TONY MARTINEZ - Bernie's Tune

For the first time on YouTube, this 1954 rendition of "BERNIE'S TUNE" is performed by legendary Puerto Rican bandleader, vibraphonist and actor, TONY MARTINEZ. This tune aired recently on WPFW 89.3 FM's Latin Flavor Classic Edition as part of a regular satirical segment called "The News According to Mambo," where the music takes takes a look at current events.

Born Jan. 27, 1920 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tony Martinez studied music at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School. Following a number of small roles in film during the late 1940's and early 1950's, Martinez made a number of appearances with his band on the popular variety show, The Colgate Comedy Hour. The quintet, which regularly featured legendary Latin-jazz pianist Eddie Cano, rode the crest of the mambo craze of the early 1950's. In 1956, the band performed several mambos in the classic 1956 musical Rock Around the Clock (Columbia, 1956).

Along with the legendary Desi Arnaz, Tony Martinez was among the first Latinos regularly invited into American living rooms when he won the role of Mexican farmhand "Pepito Garcia" on the popular series The Real McCoys, which ran on ABC (and then CBS) from 1957 through 1963. In the mid-1960's, Martinez originated the role of 'Sancho Panza" in the hit Broadway musical, "Man of La Mancha", starring opposite Richard Kiley and Jose Ferrer. For more than three decades, he essayed the role in the national tours of the Tony Award-winning musical. Starting in the 1980's, Martinez served as the executive director of the Institute of Motion Pictures of Puerto Rico. A longtime resident of Las Vegas, Mr. Martinez passed away of natural causes in that city on Sept. 16, 2002, at the age of 82

As with most uploads of the Metro Mambo Collection", this marks this recordings first appearance on YouTube. Check out the other rare posts drawn from the 18,000+ record collection of Jim Byers - since 1996, host of "The Latin Flavor Classic Edition", showcasing Palladium-era mambo and Latin-jazz , live-streaming on www.WPFWFM.ORG on Sundays, 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. EST