasn't said or complain that I didn't get the opinions of other musicians.

There were a number of musicians who did not want to talk about top billing and others who were unavailable. The Egyptian, Chinese, Greek and Roman empires, at one time of another, had the most advanced civilizations and cultures of their times. All these empires crumbled because of the uncontrollable greed, lust and envy that led to internal warfare. Don't destroy our music culture. If bandleaders cannot work out an equitable solution to the top billing problem, they should then earn it in the manner suggested by Ralph Mercado: "Get on the bandstand, tap off the count, come out smokin' and start kicking ass."