Latest Release
- 31 OCT 2023
- 30 Songs
- Traigo de Todo · 1973
- Esto Sí Es Lo Mío · 1978
- Greatest Hits · 2008
- Historia Musical de Ismael Rivera - 40 Éxitos (with Cortijo y Su Combo) · 1979
- Esto Fué Lo Que Trajo El Barco · 1972
- A Man and His Music: Maelo · 2003
- La Época de Oro de Cortijo y Su Combo Con Ismael Rivera, Vol. 1 · 1996
- Danger Do Not Trespass · 1960
- Esto Fué Lo Que Trajo El Barco · 1972
- El Sonero Mayor · 1973
Music Videos
Singles & EPs
Appears On
- Cortijo y Su Combo
- Fernando Luis
- Fulanito
- Samuel Hernández
About Ismael Rivera
Firmly fixed in the Latin music firmament as "El Sonero Mayor" (The Greatest Singer), Ismael Rivera was blessed with a gloriously husky voice, which he honed into a unique improvisational instrument. After turning professional with Orquesta Panamericana in 1951, he joined Rafael Cortijo’s Combo. After Rivera served a 43-month prison sentence for cocaine possession, the two reunited on two masterful mid-60s releases. Ismael relocated to New York in 1967, where he formed the band, Cachimbos, leading them until 1980. In the mid-'80s Rivera developed polyps on his vocal chords and had to cease singing. He subsequently returned to Puerto Rico, where he died in May '87. Puerto Rico virtually stood still during his funeral.
- HOMETOWN
- Santurce, Puerto Rico, United States
- BORN
- 5 October 1931
- GENRE
- Salsa and Tropical