Starting to play the trumpet at the age of 12, Colón switched to the trombone two years later. Making his recording debut in 1967, for Al Santiago's Futura label, Colón became a victim of misfortune when the label folded. Colón was much more successful when he signed with Johnny Pacheco's Fania label. When his vocalist failed to make Colón's first session for the label, Pacheco suggested Hector Lavoe as a replacement. The collaboration proved fruitful when two singles from Colón's first two albums (El Malo, Guisando) — "Jazzy" and "I Wish I Had a Watermelon" — became hits. Lavoe remained a vital member of Colón's band until the mid-'70s when an increased drug addiction caused him to miss or show up late for several gigs. Although their partnership formally ended in 1975, Colón and Lavoe continued to work together. Lavoe's last album, Strikes Back, released in 1987, was produced by Colón.
In 1975, Colón balanced his schedule as director of the Latin Jazz All Stars with studies in music theory, composition, and orchestration. His increased knowledge paid off quickly. In 1978, Colón was named Musician, Producer, and Trombone Player of the Year in a readers poll conducted by Latin New York. Three years later, he received an award as Musician of the Year and his album Fantasmas was named Album of the Year. Colón continued to garner acclaim when his album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos received a Grammy award in 1982.
Although they met backstage before a concert in Panama in 1969, Colón and Blades didn't begin collaborating until five years later. While working on the album The Good-The Bad-The Ugly, Colón asked Blades to sing on the Blades-penned tune "El Cazanguero," which reflected on Blades' experiences as a law student working in a Panamanian prison. The session was so satisfying that Blades became a full-time member of Colón's band following the departure of Lavoe. Their 1978 album Siembra became the top-selling album in Fania's catalog. Despite their success, Blades severely quarreled with label president Jerry Mascucci over money. Although Colón recorded two solo albums — El Baquine de Angelitos Negros in 1977 and Solo in 1979 — and Blades recorded a solo album, Maestra Vida, in 1980, their solo work failed to match the commercial success of their joint efforts.
In 1981, the two musicians resumed their partnership with Blades playing coro on Colón's solo album Fantasmas. The following year, they collaborated on the Grammy-winning album Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos, which yielded the hits singles "Tiburon," "Ligia Elena," and "Te Estan Buscando." Their partnership again proved short-lived as Colón and Blades split up after working on the film The Last Fight. The split was far from amiable and the two musicians continued to feud until reuniting for a concert at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan in March 1992. Despite collaborating on the album Tras la Tormenta in 1995, Colón and Blades recorded their parts separately. Following a reunion concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1997, Colón and Blades performed a series of concerts together.
In the late '80s, Colón formed a new band, Legal Aliens, with younger musicians. Signing with Sony, Colón and the band recorded Color Americano in 1990 and Honra y Cultura in 1991. Two years later, Colón recorded Hecho en Puerto Rico with an all-star band featuring ex-members of the Fania All-Stars, Papo Lucca and Bobby Valentin. Since leaving Sony over a lack of promotional support, Colón continued to remain active.
Abuelita
Willie Colón Lyrics
Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴
Jockin' the freaks, clockin' the dough
Went to the park to get the scoop
Knuckleheads out there cold shootin' some hoops
A car pulls up, who can it be?
A fresh El Camino rollin' Kilo G
He rolls down his window and he started to say
It's all about makin' that GTA
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
Donald B in the place to give me the pace
He said, ‽My man JD is on freebaseâ€
The boy JD was a friend of mine
'Til I caught him in my car tryin' to steal my Alpine
Chased him up the street to call a truce
The silly cluck head pulls out a deuce-deuce
Little did he know I had a loaded 12 gauge
One sucker dead, L.A. Times, front page
'Coz the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
Bored as hell and I wanna get ill
So I went to a place where my homeboys chill
The fellows out there, makin' that dollar
I pulled up in my 6-4 Impala
They greet me with a 40 and I started drinkin'
And from the 8-ball, my breath start stinkin'
Love to get my girl, to rock that body
Before I left, I hit the Bacardi
Went to her house to get her out of the pad
Dumb h*** says somethin' that made me mad
She said somethin' that I couldn't believe
So I grabbed the stupid *** by her nappy ass weave
She started talkin *** wouldn't you know?
