Soul Drummers / Mercy Mercy – Ray Barretto, 1968

🇵🇷 🥁 🎶 🌎 🔥 In 1968, Puerto Rican percussionist and orchestra leader Ray Barretto marked his arrival at Fania with one of his most renowned albums, Acid, a flagship of the boogaloo genre that exploded in popularity at the end of the 1960s. This blend of Latin rhythms, soul, and rock aimed to captivate the Western American audience—and it succeeded brilliantly. As early as 1963, Barretto with El Watusi and Mongo Santamaria with Watermelon Man had set the tone. Pete Rodriguez, Joe Bataan, and Joe Cuba followed suit with hits like I Like It Like That and Bang Bang. With Acid, Barretto left a lasting impression, and this 45-rpm record featured two of his greatest successes, Soul Drummers and Mercy Mercy Baby. However, Acid also marked the swan song of the boogaloo genre, which was soon replaced by the emerging salsa, a transition Barretto himself quickly embraced.