No one needs an excuse to listen to Eddie P’s (still going strong at 83!) original “Café” from 1964’s essential “Si Hecho Palante”, with vocals by Ismael Quintana, but here it is:
Haiti’s Les Shleu Shleu were definitely feeling him! Check out their amazing version below, on Angel Job’s Job label (pressed in Venezuela). Known as “El Gordito de Oro”, Job was a Curacao businessman and promoter who brought Arsenio, Estrellas de Chocolate and other classic Cuban conjuntos to play in Curacao and Aruba in the early ’60s.
Finally, someone posted this beautiful original (?) version of Africando’s “Yay Boy” on eBay a few years ago – Hugo Mendez of Sofrito (google his fantastic compilations on Disques Debs and the Tumbele comp on Soundway, I still have them in rotation regularly) let me know this is by Star Number One de Dakar on the album 78 no 1. Gracias Hugo!