Richie
Ray and Bobby Cruz From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richie
Ray a.k.a. "The King of Salsa" (February 15, 1945) born in New York
City, is a pianist, singer, composer and religious minister.
Richie
was born "Ricardo Maldonado", from Puerto Rican parents who emigrated
to New York looking for work and a better way of life. His parents settled in
the Brooklyn section of New York, where he was born. Richie's parents had him
take piano lessons when they realized that Richie had musical inclinations. Richie
started playing the piano when he was only seven years old. Richie
attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, the famed High School of Performing
Arts and the Juilliard School of Music (Which he attended for only one year) and
where he refined his musical training. In
1964, Richie formed a band and was signed by Fonseca Records who released his
first album titled "Ricardo Ray Arrives". The album had a "hit"
song "Mambo Jazz". That very same year Bobby Cruz joined the band and
became the lead vocalist of the group. This combination was the beginning of one
the greatest salsa duals in the music industry. They recorded and had an international
"hit" with "Mr. Trumpet Man". In 1968, Richie and Bobby released
"Los Durisimos" (The Hard Ones) and shared equal billing. Since then
the band became officially known as "Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz". In
1970, Richie and his friend Bobby opened a nightclub in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
However, managing a nightclub required a lot of their time. Shortly after, they
decided to sell the establishment because their artistic commitments left them
with little or no time to attend the nightclub. By
1974, Richie and Bobby had won nine Gold Record Awards with "hits" such
as "Aguzate" (Get Wise); "A Mi Manera" (My Way); "Sonido
Bestial" (Beastly Sounds) and "El Diferente" (The Different One).
They also won a first place prize in The Feastival of the Orchestras. On August
of that year, Richie announced that he had become a born again evangelical Christian.
Richie felt tormented by his addiction to drugs and alcohol and wanted to change
his life. Bobby refused to accept Richie's change at first but, within four months
Bobby himself became a convert. They decided to record their last salsa song together
"Adios a la Salsa" (Goodbye to Salsa), as a farewell tribute to the
style of music which gave them fame and fortune. They
lost most of their fans and found opposition among the members of their own faith
when they suggusted the idea of Christian Salsa. They stood their ground and little
by little they started to regain the confidence of their fans and fellow Christians,
when they recorded salsa with a religious message. Together
they have founded over 20 Chritian Churches and in 1998, Richie founded Salvation
Records, which recorded songs sung by other singers such as Jose Luis Rodriguez
who had also become Christians. In 1999, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz held a concert
in the Ruben Rodriguez Colesium located in Bayamon, where they sang some of their
early hits together with some of their religious songs. The out come was so impressive
that they were offered a contract by Universal Records to record their concert. In
2000, Richie and Bobby held a series of concerts that were completely sold out
at the Antonio Paoli Hall in the Luis A. Ferre Center of Beautiful Arts in San
Juan. They were also honored with a National Day of Salsa in Bayamon. In 2002,
Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz were inducted into the International Latin Music Hall
of Fame. In
2003, Richie recorded "El Ritmo del Piano" for Warner Music Latina.
Richie and Bobby continue to make appearances in places such as the Copacabana
Club in New York. Richie currently lives in Florida with his wife and besides
being musically active, he is also busy attending the churches which he and Bobby
found in the United States, Caribbean and Latin-America. .
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