WILLIE TORRES: A Retired Musician's Fate

Latin Beat Magazine, Sept, 1999 by Max Salazar

Willie Torres, a popular Latin music vocalist during the '50s and '60s, is among a small number of Latin musicians who is enjoying retirement only because he had developed other skills. When New York City's music industry started to flourish in the '30s, there were about 15 orchestras by the end of the decade. In the '40s, the number of orchestras doubled. In 1990, a survey of bands in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, revealed the existence of over 400 groups looking to work at New York City's most popular 15 clubs. During the '30s and '40s, when Latin musicians belonged to Union Local # 802, American Federation of Musicians, bandleaders filed contracts with the union for recording sessions, theater and ballroom jobs. On the contracts were the names of the musicians and their social security numbers. The Union had two pay scales. A hotel such as the Waldorf-Astoria, a Broadway theatre, were Class A locations and entitled to top dollar. A ballroom such as the Park Plaza or the dime-a-dance clubs in midtown Manhattan were classified as Class B and receive less than the Class A places. Both Union scales were subject to the withholding of taxes, social security and pension benefits. This procedure continued until the early '50s, at which time the owner of a then newly formed recording company persuaded Latin musicians not to file contracts so they could keep the funds deducted.

Major labels like RCA, Columbia and Verve continued to file con-tracts for the recording sessions of the orchestras of Machito, Noro Morales, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodríguez. All of the Union's musicians wanted to work the Class A places, and very few Hispanic musicians got the jobs. The Roseland Ballroom's dances were always packed on week-ends. Roseland's Latin Tuesdays were also packed and musicians were paid $15 less then the weekend musicians because Latin music on an off night (Tuesday) was considered class B music. El Caborojeño and Broad-way Casino, two popular dancehalls on the west side of Manhattan, paid sideman $90 for the three one-hour sets on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Latin musicians complained and union delegates confronted the club owners who promised to pay a scale of $120 for a weekend. A few months later, Latin musicians abandoned the union when it was revealed that the club owners were still paying $90 for a weekend. The owners "take it or leave it" attitude caused a number of bandleaders to accept the jobs. Many of the musicians working these clubs were not union members and this angered the union. Membership declineal, contracts for class B jobs also declined and the deductions for taxes, social security and pension benefits were not withheld. With the passing of time, a few bandleaders were investigated for not withholding taxes and owing the U.S. Government substantial amounts of money. When a musician reached retirement age and he did not have a savings account, he was in trouble. For many musicians there is no monthly pension check. At the moment, Latin music's best musicians have passed their 65th birthday. They are compelled to keep gigging or else become homeless. Willie Torres is a typical Latin musician, a self-taught vocalist who learned from other musician's experiences not to make the same errors of judgment they made. He has made certain he would not have to endure the No Pension Fate.

Willie Torres was born on October 30, 1929 while his Puerto Rican parents lived at 103rd Street in Spanish Harlem. At age seven he was a member of the Union Settlement, a recreation center for the children of East Harlem. One summer day, when the Coca Cola company invited the settlement's children to tour their plant, Torres won a prize for his rendition of Goody Goody in a singing contest. After this, he was always singing, in the street, building hallways and in school. He hung out on 103rd St. where Puerto Rican actor Henry Silva and blind guitarist José "Light My Fire" Feliciano were reared. As he aged into his teens he was influenced by the recordings of Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra. He became a Latin music aficionado when Orquesta Casino De La Playa's recording of Las Ferias De Las Flores overwhelmed him. Like the average Puerto Rican in Spanish Harlem at the time, Torres was an athlete who excelled in softball, baseball, stickball and fist fights. As a member of the stickball team the Puerto Rican Knights, his teenage wish to beat the awesome Devils from 115th Street and the Fury's from 109th Street & Madison Avenue was never realized.

In 1945, at age 16, Torres became the vocalist for Pappy Ali y Sus Rumberos. They rehearsed their Machito and Marcelino Guerra music arrangements at the Good Neighborhood Federation at 106th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. Ali's pianist, a brilliant 14 year-old named Gil López (later with Tito Rodríguez & Tito Puente) was the spark plug that fired up the group. Los Rumberos disbanded in 1947. It was at this point in Torres's life that a newly acquired skill would play an important part later on in life. For the following five years, Torres drove a garment center truck. One evening during early 1952, he visited an after hours club at 102nd Street and Madison Avenue which was known as El Obrero Español. Here, he renewed his friendship with Nick Jiménez, a tall, thin, pianist-composer who was directing a quintet and invited him to sing. Torres' arousing version of the English Lyric mambo I've Got You Under My Skin prompted Jiménez to hire Torres. At this time, an instrumental group called "The Joe Panama Quintet" was a smoldering hot attraction at "Los Muchachos," an after hours club two blocks away. Its personnel was: David "Joe Panama, Preudhomme, pianist (of Panamanian descent), Roy Rosa- bass, Tommy Berrios- vibraphone, Jimmy Sabater- timbales, and Gilberto "Sonny" Calderón-conga drum.