My buddy Rene recently gave me a book to read called The Cubans by Anthony DePalma. It follows two families in Cuba during the reign of Batista in the 1940s and ’50s, the subsequent take over by Castro after the Cuban Revolution, up through the collapse of the Soviet Union. While reading this book, I started to think about whether I knew any great songs by Cuban musicians. Admittedly, this was a bit of a blind spot for me, but one of the few I thought of was this fantastic number by Buena Vista Social Club.
Song: “Chan Chan”
Artist: Buena Vista Social Club
Songwriter(s): Francisco Repilado
Album(s): Buena Vista Social Club
Release Year(s): 1997
Song: “I Got 5 On It”
Artist: Luniz Featuring Michael Marshall
Songwriter(s): Garrick Husband, Jerold Ellis, Jr., Anthony Gillmour, Jay King, Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Ronald Bell, Claydes Smith, Robert Mickens, Donald Boyce, Richard Westfield, Dennis Thomas, Robert Bell, George Brown
Album(s): I Got 5 On It (Single) / Operation Stackola (Full-length)
Release Year(s): 1995
I Wish You Would Hear Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jFrq03xPtVVOexYHZF1OW?si=bc9df95d2d854d