Reached back like a pimp and slapped the h***
Her father jumped out and he started to shout
So I threw a right-cross, cold knocked him out
'Coz the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
I'm rollin' hard now, I'm under control
Then wrapped my 6-4 'round the telephone poll
I looked at my car and I said, "Oh brotherâ€
I throw it in the gutter and go buy another
Walkin' home, I see the G ride
Now Kat is drivin', Kilo on the side
As they busted a u, they got pulled over
An undercover cop in a dark green Nova
Kat got beaten for resistin' arrest
He socked the pig in the head for rippin' his Guess
Now G is caught for doin' the crime
Fourth offense on the boy, he'll do some time
'Coz the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
I went to get them out but there was no bail
The fellaz start to riot in the County Jail
Two days later in Municipal Court
Kilo G on trial, cold cut a fart
Disruption of a court said the judge
On a six-year sentence, my man didn't budge
Bailiff came over to turn him in
Kilo G looked up and gave a grin
He yelled out fire, then came Suzy
The *** came in with a sub-machine Uzi
Police shot the girl but didn't hurt her
Both up state for attempted murder
'Coz the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
Cruisin' down the street in my 6-4
Riding around in my lowrider car
Jockin' the freaks, clockin' the dough
Checking out the women and making money
Went to the park to get the scoop
Went to the park to see what was happening
Knuckleheads out there cold shootin' some hoops
Young men playing basketball
A car pulls up, who can it be?
A car arrives, and the question is who is in it
A fresh El Camino rollin' Kilo G
A new Chevrolet El Camino driven by Kilo G
He rolls down his window and he started to say
He opens his car window and begins speaking
It's all about makin' that GTA
It's all about Grand Theft Auto, stealing cars
'Coz the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard
Because the young men in the neighborhood are always tough
You come talkin' that trash, we'll pull your card
Don't talk tough, or we'll call your bluff
Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit
Life is hard, and we have to work hard to make an honest living
Don't quote me, boy 'coz I ain't sayin' ***
Don't take what I say too seriously
Donald B in the place to give me the pace
Donald B is setting the tempo and rhythm of the music
He said, ‽My man JD is on freebaseâ€
Donald B says his friend JD is using freebase cocaine
The boy JD was a friend of mine
JD was a former friend of the singer
'Til I caught him in my car tryin' to steal my Alpine
JD tried to steal the artist's car stereo
Chased him up the street to call a truce
Followed JD to make peace with him
The silly cluck head pulls out a deuce-deuce
JD pulls out a gun
Little did he know I had a loaded 12 gauge
JD didn't know the singer had a shotgun in his car
One sucker dead, L.A. Times, front page
JD was killed and it made the front page of the Los Angeles Times
Bored as hell and I wanna get ill
Bored and looking to have some fun
So I went to a place where my homeboys chill
Went to hang out with friends
The fellows out there, makin' that dollar
The guys are out hustling and making money
I pulled up in my 6-4 Impala
Arrived in a Chevrolet Impala
They greet me with a 40 and I started drinkin'
They give me a 40 oz. beer and I start drinking it
And from the 8-ball, my breath start stinkin'
After using cocaine, my breath smells bad
Love to get my girl, to rock that body
Love to dance with my girlfriend
Before I left, I hit the Bacardi
Before leaving, I drank some Bacardi rum
Went to her house to get her out of the pad
Went to her house to pick her up
Dumb h*** says somethin' that made me mad
She said something stupid that made me angry
She said somethin' that I couldn't believe
She said something so outrageous that I couldn't believe it
So I grabbed the stupid *** by her nappy ass weave
He grabbed her hair in anger
She started talkin *** wouldn't you know?
