I Like It Like That (A Mi Me Gusta Asi)
Encyclopedia
"I Like It Like That" is a song written by Tony Pabon and Manny Rodriguez. It was initially a hit for boogaloo
musician Pete Rodriguez
in 1967, and was one of the most influential boogaloo songs of the era. Rodriguez released an album in 1967 with the same title.
The Blackout All-Stars, under the title "I Like It", from volume 1 of the soundtrack to the 1994 film I Like It Like That.
The song was the group's only recording, as well as their only release to chart, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in the United States.
, consisting of various Latin music artists: Ray Barretto
, Sheila E.
, Tito Puente
, Tito Nieves
, Paquito D'Rivera
, Dave Valentin
and Grover Washington, Jr.
The group was originally formed in 1994 to record the song "I Like It", the title song for the film I Like It Like That. Lead vocals were done by Nieves, while the rest of the group provided instrumentals or background vocals to the song. The song was later placed in volume 1 of the soundtrack to the film, and released as a single to promote the soundtrack. 12" and CD maxi singles were released, but the song failed to gain any popularity.
used the song in a commercial promoting their "Have it your own way" slogan. Following its inclusion in these commercials, the song started to pick up radio airplay. The song then started to climb the U.S. Billboard charts, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. The song's accompanying music video started to gain rotation on music video networks such as MTV
and VH1
. CD single
s were also released. In 1997, Tito Nieves
, the lead singer of the song, re-recorded the song on his album, I Like It Like That.
gave the song a B, saying it was a "swinging number" and that "only a hopeless couch potato could possibly not like it."
12" single (Columbia, 1994)
A1 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio club mix) - 7:03
A2 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio dub mix) - 6:19
B1 "I Like It" (Flipsquad mix) - 4:51
B2 "I Like It" (Album mix) - 3:47
12" promo single (Columbia, 1994)
A1 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio club mix) - 7:03
A2 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio dub mix) - 6:19
B1 "I Like It" (Jason Nevins Turbo Beat remix) - 8:01
B2 "I Like It" ('97 Master Blaster) - 8:16
CD maxi single (Columbia, 1994)
CD single (Columbia, 1996)
Boogaloo
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance that was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City among teenage Cubans, Puerto Ricans and other groups. The style was a fusion of popular African American R&B and soul with mambo and son montuno...
musician Pete Rodriguez
Pete Rodriguez (Boogaloo)
Pete Rodriguez was the leader and pianist of a Puerto Rican Boogaloo band from The Bronx in the mid-1960s, sometimes known as Pete Rodríguez y Su Conjunto....
in 1967, and was one of the most influential boogaloo songs of the era. Rodriguez released an album in 1967 with the same title.
Background
Tony Pabon and Manny Rodriguez originally wrote "I Like It Like That (A Mi Me Gusta Asi)" in 1967. Boogalo musician Pete Rodriguez later covered "I Like It Like That (A Mi Me Gusta Asi)" that year, from his album of the same name.The Blackout All-Stars version
The song was famously covered by Latin supergroupSupergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
The Blackout All-Stars, under the title "I Like It", from volume 1 of the soundtrack to the 1994 film I Like It Like That.
The song was the group's only recording, as well as their only release to chart, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in the United States.
Background
The Blackout All-Stars was a one-off musical supergroupSupergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
, consisting of various Latin music artists: Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto was a Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican jazz musician.-Early years:Barretto was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent...
, Sheila E.
Sheila E.
Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...
, Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, Tito Nieves
Tito Nieves
Humberto "Tito" Nieves became one of the leading Salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s....
, Paquito D'Rivera
Paquito D'Rivera
Paquito D'Rivera is a Cuban alto saxophonist, clarinetist and soprano saxophonist. The winner of multiple Grammys and other awards, D'Rivera has lived in the United States since the early 1980s. He has worked in a variety of contexts, but is perhaps best known for playing Latin...
, Dave Valentin
Dave Valentin
Dave Valentin is a jazz flutist.He learned latin percussion first when he was a teenager, and then switched to flute. Valentin's teacher, Hubert Laws, suggested that he not double on saxophone because of his attractive sound on the flute. He studied at the Bronx Community College...
and Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr.
Grover Washington, Jr. was an American jazz-funk / soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with George Benson, John Klemmer, David Sanborn, Bob James, Chuck Mangione, Herb Alpert, and Spyro Gyra, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre.He wrote some of his material and...
The group was originally formed in 1994 to record the song "I Like It", the title song for the film I Like It Like That. Lead vocals were done by Nieves, while the rest of the group provided instrumentals or background vocals to the song. The song was later placed in volume 1 of the soundtrack to the film, and released as a single to promote the soundtrack. 12" and CD maxi singles were released, but the song failed to gain any popularity.
Resurge in popularity
In 1996, roughly two years after the song's original release, Burger KingBurger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
used the song in a commercial promoting their "Have it your own way" slogan. Following its inclusion in these commercials, the song started to pick up radio airplay. The song then started to climb the U.S. Billboard charts, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The song's accompanying music video started to gain rotation on music video networks such as MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
s were also released. In 1997, Tito Nieves
Tito Nieves
Humberto "Tito" Nieves became one of the leading Salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s....
, the lead singer of the song, re-recorded the song on his album, I Like It Like That.
Aftermath of the group
The Blackout All-Stars remained one-off, despite the song's renewed popularity. Grover Washington, Jr. died on December 17, 1999 of a heart attack. Tito Puente died of heart failure on May 31, 2000, as did Ray Barretto on February 17, 2006.Critical reception
Jeremy Helligar of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the song a B, saying it was a "swinging number" and that "only a hopeless couch potato could possibly not like it."
Formats and track listings
12" 45 single (Columbia, 1994)- "I Like It" (Reefa! extended mix) — 5:39
- "I Like It" (Reefa! 12" remix) — 6:56
12" single (Columbia, 1994)
A1 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio club mix) - 7:03
A2 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio dub mix) - 6:19
B1 "I Like It" (Flipsquad mix) - 4:51
B2 "I Like It" (Album mix) - 3:47
12" promo single (Columbia, 1994)
A1 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio club mix) - 7:03
A2 "I Like It" (D'Ambrosio dub mix) - 6:19
B1 "I Like It" (Jason Nevins Turbo Beat remix) - 8:01
B2 "I Like It" ('97 Master Blaster) - 8:16
CD maxi single (Columbia, 1994)
- "I Like It" (Reefa! 7") - 3:28
- "I Like It" (Reefa! extended mix) — 5:39
- "I Like It" (Reefa! 12" remix) — 6:56
- "I Like It" (album version) - 3:48
CD single (Columbia, 1996)
- "I Like It" (edit) - 4:20
- "Joy/Reach/I'm Gonna Get You" (by Staxx of JoyStaxx of JoyStaxx Of Joy is a house music studio project assembled by producers Simon Thorne and Tommy Jones. In the mid 1990s they had four Top 10 hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, two of which reached #1: "Joy" and "You". Both of these tracks, including a third single "Shout" featured vocals...
/Robi Rob's Club World featuring Deborah CooperDeborah CooperDeborah Cooper is a female, part African American, professional dance music singer, award winning composer and entertainer, with several number one and top charting dance music and house music hits.-History:...
/Bizarre Inc.Bizarre Inc.Bizarre Inc were a house/dance-pop band from Stafford, England, that formed in 1989 as a duo of English DJs Dean Meredith and Mark "Aaron" Archer .-Career:...
)
Charts
| Chart (1996-1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
25 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs... |
19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 45 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 25 |