Carmelo

When I first heard the radio ad for a Visalia-based insurance agent on a station dedicated to the great music of the '50s, '60s, and '70s, I figured the mellow tenor voice of the announcer was a professional singer hired to tout the agency.

The voice identified itself as that of agent Carmelo Rosado, Jr. and I thought it likely was a clever way to grab my attention and then follow up with a disclaimer about the hired voice.

But pholks, after the third or fourth time I heard the pleasing rendition of “Unforgettable,” it was evident that it really was Carmelo Rosado, Jr. singing the song which he announced he had sang at his daughter's wedding.

Later I heard another radio ad featuring Carmelo's “It's Impossible” and only a couple weeks ago his television ad featuring “My Sweet Embraceable You,” and also noting that he speaks excellent Spanish.

Although I was not in the market for insurance or financial services, I was intrigued by a guy whose voice, as far as I was concerned, was unforgettable at least for a local insurance agency owner.

I did some checking and this is what I learned about Carmelo Rosado, Jr.:

Perhaps the most interesting fact is that, despite the Italian name, his parents are Puerto Rican, and he was raised in New York during his early years.

Like his father, Carmel Rosado, Sr., a composer and musician of Latin music, Carmelo Junior has a burning love for and talent of music. At age 17, he won a statewide Talented Teen Foundation contest and along with winners from other states, toured Europe for 21 days. Carmelo and his sister, Letica, voiced over one of the first commercials for the GAP clothing line which included the “look into the GAP” refrain. He made his first recording at age 12 and probably about 25 in all, most of them in Spanish.

Carmelo, who has a degree in business, spent a number of years in the San Jose area and has been in the insurance business for 25 years, including about 10 years in the San Joaquin Valley. Rosado lives in Hanford but has his headquarters in Visalia where his wife, Elizabeth, manages the office.

A discussion with one of his clients, David Baron Stevens, Jr., resulted in a 10 to 12-song CD project featuring classic love songs embracing the era of Nat King Cole, Perry Como and others. Stevens has an impressive musical pedigree having played with television legend Steve Allen's orchestra and opened for Lionel Ritchie in Las Vegas on the millennium New Year's Eve in 2000. Rosado says Stevens, who operates Stevens Conservatory, gave him a tour of his studio where they now are putting finishing touches on a CD, a project they hope will lead to more “unforgettable” productions.

LET'S NOT FORGET PHOLKS, spring training has arrived and that means Major League Baseball in just around the corner.

I don't care what that silly groundhog saw a weeks ago, with baseball getting geared up, spring has arrived, at least in my mind. We need more rain and snow, to be sure, but it's time to get “pumped up” to play ball – but certainly without steroids or human growth hormones.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com