There's probably no form of popular music more under-appreciated in the United States than Latin music. Yet, it's hard to imagine a time when it wasn't heard here. Given that large sections of this country were once Mexican territory, Latin songs and dances have been a part of our cultural tapestry for a very long time! Over the last 75 years, their influence on country, jazz, rock, reggae, rhythm and blues, disco and even Broadway show tunes has been profound; you can hear it in songs as diverse as "San Antonio Rose", "St. Louis Blues", "Spanish Harlem", "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy", "Turn The Beat Around" and Irving Berlin's "Heat Wave".

In the '40s, the first nationally-distributed independent labels devoted to Latin music came into being - Mardi Gras, Verne, Coda, Seeco and others. George Goldner's Tico Records was arguably foremost among these companies. Read on . . .