Difference between revisions of "Tito Puente"

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For the character, see Tito Puente (character).

Tito Puente (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000) was a Latin-American musician and bandleader. His musical career spanned over five decades, and he was regarded by many to be the pioneer of Latin jazz. The height of Puente's popularity was in the 1950s, but he received recognitions and awards throughout his career, including a Latin Grammy in 2000.

On May 31, 2000, Puente suffered a heart attack following a show and had open heart surgery from which he never recovered. He died during the night of May 31 – June 1, 2000. In 2003, he received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Puente was also a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, having served in the Navy for three years during World War II.

On The Simpsons, Puente appeared as himself in the first part of "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" as a guest music instructor at Springfield Elementary School. In part two, he returned with his Latin Jazz Ensemble, and they performed the Emmy-nominated song "Señor Burns". They also performed their version of the Theme Song during the closing credits.

External links

• Tito Puente at the Internet Movie Database
• Tito Puente at Wikipedia