Spanish Grease

Spanish Grease
Studio album by Willie Bobo
Released	1965
Recorded	June 8, August 30 and September 8, 1965
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	32:28
Label	Verve V6-8631
Producer	Creed Taylor
Willie Bobo chronology
Let's Go Bobo! (1964) Spanish Grease (1965) Uno Dos Tres 1•2•3 (1966)

Spanish Grease is an album by jazz percussionist Willie Bobo recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve label. ^[1]

Chart performance

The album peaked at No. 137 on the Billboard Top LP's in 1966, during an eight-week run on the chart. ^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

The Allmusic review by Richie Unterberger awarded the album 4 stars stating "The timbales player and his band lay down respectable grooves, but "Spanish Grease" is the only original on the album, and by far the most rewarding number". ^[3]

Track listing

1. "Spanish Grease" (Willie Bobo, Melvin Lastie) – 2:47
2. "Hurt So Bad" (Bobby Hart, Teddy Randazzo, Bobby Weinstein) – 2:39
3. "It's Not Unusual" [vocal version] (Gordon Mills, Les Reed) – 2:20
4. "Our Day Will Come" (Mort Garson, Bob Hilliard) – 2:50
5. "Haitian Lady" (Harold Ousley) – 4:05
6. "Blues in the Closet" (Oscar Pettiford) – 2:11
7. "Nessa" (Ed Diehl) – 4:07
8. "Elation" (Ousley) – 3:49
9. "It's Not Unusual" [instrumental version] (Mills, Reed) – 2:29
10. "Shot Gun/Blind Man, Blind Man" (Junior Walker/Herbie Hancock) – 5:11

• Recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ on June 8 (tracks 1 & 4), August 30 (tracks 5–8) and September 8 (tracks 2, 3, 9 & 10)

Personnel

• Willie Bobo – vocals, percussion, timbales
• Melvin Lastie – cornet
• Bobby Brown – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Clarence "Sonny" Henry – guitar
• Richard Davis, Jim Phillips – bass
• Victor Pantoja – congas

Charts

Chart (1966)	Peak position
US Billboard Top LPs [2]	137

References

1. Verve Records discography accessed April 2, 2014
2. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 20. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
3. Unterberger, R., Allmusic Review accessed April 2, 2014

External links

• "Spanish Grease" on YouTube