IT’S A GOOD, GOOD FEELING: THE LATIN SOUL OF FANIA RECORDS (THE SINGLES) CELEBRATES THE LEGENDARY LABEL’S ERA-DEFINING LATIN SOUL AND BOOGALOO SONGSSpanning 1965–1975, the collection features single versions of 89 tracks from Ray Barretto, Joe Bataan, Ralfi Pagan, and Larry Harlow, among others, including rarities and B-sides.

Click here to pre-order/pre-save the collection

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Los Angeles, CA (August 4, 2021)—Craft Latino announces the release of It’s a Good, Good Feeling: The Latin Soul of Fania Records (The Singles), a brand-new collection that showcases Fania’s era-defining output of boogaloo and Latin soul music. Spanning 1965–1975, the box set compiles 89 singles from such best-selling artists as Ray Barretto, Joe Bataan, Bobby Valentín, Ralfi Pagan, and Larry Harlow, plus rarities from 125^th Street Candy Store, The Latinaires, The Harvey Averne Band, and Ali Baba, among many others.

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Set for release on October 8th and available for pre-order today, It’s a Good, Good Feeling includes four CDs plus a bonus 7-inch single, all housed in a 60-page hardcover book, featuring extensive new liner notes by compilation co-producer and DJ Dean Rudland, as well as photos and ephemera from Fania’s archives. Helping to set the scene is a 7-inch single, which culls vintage promo tracks for “Symphony” Sid Torin’s radio shows on New York’s WEVD AM and FM. The famed DJ was an early champion of Latin music and helped to popularize the genre in the ’60s. Featuring newly remastered audio by the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, Paul Blakemore, It’s a Good, Good Feeling will also be available on digital and streaming platforms, while an abridged, 2-LP vinyl edition of the compilation offers 28 choice cuts and an eight-page booklet. A collectible orange-crush colored pressing (limited to 300 copies) and a commemorative T-shirt can be found exclusively at Fania.com. The first instant grat. single “Gypsy Woman,” Joe Bataan’s 1967 debut hit, is available to stream/download today. 

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In the ’60s, a unique musical moment was brewing in New York City, as young Latin American artists—many of them second-generation—found themselves split between the traditional music they grew up on and the rising sounds of soul, doo-wop, and R&B. They began experimenting in the clubs, blending Afro-Cuban beats, Latin jazz, and soul with predominantly English lyrics. The result was a delectable new genre with broad appeal that epitomized the cultural melting pot of New York. While boogaloo and Latin soul was a short-lived craze (peaking in the late ’60s and early ’70s), it popularized Latin music in America and established the careers of many internationally beloved artists.

Fania Records was founded just prior to the rise of boogaloo in 1964 by bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his lawyer, Jerry Masucci. Over the next few years, Fania would sign and nurture a variety of emerging Latin soul artists. As Rudland points out in his notes, “Fania was not the first label to release Latin soul, but they were vital within its rise, releasing important records, and its owners patently understood the opportunity it allowed the young label to expand quickly.”

Among their earliest signings were Willie Colón, Joe Bataan, Bobby Valentín, and Ray Barretto: four rising stars who were all eager to experiment with their sounds—and Fania gave them the freedom to do so. Colón, who became one of the label’s most celebrated artists, rarely strayed from traditional stylings but offered one foray into Latin soul with his debut single, “Willie Baby” (1967). Valentín, meanwhile, straddled the line stylistically, but scored several boogaloo hits for the label early on, including 1967’s joyful “Geronimo” and “Bad Breath,” as well as the anthemic “Use It Before You Lose It” (1968).

Barretto, who had already established himself—and the boogaloo sound—prior to signing with Fania, was known for such foundational hits as 1962’s “El Watusi.” Once he joined the burgeoning label, however, he recorded one of the genre’s most important albums, Acid (1968), which spawned such enduring singles as “A Deeper Shade of Soul” and “Mercy, Mercy Baby.” Latin soul regularly reflected the political tensions of the ’60s and Barretto, in particular, often delivered socially conscious messages in his songs, including the funky “Together” (1969) and “Right On” (1971). 

