Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson

History

When Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 Succar was in the final year of a graduate programme at Florida International University. In October of that year Succar was planning a Halloween concert when the client asked him to close the performance with Jackson's song Thriller. At the time Succar had a predominantly Salsa band, so he decided to create and perform a Salsa arrangement of Thriller. The song was well received by the audience and Succar decided to produce an album of Jackson covers as a tribute. He did not have the funds to begin production, so decided to use Kickstarter to raise the necessary financing. This paid for the initial stages of production and Succar funded ongoing costs by working locally with his band. Succar also faced challenges in obtaining licenses to use Jackson's music; the license for Thriller alone took three years to be granted.

Succar initially worked with fellow FIU students to produce new versions of Jackson's songs in a Latin style. The music was rewritten to include tropical rhythms from the Latin Caribbean. Other influences were jazz, world music and American pop. However Succar also wanted high profile singers to provide the vocals for the album. His preference was for a well known Salsa singer and he approached various candidates. Kevin Ceballo was the first artist to sign up, followed by Tito Nieves. Nieves was initially reluctant due to other commitments, but a backing vocalist who was involved in the project contacted him directly; after listening to a demo of a track from the album Nieves agreed to take part. He recorded two tracks for the album, and his involvement helped Succar bring several other prominent vocalists on board; these include Salsa singers La India, Michael Stuart, Jon Secada, Jean Rodriguez and Obie Bermúdez as well as Latin Pop/Tejano performer Jennifer Peña.

In total around 90 musicians have contributed to the album. Recording has taken place in several major US cities, as well as in Puerto Rico and Peru.

Performances

On 14 December 2012 Succar and the Unity Project performed as the showcase act at a TEDx event at FIU.

Album track listing

An album containing 12 tracks produced by Unity was released in April 2015.

All tracks feature Tony Succar.

1. "I Want You Back" (Tito Nieves) - 4:43
2. "Billie Jean" (Jean Rodriguez) - 5:03
3. "Man In The Mirror" (Kevin Ceballo) - 5:09
4. "Sera Que No Me Amas" (Michael Stuart) - 4:43
5. "Earth Song" (India) - 6:26
6. "Human Nature" (Jon Secada) - 4:13
7. "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu" (Jennifer Peña and Obie Bermúdez) - 4:25
8. "Black Or White" (Kevin Ceballo) - 4:20
9. "Smooth Criminal" (Jean Rodriguez) - 4:40
10. "They Don't Care About Us" (Kevin Ceballo) - 5:06
11. "Thriller" (Kevin Ceballo) - 4:35
12. "You Are Not Alone" (Tito Nieves and Tito Nieves Jr.) - 5:05

Singles

A single from the album, I Want You Back, was released in September 2012.

A second single entitled Sera que no me amas was released through iTunes on 17 October 2012. This is a remake of the 1978 hit Blame it on the Boogie by the Jackson 5.

Personnel