Bee is a New York-born singer of Puerto Rican parents. Born in New York, she initially relocated back to
Puerto Rico with her parents. There she met Pepe Luis Soto in
Puerto Rico in the 1960s and they began making music together. In 1972, she won a festival called Festival De La Voz y La Cancion, with the song, "Yo Quiero Un Pincel. She was initially popular in Spain, and Puerto Rico where her single, "Half A Love", became successful. In 1977 she signed a
recording contract with
TK Records, whilst Soto wrote a song called "
Superman". The song, credited to
Celi Bee and the Buzzy Bunch, became a
hit, reaching #3 on the US
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, #41 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and #86 on the
R&B chart. The album,
Celi Bee and the Buzzy Bunch, an extended six track set, reached #39 on the
R&B listing and #169 on the main
Billboard 200 album chart. Other tracks off the album included "One Love", "Smile", "Its Sad", "Closer Closer" and "Hurt Me Hurt Me". The Buzzy Bunch were her backing group, composed of only Soto and his studio musicians. "Superman" later became a hit for
Herbie Mann (#26, Hot 100). Bee's next album was
Alternating Currents (1978). This featured the hits, "Macho (a Real Real One)", which made #23 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, "Hold Your Horses, Babe" which peaked at #72 in the
UK Singles Chart in June 1978,{{cite book Like so many disco artists, the popularity of Celi Bee waned in the 1980s. However she did continue to record with sporadic singles like "I'm Free" (1983) and an album
Como Agua y Arena (1986). The disco albums she released have all been re-released on CD, firstly by Hot Productions and, more recently, on Disconnected. In February 2007, her
greatest hits compilation album was issued by Disconnected. ==Discography==