Joe Bataan

by Dick Mac

Joe Bataan is performing tonight at Summerstage in Central Park.

Although I have always considered myself rather knowledgeable about popular music, I did not know about Joe Bataan until my early forties, when I moved to New York at the end of the last century.

I had heard "What Good Is A Castle" which is embedded below, but I knew nothing of this quintessentially New York sound and this amazing New York artist. The album "Riot!" was a gold selling release and his album "Subway Joe" (both released in 1968) is a classic.

At times called the King of Latin Soul, Bataan is actually African American and Filipino by birth; but he is all funky Latin soul by heritage.

If you purchase no other music this Summer, and you want to hear some solid New York soul, get some Joe Battan!

And if you're lucky enough to live in a city where he is performing during this current tour, get a ticket and have a blast!