Biography
William Correa, 28 February 1934, New York City, New York, USA, of Puerto Rican parentage, d. 15 September 1983, Los Angeles, California, USA. Growing up in New York’s El Barrio, Bobo was exposed to substantial doses of Latin music, jazz and R&B. These genres later jostled together in his work as a band leader. He started playing Latin percussion at the age of 14 (the timbales became his preferred instrument) and managed to get hired as Machito’s bandboy. Bobo befriended Mongo Santamaría shortly after the conga player’s arrival in New York. Santamaría gave him percussion lessons and Bobo acted as his translator. He was dubbed ‘Bobo’ by jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams during an early 50s recording session. Bobo received his first major exposure as a sideman in 1955 with The Shearing Spell by George Shearing. After stints with Tito Puente (1954-57), Cal Tjader (1958 -61), Santamaría’s charanga (1961-62),...
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