Oscar D’León was born, Oscar Emilio León Simoza, in Caracas, Venezuela on July 11th, 1943. He is regarded as one of the greatest Salsa musicians of all time. He has developed international following having toured from the Americas to Europe and Asia.
D’León has been given numerous nicknames including “El Leon de la Salsa” (The Lion of Salsa), “El Diablo de la Salsa” (The Devil of Salsa), and El Sonero del Mundo” (The World’s Son Singer).
He is one of the most famous Venezuelans in the world, and he is the man with the most viewed salsa video on YouTube. D’León is a composer, bandleader, bassist, and singer. This larger than life showman is known for the texture of his voice and amazing improvisational skills.
Oscar D’León commands the stage, exuding his love for music and entertaining with a fun, bright, carefree, and freewheeling feeling. Look at some of his older footage as he dances and sings around with his upright bass.
D’León grew up with music playing different percussive instruments. He taught himself how to play bass by imitating his major influences at the time. These included local Venezuelan bands, Puerto Rican music, the classic Cuban big bands of the 40’s and 50’s like Beny Moré and La Sonora Matancera, and later on the sounds of the New York Salsa scene of the 60’s and 70’s with Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, and others.
While getting started playing professionally, D’León worked different jobs such as a mechanic and taxi driver and played his bass at night. In 1973, he rose to stardom as the founder member of Venezuela’s top salsa band Dimensión Latina that he started with some friends.
His early hits included “Pensando en Ti”, “Mi Adorada”, “Parampampam”, “Taboga”, and “El Frutero”. After recording six albums with the band, he started up his own orchestra, La Salsa Mayor, in 1977. With them, he released his first album as a solo artist and pumped out the hits “Porque me gusta”, “Mata Siguaraya”, “Mi bajo y yo”, “El Baile del Suavecito”, “Bravo de Verdad”, and “Juanita Morell”.
In 1978, he also founded an orchestra called La Critica where he put out hit songs like “Se Necesita Rumbero”. In 1983, he realized a childhood dream when he got the chance to perform at the International Varadero Festival in Cuba where he moved the crowd and captured the hearts of the Cuban people. Throughout the 1980’s and 90’s he achieved steady success.
Oscar D’León is one of the most accomplished salsa musicians of all time having put out over 60 albums, many of which reached gold status. He has performed with countless other musicians including Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Luís Enrique, and La India just to name a few. In fact, he continues to play and tour today.
Be sure to check him out. By far his most popular song to date is Lloraras. Others include Que Bueno Baila Usted, Detalles, and Calculadora.