Real name: Joe Perales

Effective period / Period of releases: 1969

Joe Jama, along with singers David Mares and Henry Hernandez, is forever linked with the highly danceable Brown Power anthem “Yo Soy Chicano.”
In 1973, “Chicano” was considered a dirty word by many. But then again, Jama (the soul singer and bassist born Joe Perales) will tell you that he was always attracted to the dirtier, grittier, funkier side of the R&B groove
Jama's real education came in the bars and at dances watching heavyweight bass players Jimmy Casas and Jack Barber. That's because the heart of the funk lives in the bottom end and Jama was no casual student of the groove.