Vinicio Franco Y Su Orquesta - La Salsa de Vinicio Franco (1976)

Vinicio Antonio Franco Rodríguez (1933 - 2020), better known as Vinicio “Mambo” Franco, was one of the most important and iconic merengue singers from the Dominican Republic. Franco began his professional singing career in 1952, and his first recordings were made in 1957, accompanying Antonio Morel’s orchestra. After scoring a number of hits with Morel, including the merengue classic “Apágame La Vela,” he became the lead singer of Super Orquesta San José and performed regularly on La Voz Dominicana (Dominican television). From there, Vinicio traveled to Puerto Rico, where he joined a re-formed Cortijo Y Su Combo for a brief stint in 1965. Then, Johnny Ventura came calling in the late 1960s to hire him as a co-lead singer in his Combo Show band, helping Johnny earn a gold record for the LP Ah..! Yo No Se…No. Always looking for new opportunities, Vinicio accepted Rafael Solano’s invitation to join his orchestra, where he remained for several years with great success, touring South America, the Caribbean, and performing in New York and Miami as well.

It was during this time that Franco made four LPs of merengues for Ansonia with his Conjunto Típico Cibaeño. But that wasn’t all; he reconfigured his band into an orchestra for three more LPs with Ansonia; one was an album of “mangulinas” (a 6/8 dance native to the Dominican Republic), and two consisted of varied genres such as guaracha, son montuno, balada, bolero rock, and merengue. Though many salsa collectors may not think to investigate Franco’s solo albums for Ansonia, they certainly know his reputation from Rafael Solano and Johnny Ventura’s bands, where he did occasionally sing a guaracha or son montuno. Hidden in plain sight on the 1976 release La Salsa de Vinicio Franco Y Su Orquesta are a couple such gems, and “El Juey” is a killer, with a nice trombone solo and a big-band sound like the mambo orchestras of yesteryear. The tune, which was actually recorded in 1975, is a double entendre lyric ostensibly about the singer and his girlfriend going out one night to fish and seeing a blue crab (juey) with four huge claws. Though not credited, it was written by Puerto Rican singer and composer Bobby Capó, and Franco had originally recorded it with Cortijo Y Su Combo for the 1965 LP Con Cortijo, Su Estilo Y Su Ritmo - “Go”. Backing Franco are his friends Rico López and Armando Beltré, and the fantastic arrangement is from Dominican trumpeter and bandleader Héctor De León.