Álvaro José Arroyo González (also known as "Joe Arroyo" or "El Joe"; born 1 November 1955) is a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer and songwriter.Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Early musical career 3 Health Issues and Drug Abuse 4 References 5 External links
[edit] Early life
Joe Arroyo was born in Cartagena. At the age of ten, he was already singing in one of Cartagena's popular music halls. His father had 40 children with different women, a story that he usually tells. [edit] Early musical career
In 1971, Arroyo had his biggest opportunity of becoming a nationally known artist. He was discovered by Ernesto Estrada, the bass player and singer of the band "Fruko y sus Tesos" (Fruko and his buddies) and signed up with Colombian record label Discos Fuentes.[1] With the band he performed for ten years until in 1981 when he began his solo career leading his band, named "La Verdad" (The truth).
Joe Arroyo became very successful by mixing salsa, merengue, soca, kompa, zouk and other music from the African Diaspora in a unique style that has earned him the prefix of Sonero de la Salsa by renown critics and fans. One of his most famous songs is "Rebelion (No Le Pegue A La Negra)". It is widely considered one of the greatest salsa songs of all time. [edit] Health Issues and Drug Abuse
Joe Arroyo left behind the stage many times due to his health problems. On more than one occasion, he was thought dead because of his abrupt absences from media attention. Joe Arroyo had to go through surgery because of problems with his legs.
He was once in a coma for 3 months due to his drug abuse. After recovering from the coma he wrote the song A Mi Dios Todo Le Debo (I owe God everything).
