It’s not every day Judith Muro and her family are invited to dinner in a chauffeur-driven limousine. But the 21-year-old WSU student is not your everyday kind of girl, and there was a good reason for celebrating May 29th.
โJudith is blessed with a gifted voice,โ said 18-year-old Clarence Steele, a producer and consultant, among other things, at Joe Anthony Productions, a recording label for his family-owned recording studio known as Studio 79 where he is an engineer and musician.
โJudith’s CD, titled โLast Kiss,’ was officially released May 27th and I wanted to do something nice for her as a small token of our company’s appreciation for the hard work she has put forth, not only in recording the songs but, also, for her ability to translate the lyrics to Spanish,โ he said.
However, there was another reason to celebrate and Steele thought it would be best to do this over dinner at El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant.
โI like to mix business with pleasure,โ he said, โso I invited the Muro family to join in the celebration because they are proud of Judith, too.
โ
During dinner Steele presented the Muros with a business report detailing an accurate account for every CD used in national press releases and also CDs placed in stores that currently stock it. Right now the CD is available at all major on-line outlets such as BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, CircuitCity.com, and CDnow.com just to name a few. For more listings check out Muro’s website at www.JudithMuro.com.
The big surprise came when Steele explained to the Muros that tickets at their daughter’s first out-of-state concert are available at Ticket Master for $12 โ” $25.
Muro is one of several featured guests of The East LA Revue All-Star Band appearing with Chico Vega’s โDrifter’s Tribute,โ Lloyd Price, and Jay & The Americans June 22nd in San Dimas, CA at the Bonelli Family Music Festival, which Johnny Otis founded 13 years ago.
The 81-year-old entertainer is a living legend who is mostly known for his big hit โWillie and the Hand Jive.โ
Steele has been in contact with Otis and learned he โhas modeled an amazing number of contrasting musical hats over a career spanning more than half a century.
Bandleader, record producer, talent scout, label owner, nightclub impresario, disc jockey, TV variety show host, author, R&B pioneer, rock & roll star โ” Otis has answered to all those descriptions and quite a few more.โ
Although Otis will not be at this year’s concert โ” nothing serious, just old age โ” Steele says he is looking forward to meeting the headliners and, also, the featured guests of The East LA Revue All-Star Band, which he has been commissioned to record via a contract with Steven Chavez the band’s promoter.
โI agreed to record,โ said Steele, โif Judith could join the featured guests.โ
Another featured guest of Chavez’s band is Mickey Lespron, lead guitarist for El Chicano โ” an internationally known Latin rock pioneer band that has shared venues with such diverse artists as Olivia Newton-John; Rod Stewart; ZZ Top; Chaka Kahn; Chicago; Earth, Wind and Fire; War; Santana; and Michael Jackson.
Other guests include lead vocalist Bertha Oropeza for Chico, and the Perez brothers for The Premiers โ” guitarist Lawrence and drummer Johnny.
According to singer/song writer, and author Mark Guerrero, โThe Premiers’ record, โFarmer John,’ reached number 19 in July of 1964,โ and further states, โThey have the distinction of being the first east side Chicano rock group to achieve national success in the 60s which helped open the door for the Blendells, Cannibal & the Headhunters and El Chicano who followed.โ
Guerrero โ” son of legendary singer/composer Lalo Guerrero โ” has been in contact with Steele and is looking forward to meeting him and Muro at the concert.
He lives in Palm Springs and has an awesome website: www.MarkGuerrero.net.
Prior to the concert is a scholarship fundraiser that both Steele and Muro have been invited to attend June 21st at the University of California in Riverside. She will sing with East LA Revue and he will record. It is billed as โPachuco Nites โ” Chicano Oldies Danceโ with performances by a second band, Lil’ Bit of Soul. Radio Aztlan DJ’s will also be there.
The night prior to that they both will be special guests on Radio Aztlan โ” 88.
