On the CD, you find his merengue version of Vaughan Monroe’s 1947 classic “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” as well as the hilarious original “Cheater’s Motel.” Ned later did his own album for Palm Pictures, Cowboy Rumba (a fusion of Cowboy and Cuban, since Ned’s from Lubbock, Texas and speaks a a wonderful mix of Cuban Spanish and Texas drawl). This was before the Buena Vista Social Club exerted its monopolistic influence on Cuban music here in the U.S., and before Homeland Security stopped issuing visas to Cuban bands still living on “La Isla.” He produced CD’s by Cuban rumba groups like Los Munequitos, Cuban rock by Carlos Varela (currently on a US tour, after years of getting his visa refused by the Bush government), crooner Issac Delgado, and fantastic compilations of Cuban classics with Harry Sepulveda, the guy who ran the legendary Record Mart under Times Square in Manhattan (he was known as “The University of Harry” because of his encyclopedic knowledge of tropical Latin music).
I met him when he ran a fantastic label for Cuban music, Qbadisc, in the late 80s. He’s probably not a household name for most, but Ned Sublette is an amazing human being as far as I’m concerned.
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