She continued talking nonsense
Reached back like a pimp and slapped the h***
He slapped her like a pimp
Her father jumped out and he started to shout
Her father comes out and starts yelling
So I threw a right-cross, cold knocked him out
He punched and knocked out her father
I'm rollin' hard now, I'm under control
Feeling good and in control now
Then wrapped my 6-4 'round the telephone poll
Crashed my car into a telephone pole
I looked at my car and I said, "Oh brotherâ€
Saw what happened to the car and said 'Oh brother'
I throw it in the gutter and go buy another
I dumped the car and went to buy another one
Walkin' home, I see the G ride
Walking home, I see a car belonging to a friend (G)
Now Kat is drivin', Kilo on the side
Kat is driving, and Kilo is riding shotgun
As they busted a u, they got pulled over
When they made a U-turn, they were stopped by the police
An undercover cop in a dark green Nova
A plainclothes police officer in a green car
Kat got beaten for resistin' arrest
Kat was beaten for resisting arrest
He socked the pig in the head for rippin' his Guess
He punched the cop for damaging his Guess clothing
Now G is caught for doin' the crime
G is caught for committing a crime
Fourth offense on the boy, he'll do some time
His fourth offense will result in jail time
I went to get them out but there was no bail
I tried to bail them out, but there was no money
The fellaz start to riot in the County Jail
The guys start a riot in jail
Two days later in Municipal Court
Two days later in city court
Kilo G on trial, cold cut a fart
Kilo G farts during his trial
Disruption of a court said the judge
The judge complained about interrupting the court
On a six-year sentence, my man didn't budge
Given a six-year sentence, Kilo G didn't show emotion
Bailiff came over to turn him in
Bailiff arrived to take Kilo G to prison
Kilo G looked up and gave a grin
Kilo G smiles as he is taken away
He yelled out fire, then came Suzy
He yelled fire, then Suzy arrived
The *** came in with a sub-machine Uzi
Someone (likely law enforcement) arrived with a sub-machine gun
Police shot the girl but didn't hurt her
The police shot Suzy but didn't seriously injure her
Both up state for attempted murder
Both Kilo G and Suzy are in jail for attempted murder
Writer(s): Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon Copyright: Fania Music, Latin American Music Co. Inc.
Contributed by Sydney M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ludwigrobertoponce7097
Recordando a mi abuelita
Los refranes que ella decia me hacian reír
Y ahora soy yo quien lo digo
Escucha que tú también los vas a decir
Escucha que tú también los vas a decir
Palo que nace dobla'o
Jamás su tronco endereza
Lleva eso en la cabeza ella se oía decir
Dime con quien andas
Y te diré quien tú eres
Ten cuida'o mi nietecito
Cuídate de las mujeres
Ojo por ojo
Diente por diente
¡Ay, que el corázon es ciego!
Y también es mucha gente
Coge consejo
Llegará a viejo
Escucha bien mi consejo
Para que llegues a viejo
Abuelita, tus refranes me hacían reír
¡Ay, buelita de mi vida!
Como te recuerdo a ti
Yo te quiero, yo te adoro
Es que tu eres mi único tesoro
Abuelita tus refranes me hacian reír
Aquel que abuela tené
Oye mi voz que retumba
Y si muerta tu la tienes
Vete, llórale y rézale a la tumba
Canción para mí abuelita
Abuelita tus refranes me hacian reír
¡Ay, buelita de mí vida!
Como yo te quiero a ti
¡Abuelita, ay abuelita!
¡Por mi madre, por mi madre!
Que tu eres la mujer más bonita
Abuelita tus refranes me hacian reír
Agua que por la rivera mira que bonita va
Así es el pelo de abuela, blanquito
Y bonito de verdad, abuelita
@jorgegalindo7583
Ayer falleció mi abuelita por el covid y no tuve tiempo para despedirme... Abuelita abuelita por mi mare que tu eres la mujer más bonita...
@manuelmalaret7188
Que en paz descanse. Fuerzas primo yo tampoco me pude despedir de la mía 😭
@RickySantiagoSOC
Yo igual la mai de mi pai se fallecio en 98 y la de mi mama en 2000 y cada vez q pongo esta Cancion siempre pienso en ellas dos mirandome y protegiendome desde cielo de este mundo perdido papi
@victormercado1441
@Ricky Jones Las abuelitas lo más hermoso y tierno que ser humano puede tener... mis abuelitas fallecieron hace muchos años y las recuerdo siempre... se dice que el amor de las abuelitas hacía los nietos es más fuerte que el que sienten por sus propios hijos porque los nietos son carne y sangre de sus propios hij@s.
@oli76130
Lo siento para Ud... Fuerza para toda su familia
@monicaesparza6554
😢😔
@anthonybermeo5490
Mi abuelita con sus ojos verdes . Corazon de mi padre. Viva Willie Colon ; the 60's were "live" bc of you y tu orchestra. Thank you
@cesarvieyra7816
Abuelita ya 2 meses que te marchaste!!
Como te extrañó, un abrazo para todos los que estan pasando por algo igual.
Temazo 💎❤️
@juanitolsx1133
Palabras de la ABUELA Mia , mi angel preciosa Evarista Tejada te amo ❤️❤️❤️
@yvnfalla
El 22 de abril falleció mi abuelita y canté está canción con alma y corazón, mamá Feli mi mamita Fiyi, te amaré por siempre, escribo esto entre lagrimas