Bataan, meanwhile, burst onto the scene in 1967 with a cover of The Impressions’ “Gypsy Woman”—the title track of his debut album. A year later, he followed with “Subway Joe,” which, Rudland argues, is “the pinnacle of Latin soul,” and scored an R&B crossover hit with a two-part cover of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ “It’s a Good Feeling” (subtitled “Riot” by Bataan). The artist also found broad success with emotion-filled ballads like “Sad Girl” and the epic “My Opera” (both 1969), as well as a dramatic cover of The Beatles’ “This Boy” (1971). 

Taking the soul route even more directly was Ralfi Pagan, who scored a multitude of R&B hits in both English and Spanish, including sultry covers of Bread’s “Make It with You” (1971) and the Drifters’ “Up on the Roof” (1973), as well as the up-tempo “Wonderful Thing” (1974), and the reflective “Just for a Little While” (1975). 

The man behind many of Pagan’s hits, as well as songs by Barretto, Bataan, and lesser-known Fania acts like the Latinaires and Ronnie Marks, was producer, songwriter, and musician, Harvey Averne. While Averne was not of Latin heritage, he was deeply entrenched in the scene and released several of his own albums and singles under a variety of monikers, including the swinging “Make Out” (Harvey Averne + 9, 1967), “The Micro Mini” (Harvey Averne and Group Therapy, 1967), and “Accept Me” (The Harvey Averne Dozen, 1968).

Larry Harlow was another white bandleader who found success in the Latin market, signing to Fania in 1965 and enjoying a long and prolific run with the label. While the majority of his work was more traditional fare, he did deliver several soulful tracks in the late ’60s with his Orquesta Harlow, including such funky cuts as “Mess Around” and “That Groovy Shingaling” (both from 1967’s El Exigente album) as well as a 1968 cover of Hugh Masekela’s “Grazin’ in the Grass.”

In addition to such legends as Louie Ramirez (featured alongside Bobby Marin as “Ali Baba” in this compilation) and Mongo Santamaría, the Fania All Stars also make an appearance on It’s a Good, Good Feeling. The supergroup—which, at the time included the likes of Bataan, Valentín, Barretto, Ramirez, and Colón, plus a handful of special guests—offered Fania an opportunity to showcase its talented roster. The two tracks here (“Richie’s Bag” and “Red Garter Strut”) are culled from the group’s 1969 live album, Live at the Red Garter, Vol.2, and feature vocals by the great Richie Ray.

By the mid-’70s, the popularity of boogaloo had widely given way to salsa—and Fania quickly rose to become a leader in the genre. While salsa ultimately proved to be the more enduring style, the success of boogaloo and Latin soul was instrumental in paving the way for its mainstream appeal. Many of the artists who found early fame with Latin soul records, meanwhile, would go on to enjoy thriving careers, including NEA Jazz Master Award-winner and International Latin Music Hall of Fame Inductee Ray Barretto, Joe Bataan, Bobby Valentín, and Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award-winner, Larry Harlow.

Click here to pre-order the collection today, or to stream “Gypsy Woman” and pre-save the digital album. 