3 FM locally, and can be heard on-line via www.KUCR.org. They will be interviewed by El Beto Man, who is a DJ and one of the organizers of the UCR dance. The broadcast will air midnight to 2 a.m.
Another DJ, known as Angel Baby, is currently trying to set up a TV interview in East LA to have Muro sing a few songs from her new CD. She was there last year and Steele was able to incorporate one of the songs she sang, โAngel Baby,โ as a CD-video bonus on her โLast Kissโ album.
Also in the cards is a business meeting the Walla Walla duo will have with Paul Politi, vice president of Original Sound Entertainment โ” the company Art Laboe founded with his โOldies But Goodiesโ LP series. Politi wrote โThose Oldies But Goodies,โ which was a big hit for Little Caesar & The Romans in 1961.
Steele says he and Muro are looking forward to meeting with Politi to further discuss possible contracts for some of Muro’s songs to be used in Hollywood motion picture sound tracks, and also on compilation CDs with famous artists.
Politi’s boss, Art Laboe, said, โI love Judith’s music and would like to hear more of it.โ
She already has an endorsement by Rosie Hamlin (of Rosie & The Originals) who wrote and sang โAngel Baby,โ which sold over 4 million copies. Hamlin, the first female Hispanic to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, introduced Muro to Politi via a phone call with Steele.
Politi first saw Muro when she flew with Steele to attend Rosie’s performance at Bowzer’s Ultimate Doo Wop Concert last September at the Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA.
Muro was one of three couples that participated on stage during the Bowzer Dance Contest.
Brenton Wood also has given his endorsement for Muro’s Spanglish version (part Spanish and part English) of his hit song โI Like The Way You Love Me.โ Laboe’s company bought the rights to Wood’s songs and wants Muro to sing as many of them in Spanglish as possible.
โThere is a great interest in the East LA Hispanic community for Brenton Wood’s music,โ said Politi, โand to have his songs sung in Spanglish would increase this demand.
โ
Both Hamlin and Wood are scheduled call-in guests during a three-week debut of Muro’s CD on KYVA radio station in Gallup, New Mexico, which began Friday June 6th at 8 a.m. PST, and will continue for two consecutive Fridays thereafter. Check out their website at www.rockinoldieskyva.com.
โThe station’s DJs, George and Sammy, did the same for my CD,โ said Steele, โand it was great to do a live interview with them. KYVA covers four states so it is tremendous exposure.
โ
Steele’s CD was also debuted concurrently on other stations including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum’s radio studio in Cleveland, Ohio by Steve Kurtz.
โSteve was a visiting DJ from the Philly area at the time,โ recalls Steele, โand Terry Stewart, president of the Hall, was so impressed with his program that he invited Steve to put together a special doo wop concert. The next thing I know Steve contacted me and asked if I would like to be showcased and open for the headliners to which I agreed, but added that I would like to have Rosie and Judith there as well, to which he consented.
โ
There is no doubt that Judith Muro, known to many as โThe Spanglish Girlโ is going places. Steele has mailed out so many CDs at the post office that they asked if they could have a copy to play for their customers.
โIt’s strange how it works,โ said Steele. โJust the other day Paul, from Martin’s Jewelers, was in the post office, heard Judith’s CD and inquired as to where he might get a copy. The lady told him about me, and the next thing I know he is playing the CD for his customers.
โ
Muro’s CD is available at Hot Poop, La Hacienda, La Plaza Latina, CD Exchange, WWCC book store and in various stores outside of the area such as regional Tower Records.
The album has 10 tracks, nine in Spanglish and one in Spanish. Additionally, there is a bonus track that has a CD-video of Muro singing โAngel Baby,โ which Steele obtained from The Johnny Jay Show in East LA, and then edited and remixed it for better quality playback.
As for the future, โI’m ready for national TV exposure,โ said Muro, โwhich Clarence is currently negotiating.
โ
July 30th, 2010
O comments at "Judith Muro: Spanglish Girl Sings Big Time!"
Comment Now!