José Montserrate Feliciano García was born on 10 September 1945, in Lares, Puerto Rico, of Latin American descent. He is a singer and songwriter, perhaps best known for his hits “Light My Fire” and “Feliz Navidad”.
A noted artist, how wealthy is José Feliciano? Sources state that Feliciano has established a wealth of over $6.5 million, as of early 2017. His net worth has been earned during his singing career, which now spans well over 50 years.
Due to congenital glaucoma, Feliciano was left permanently blind at birth. At the age of five, his family moved from Puerto Rico to New York City’s Spanish Harlem, and he soon started learning the accordion, later taking up the guitar and making his first public appearance at the Bronx’s El Teatro Puerto Rico at the age of nine. In 1962 Feliciano dropped out of school to focus on his career in music, and in order to help his family struggling with finances. He performed in local clubs before making trips to places such as New York’s Greenwich Village and Vancouver, Canada.
In 1963 he signed a contract with RCA, releasing his debut album, “The Voice and Guitar of Jose Feliciano” in 1965. After a spectacular performance at the Mar del Plata Festival in Argentina the following year, he released three consecutive albums in Spanish, gathering a considerable Latin fan base with hits like “Poquita Fe” and “Usted”. His net worth started to rise.
Feliciano came into the international spotlight in 1968, when he released his version of the Doors’ 1967 hit “Light My Fire”, which reached #3 on the US pop music charts, selling over a million copies and earning two Grammy Awards. Scoring such a major hit boosted Feliciano’s popularity considerably and, significantly improved his wealth. His following album – “Feliciano!” – in which the song was included, was just as successful, achieving gold status.
The same year the singer was invited to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1968 Baseball World Series at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. However, his stylized performance proved to be too controversial, receiving negative critical press; nevertheless, the song eventually became a hit.
In 1970, Feliciano’s album of Christmas music entitled “Feliz Navidad” came out, with the title song achieving a great success, became a holiday staple, and the single being named as one of the 25 all-time most-played Christmas songs in the world by ASCAP, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, reinforcing the singer’s status of a legendary performer, and boosting his net worth.
His 1971 San Remo Music Festival entry, “Che Sara,” also became a great hit throughout Europe, Asia and South America. Few years later, he recorded the theme song to the sitcom “Chico and the Man”, which was placed in the Top 100 singles chart, and as he also guest-starred in the sitcom playing the singer Pepe Fernando. Feliciano’s wealth was helped further.
Jose went on to release a number of albums during the decade, and he also composed music for television series and films, as well as guest-starring in series such as “Kung Fu” and “McMillan and Wife”.
In 1980 Feliciano signed with Motown Latino, and went on to release a series of hit records marketed for Latin audiences. He also recorded duets with other artists, such as “Por Ella” with José José and “Tengo Que Decirte algo” with Gloria Estefan. In 1987 he was rewarded with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The ’90s saw the singer making a cameo appearance in the film “Fargo”, and around this time, an East Harlem school was renamed The Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School in his honor. After completing a European tour at the end of the decade, he released the acclaimed album “Senor Bolero”. His net worth was still rising.
In 2007, Feliciano composed and released his first English-language album, “Soundtrax of My Life”, and went on to release several more albums, the last being the 2012 tribute to Elvis Presley, entitled “The King”.
Throughout his life, Feliciano has released numerous albums in both English and Spanish language, 40 of them achieving gold or platinum status, which has made him one of the most prominent performers of the pop era. Famous for his ability to re-invent classic rock with a Latin spin, his success has enabled him to earn many awards and a considerable wealth.
In his private life, Feliciano was married to Hilda Perez from 1965-79, and as of 1982, he has been married to Susan Omillion, with whom he has two children.
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