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LP
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VAMPI 375LP
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$28.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 10/30/2026
Ghetto Records was Joe Bataan's way to get over on The Man and out of the 'hood, a bold move by an artist looking for independence and creative control in an industry that had exploited his talents and treated him like chattel. Hatched from desperation yet full of hope, Ghetto Records came crashing down shortly after its inception. The seven albums in the Ghetto discography languished out of print. Ghetto Records Presents (1970) by Eddie Lebrón was one of them. Lebrón was Ghetto Records's first artist. Bataan supervised the pianist's recording sessions and, importantly, understood Lebrón's desire to have an English-language soul ballad on his album, which was to become a feature of all future releases. To supplement Lebrón's backing band, Orquesta Suave, who had a background in R&B and doo-wop, Bataan brought in high school chum Abdul O'Dool to sing the old chestnut "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons." Lebrón was Puerto Rican and raised in New York from the age of five, making him part of the generation of Nuyoricans that expressed themselves through salsa. In addition to playing the piano and leading Eddie Lebrón and His Orchestra Suave, as the band was then called, Lebrón also composed and arranged the tunes on the record. Aside from being distinguished as the debut of both Ghetto Records and Eddie Lebrón's band, Ghetto Records Presents sported an eye-catching cover by Izzy Sanabria. The album is a real treat for heavy salsa and Latin soul lovers that has become a much in-demand record among collectors worldwide. Lebrón and Orquesta Suave parted ways after recording this album largely because Lebrón was increasingly in demand as a sideman. In fact, he continued to play piano with, and compose and arrange for, a host of important salsa outfits over the next two decades. Vampisoul are now reissuing Ghetto Records Presents once again thanks to our collaboration with Now-Again Records. This release includes an insert with liner notes and two bonus tracks.
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