American Dream

José Feliciano filtered pop through Spanish Harlem roots on his 1968 debut.

- JIM CAMPILONGO

IF YOU'RE LIKE me, you might not think about José Feliciano very much. I knew his 1968 hit cover of the Doors' "Light My Fire." Every time I heard it while I was out and about, I would stop dead in my tracks and listen as it slipped into the Muzak of my errands. That was the extent of my knowledge of him, until I bought his 1968 debut album, Feliciano!

Released on RCA when the guitarist was a mere 23 years old, Feliciano! includes both "Light My Fire" and his other early hit, a cover of "California Dreamin'." The album spent 59 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. José himself won the Grammy for Best New Artist at the awards ceremony held in 1969. Now 77 years old, he still plays and performs, and occasionally releases albums. Lucky us.