1975
THE BOTTLE (La Botella) * BATAAN * RCA 2553 * UK
Bataan Nitollano, a.k.a Joe Bataan formed his band in 1965 and his first recording two years later, in 1968 the Curtis Mayfield composition Gypsy Woman for the Fania label New York gave him his first hit. The Bottle is an excellent Latinised cover of Gill Scott-Heron's original, which received lots of play in the disco bars attached to pubs in the 1970s. Joe Bataan was part Filipino part Afro American and he blended the Latin sounds with the emerging polished New York Funk sound to bring about a distinctly Soul/Latin music. In 1973 Joe Bataan co founded the successful Salsoul label which ran for well over two hundred 45 issues.