Cecilio Rodriguez was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California where he received the majority of his musical upbringing. After forming a band and performing during high school and college, Cecilio moved to Los Angeles to advance his musical career. There he formed a group called "Unicorn" and began doing club dates and private parties in and around the Los Angeles area. Cecilio later came to the attention of a musician named Sonny Charles, who had a hit record entitled, "Black Pearl". Sonny had been a member of the popular Las Vegas group, "The Checkmates". Sonny hired Cecilio to be the guitarist and the musical director for Sonny's tour to promote the hit record. After extensively touring within the continental United States, Cecilio had a fateful meeting with Anthony Gourdine, of Little Anthony and the Imperials, and soon there after was traveling with them as their guitarist and musical director. They toured such places as Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, New York, Florida, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It soon became apparent to Anthony, that Cecilio was much more than a guitarist on stage, and so began a long line of performances as the opening act for Little Anthony and the Imperials. Cecilio was destined to break out on his own as an artist.

In 1973, while on a break from touring with Little Anthony and the Imperials, Cecilio flew to Hawaii at the urging of friends to meet with another fellow musician whom he was told had a very similar style to his own and with whom, it was thought, he could form a group. They met, sang a few songs, and to their surprise and the surprise of their friends, who had gathered together for their debut, their performance was impeccable. All the components were there; breathing, intonation, blend, and their own individual guitar styles, each complimenting the other in a magical way. At that moment, the duo, Cecilio & Kapono, was born and they went on to become one of the top singing duos to come out of Hawaii. It was only a matter of time before they came to the attention of Columbia Records and were soon signed to a three-album deal with Columbia. They recorded albums entitled "Cecilio & Kapono", "Elua", and "The Nightmusic", all of which became top selling albums. Their third album alone garnered five of the prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, Hawaii's equivalent to the Grammies. They also released "Life's Different Now", "C&K-Together Live","Goodtimes Together"(winner of four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards), and a Christmas Album, "The first Noel". In Japan, they released "The Best of Cecilio & Kapono" for CBS Sony and "Summerlust" for Pony Canyon Records. Cecilio & Kapono also have recently released a “live” CD entitled, “Lifetime Party, 30 Years of Friends” celebrating their 30 years as a duo, and are about to release the Volume II of that same series.

From their first concert at the Waikiki Shell to their most recent concerts in the summer of 2004, C&K (as their fans have come to know them) continue to sellout performances wherever they go. Today, they are recognized as musical legends in the Hawaiian Islands and the purveyors of the contemporary music scene.

With such momentum behind him, Cecilio's star beckoned to him and Cecilio would have aspirations to strike out on his own as a solo artist. Although C&K continue to do concerts together as a duo, Cecilio has made a mark of his own as a charming, personable and talented performer who can take you from gales of laughter with his great sense of humor, to the brink of tears with his beautiful love songs. As a vocalist, he is second to none, and as a comedian, he makes you wonder if perhaps stand up comedy was not his first calling.

Cecilio has three solo CD releases to his credit; "Maybe Tonight" released in 1983, "Storybook, Then …and Now" released in 1995 and his recent CD release entitled “Sweet Surprise!”, released by Cord International on HanaOla Records. Cecilio continues his song writing as one of Hawaii's most prolific composers. Cecilio is, as of this writing, gathering material and writing more compositions for his next solo CD of all original material, to be released in the summer of 2005.

Cecilio is also very active with Easter Seals Hawaii as a television host for the annual telethon at the "Taste of Honolulu".  Cecilio also has been recently added to the small and very prestigious list of musicians who endorse "Lee Oskar" harmonicas exclusively.

Musical expertise, dedication, professionalism, showmanship, and a sense of humor; these are the qualities that have made the international star that is… CECILIO!

INSTRUMENTS

Cecilio can perform on the following musical instruments:

Electric guitar
Acoustic guitar (both nylon and steel stringed)
Mandolin
Bottle-neck guitar
Electric bass
Congas
The various hand percussion instruments
Harmonicas*
Trumpet
Piano
5-stringed Banjo

Cecilio reads and writes music and has studied the following:

Solfege
Harmony
Theory
Choral conducting
Writing for four part large vocal ensembles
Writing for small ensembles
Sight reading
Ear training

*Cecilio has just recently been added to the small, and very prestigious list of musicians who endorse "Lee Oskar Harmonicas" exclusively .