Tito Nieves

Lovingly dubbed “The Pavarotti of Salsa,” Humberto Nieves (Born on June 4, 1958), better known as Tito Nieves, is a Puertorrican musician and one of the leading exponents of The New York Sound. Nieves’ family relocated to New York when he was still a child, and he was soon encouraged by his father and uncle to take music lessons. Following his involvement with Héctor Lavoe’s Orchestra and El Conjunto Clásico as a backup singer during the late 70s, Nieves kicked off his solo career in 1988 with The Classic, which spawned the hit single “Sonámbulo” and earned him his first gold record. Spearheaded by the salsa cover of Whitney Houston’s “I’ll Always Love You,” Yo Quiero Cantar (1989) became an instant crossover hit, peaking at Number 5 on Billboard’s Tropical Albums chart and quickly obtaining gold certification. Following a handful of successful LPs during the early 90s, Nieves released I Like It Like That (1996), an album sung entirely in English that finished cementing his popularity with American audiences. More accolades ensued with Clase Aparte (1999), which earned Nieves a Globo Award for Best Tropical Music Act, and the Grammy-nominated En Otra Onda (2001). The salsa legend remained prolific in subsequent years, releasing Fabricando Fantasías (2004), which featured contributions by Nicky Jam and La India on the Number 1 hit “Ya No Queda Nada,” and Canciones Clásicas de Marco Antonio Solís (2007), a tribute to the Mexican pop star that reached Number 4 on Billboard’s Tropical Albums chart. The following decade, Nieves stayed on top of his game with Entre Familia (2010), Mi Última Grabación (2011), Que Seas Feliz (2012), and En Dos Idiomas (2015) all of which enjoyed great popularity both in the US and Puerto Rico. In 2020, he celebrated 45 years of music by releasing “Si Tú Te Atreves,” a duet with Peruvian singer Daniela Darcourt produced by pianist and longtime collaborator Sergio George.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.