4-CD + 7” Tracklist:

Disc One

1.125^th Street Candy Store – Silent Heart 2.125^th Street Candy Store – Hey Girl3.Bobby Valentín – Geronimo4.Harvey Averne + 9 – Make Out5.Willie Colón – Willie Baby6.Bobby Valentín – Love Me So7.Bobby Valentín – Bad Breath8.Joe Bataan – Gypsy Woman9.Joe Bataan – So Fine10.Harvey Averne and Group Therapy – The Micro Mini11.Harvey Averne and Group Therapy – The Think Drink “Spiked”12.Joe Bataan – Ordinary Guy13.Joe Bataan – Too Much Lovin’14.Monguito Santamaría – Juicy 15.Ray Barretto – Mercy, Mercy Baby16.Ray Barretto – Soul Drummers17.Joe Bataan – Subway Joe18.Joe Bataan – Special Girl19.Joe Bataan – Magic Rose20.Bobby Valentín – Use It Before You Lose It21.Bobby Valentín – Funky Big Feet22.Larry Harlow – Mess Around23.Larry Harlow – That Groovy Shingaling

Disc Two

1.The Latinaires – Camel Walk

2.Bobby Quesada – Bataola Boogaloo3.Joe Bataan – It’s a Good Feeling (Riot) Part 14.Joe Bataan – It’s a Good Feeling (Riot) Part 25.Ray Barretto – A Deeper Shade of Soul6.Ralph Robles – Mercie7.Joe Bataan – What Good Is a Castle – Part 18.Joe Bataan – What Good Is a Castle – Part 29.Orchestra Harlow – Grazin’ in the Grass (Una Miradita de Amor)10.Ray Barretto – Hard Hands11.Ray Barretto – Love Beads12.The Harvey Averne Dozen – Accept Me13.The Harvey Averne Dozen – Why Can’t We Really Be Free14.Ali Baba (Louie Ramirez) – Ungawa15.Ali Baba (Louie Ramirez) – Cookin’ with Ali16.Monguito Santamaría – Hey Sister17.Fania All Stars – Richie’s Bag18.Fania All Stars – Red Garter Strut19.Ralph Robles – Maybe20.Joe Bataan – Sad Girl 21.Ray Barretto – Together22.Ray Barretto – New York Soul23.Ralfi Pagan – Who Is the Girl for Me24.El Apollo Sound – Spinning Wheel

Disc Three

1.The Harvey Averne Band – Come Back Baby2.The Harvey Averne Band – Stand3.Ralfi Pagan – Don’t Stop Now4.Joe Bataan – My Opera5.The Harvey Averne Band – Lovers6.The Harvey Averne Band – Love Never Stays the Same7.Joe Bataan – When We Get Married8.Monguito Santamaría – Crying Time9.The Harvey Averne Band – Let’s Get Together This Christmas10.Ray Barretto – Right On 11.Ronnie Marks – Some Lonely Heart (Vocal)12.Ralfi Pagan – Make It with You13.Ralfi Pagan – Stray Woman14.Joe Bataan – So Young, Too Young15.Joe Bataan – I’m Satisfied16.Joe Bataan – This Boy17.Joe Bataan – Johnny’s No Good18.Ralfi Pagan – Baby I’m a Want You19.Ralfi Pagan – Look at Her20.Joe Bataan – Shaft

Disc Four

1. Joe Bataan – Cry2.Joe Bataan – If I Were a King3.Ralfi Pagan – My Dream4.Ralfi Pagan – It’s Alright5.Ralfi Pagan – Up on the Roof6.Ralfi Pagan – The Gambler7.Ralfi Pagan – Too Late8.Ralfi Pagan – To Say I Love You9.Joe Bataan – Latin Soul Square Dance10.Joe Bataan – Call Me11.Ralfi Pagan – Wonderful Thing12.Butter Scotch – Try Just a Little Harder13.Butter Scotch – Today14.Ralfi Pagan – Didn’t Want to Have to Do It15.W.R.L.C – Johnny’s No Good16.W.R.L.C. – Blonde Latin Blues17.Joe Bataan – I’m No Stranger18.Ralfi Pagan – Just a Little While19.Ralfi Pagan – Loneliest Loneliness20.Ralfi Pagan – I Could Never Hurt You Girl.

7” Single

Side A1. Jumpin’ with Symphony Sid – Joe BataanSide B1. Jumpin’ with Symphony Sid – Bobby Valentín

2-LP Tracklist: