Born in New York City's El Barrio into a Puerto Rican musical family, Johnny has been singing and playing since the age of three, when he learned to play the guitar.  By the time Johnny graduated from New York City's High School of Commerce he was playing the acoustic bass, trombone piano, and guitar on a professional level, had studied classical voice and all the latin rhythm instruments.  He discovered Latin Jazz in part through musician Cal Tjader, and became a well recognized pianist, composer and arranger.  As pianist and musician George Haskins observes, Johnny Colon was at the forefront of the "Boogaloo" movement.  His work, "Boogaloo Blues," for example, set the tone for this era and survives today as the anthem for this period in Latino music history.

During the late fifties, Johnny had formed a rock and roll band which recorded "Take a Hike."  In the early sixties he returned to his roots to form the first Johnny Colon Orchestra, a charanga band.  During the next few years Johnny started working on a new sound, the "Latin Boogaloo."  In 1966, Cotique records released "Boogaloo Blues," which became a classic in the Latin field, selling over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.  Johnny went on to record other albums over the next ten years including: Boogaloo '67, Move Over, Portrait of Johnny, Caliente de Vicio - Hot, Hot, Hot, and Terra Va a Temblar (Earthquake).

In 1972, at the height of his recording career, Johnny founded the East Harlem Music School, the first and only music school in the world devoted totally to the teaching of "Salsa."  After 14 years the school had an enrollment of 1,500 students.  Over the years the school has had many students from other countries.  It has provided classes to over 20,000 students in piano, bass, guitar, flute, saxophone, trombone, voice, bongo, conga and timbales.  The school has produced six orchestras over the years.

While directing the school as the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer, Johnny still performs with the Johnny Colon Orchestra as the lead vocalist, composer, arranger and musical director, and has been a guest on the Skylines series with Beverly Sills and Summerfest with Dianne Carroll on WPBS-TV, Visiones and Latin Tempo on WNBC-TV, and the Joe Franklin Show on WOR-TV as well as many radio programs too numerous to mention.  He also had a cameo role in the film "Crossover Dreams."

Johnny and his orchestra have performed all over the United States and Puerto Rico.  He has been featured at the Hispanic World's Fair at the New York Coliseum, the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, the Off Off Festival in New York, the World Financial Center, The Lake George Jazz Festival, and the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus Concert at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.       

In addition to having a varied musical career, Johnny has been very active in the Hispanic community.  He has been a member of the Progress Board of Directors, Vice President of Community School Board #4 and ASPIRA of New York, Community Planning Board #11, was a panelist for the music for the Department of Cultural Affairs and National Endowment for the Arts and has been a consult evaluator for the National Endowment on the Arts.


In 1988 Johnny received the Manhattan Borough President's Arts in Excellence Award for Music.  In 1992 Johnny was honored for his work in the community by the Committee for Adoptable Children and in 1993 by the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.  And on December 1, 1993 he received the distinguished Ellen Lurie Award of the Community Service Society.