Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri was a Puerto Rican bandleader and musical director of salsa music.
18 Facts About Charlie Palmieri
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Charlie Palmieri was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards".
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Charlie Palmieri graduated from high school in 1946, and immediately went to play for various bands.
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Charlie Palmieri made his recording debut with the song "Se Va La Rumba" as a member of the Rafael Muniz Band.
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In October 1947, Tito Puente, the musical director of the Fernando Alvarez Band, was impressed with Charlie Palmieri and hired him to play for his band at the Copacabana Club; here he played with Puente until 1953 and, during the 1950s, he played with various bands.
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Charlie Palmieri formed a couple of bands that performed at the Palladium Ballroom.
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Charlie Palmieri worked for several years in Chicago, but returned to New York and formed a band called Charanga La Duboney.
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The mixture of Pacheco's flute with the strings of the violins in Charlie Palmieri's band led to the 1960s Charanga craze in the United States.
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Charlie Palmieri was signed by the United Artists Record company and had several Latino hits.
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Charlie Palmieri did however suffer various setbacks - first Pacheco left the band and then United Artists cancelled his contract because of a conflict of interest with their other recording star, Tito Rodriguez.
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In 1968, Charlie Palmieri recorded Latin Bugalu under the Atlantic Records label, which was released in the United Kingdom.
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Charlie Palmieri taught and lectured about Latin music and culture at various educational institutions.
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In 1980, Charlie Palmieri moved back to Puerto Rico but returned to New York for business - on one trip there he suffered a massive heart attack and stroke.
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Charlie Palmieri soon recovered and returned to the music world as the member of various bands.
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Charlie Palmieri gave private piano lessons to students at the Schuylerville Music Center in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx in New York City.
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Four days before his death, Charlie Palmieri gave a private show at La Fortaleza in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he performed solo at the piano for the Governor of Puerto Rico and his guests.
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Charlie Palmieri died later that day at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx.
18.
On November 6,2004, a Big Band Tribute to Charlie Palmieri was held at Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.