Carmelo Rosado Jr.

Although his first album was a success with thousands being sold, Visalia insurance broker Carmelo Rosado Jr. hasn't had to wait very long to discover how successful his second album, which came more than 45 years later, might be.
You see pholks, Carmelo, whom I told you about nearly two years ago after hearing his magnificent voice on his radio and television insurance company commercials, has jumped back into the musical spotlight with his second album, a CD. The first was in the 1970s and, of course, was a vinyl long-play record. It did quite well. Remember those things? Do the numbers 33-1/3, 45 or 78 ring any bells? How about 8-tracks?

Although it was released just about two weeks ago, his 14-song CD, “A Tribute to My Best Friend, My Father,” has already reaped more than 1,000 hits on the Internet. It will be available for downloading from iTunes and Napster in about three weeks. It is available at www.digstation.com/ArtistsAlbums.aspx?artistname=CarmeloRoadsojr.

With a musical career starting at age 10, Rosado, a native of New York who was raised in California, has delved back into the music world with the tribute to his father, Don Carmelo Rosado Sr. It features almost all original songs written or composed by his father, Don Carmelo Rosado Sr., a well-known musician and composer of Latin music.
Carmelo Jr., lives in Hanford but works out of his Visalia headquarters where his wife, Elizabeth, manages the Tulare Avenue office.

Although he has a degree in business and has run a successful insurance agency for a long time, Carmelo Jr. has never lost his love and talent for music.

At age 10, he performed with some major Latin music luminaries, including Daniel Santos, Vincentico Valdez, Rene Rene and others. At 17, after winning a statewide contest through the Talented Teen Foundation, young Carmelo and winners from other states toured Europe for 21 days. He made his first recording at age 12 and has recorded more than two dozen singles altogether, most of them in Spanish.

He and his sister, Letica, voiced over one of the first commercials for the GAP clothing line. The refrain “look in the GAP” still lingers in the Visalia businessman's head.

Carmelo says he can't guess how many CDs of his tribute to his father's music will sell, but is optimistic with the response so far.

He credits Rafael Carmany of Colbalt Studios of Fresno, a 35-year veteran of the Valley recording industry and chief engineer of the project, with putting all the pieces together.

In his deep, smooth tones, Carmelo Rosado Jr. is quick to point out that he has no immediate plans to give up his day job. He simply wants to share his love for music and devotion to his craft with others. And if this renewed musical adventure hits some high notes, so much the better.

For an insurance man, that seems like a good policy to me.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com