Willie Colón

Since the ’60s, salsa icon and political activist Willie Colón profoundly revolutionized the genre across more than 40 LPs and many high-profile accolades and awards. ∙ At age 17, Colón released his debut LP, 1967’s El Malo, and 40 years later the title track appeared in the popular 2017 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. ∙ Siembra—his best-selling 1978 salsa LP with Rubén Blades—was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. ∙ From 1980 to 1990, seven of his albums received Grammy nominations for either Best Tropical Latin Performance or Best Latin Recording. ∙ In 1993, Colón was invited to perform at the inauguration ceremonies for Bill Clinton’s first Presidential term. ∙ Cosa Nuestra—his 1970 LP with Héctor Lavoe—had a 50th anniversary reissue as part of Record Store Day 2020, and it re-entered the Billboard Tropical Albums chart at No. 3. ∙ A member of both the International Latin Music Hall of Fame and the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, Colón was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Latin Grammys.