Since 1969, 90-year-old Miguel Amadeo has owned and managed the Casa Amadeo record store. The New York City Council honored his community efforts 10 years ago by designating the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Westchester Avenue as “Miguel Angel Amadeo Way.”
The 90-year-old told ABC7, “This keeps me going, and as long as I can handle this store, I’ll be here.”
In addition to being the owner of a music store, Amadeo has composed songs for some of Latin music’s biggest artists, including Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo, and Tito Mieves.
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Even now, Spanish radio station DJs frequently contact the elderly entrepreneur to ask for advice on a great artist or timeless song.
“I got a request to play this and this, this song. ‘What’s the title?’ I don’t know the title, but it goes like this, ‘oh, okay.’ That was recorded by Virginia Lopez and it’s called ‘Tu Promesa de Amor’ and I wrote it,” Amadeo boasted.
While digital music sales have taken over the world and business has undoubtedly changed, Amadeo can prosper because royalties make up most of his revenue.
The entrepreneur operates his store six days a week, working eight hours per day. He cooks for himself and lives on his own after the death of his wife.
His motivation to keep getting up and giving music to listeners around the world comes from writing songs and selling records, which he shares with his family and his two boys.
Born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, he learned how to play the guitar on his own after receiving a gift from his cousin at the age of 13. At sixteen, he recorded his first song and started working with other musicians.
His love of music was further stoked when he started working for $2 a week at a music store.
Amadeo also took influence from his father, the well-known composer Alberto “Titi” Amadeo, who wrote the hit song “Bomba Carambomba.”
He told Mitu, “Music was in my blood; it was there for me, and all I had to do was take advantage of the fact that people recognize my father everywhere.”
Amadeo has become so well-known in the Latin music scene that musicians send him their newest songs directly, which allows him to keep an inventory.
He stated, “My formula is a promise I made to myself that I’ll only leave this place [the store] to the cemetery. I’ve been in music for almost 74 years, and it’s given me a fantastic life and the chance to support my family. I don’t think about retiring, and I’ve never talked about it; I’ll leave here when God takes me.”
