Richie Ray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ricardo Ray | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Years active | 1965—to present |
| Genre(s) | Salsa |
| Website(s) | Richie Ray Online |
Ricardo ”Richie” Ray a.k.a. El Embajador Del Piano (February 15, 1945) born in New York City, is a virtuoso pianist, singer, music arranger, composer and religious minister.
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[edit] Early Life
Ray 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 Brooklyn, where he was born, on Hoyt Street. Spanish was their first language. Ray’s father, Pacifico Maldonado, was an accomplished guitarist in his native Bayamon, and as such was the Maldonado family’s early musical influence.
Ray started playing the piano when he was only seven years old, when his parents had him take lessons. His life-long partnership with Bobby Cruz started five years later in 1957 when Ray played bass in a group led by Cruz. This combination was the beginning of one the greatest salsa duos in the salsa music industry.
He attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, the famed High School of Performing Arts, and the Juilliard School of Music. This experience served to further develop and refine his musical training. In addition, he became well versed in various Latin music genres which were popular at that time the Guajira, the Cha-cha-cha, the Bolero and others.
[edit] The Beginning
Ray left Juilliard in 1963, after just one year. He made this choice so that he could get organized and dedicate himself to his own band. This was a year after Cruz joined in as the lead vocalist. In 1964, he signed with Fonseca Records and released his debut album, Ricardo Ray Arrives-Comejen. The album included the outstanding hit songs “Mambo Jazz”, “Comejen”, “Viva Richie Ray”, “El Mulato”, “Suavito”, “Pa' Chismoso Tu” and the bolero-cha “Si Te Contaran”. The famous pair recorded some of their finest work during the period that they were with the Fonseca label.
In 1966 The group switched to the Alegre label, coinciding with the arrival of the boogaloo, Ray recorded nine albums with Alegre. He was a part of Tico/Alegre Records until 1970, and during that time he produce such hits as “Richies Jala Jala”, “Mr. Trumpet Man”, “Señor Embajador”, “Aguzate” (Gold Record Award winner), “Amparo Arrebato”, “Traigo De Todo”, and the Spanish version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, called A Mi Manera. This song went on to be the most radio played Spanish version of “My Way” during 1970; the song also won the duo a Gold Record Award.
While with Alegre, Ray also recorded two albums for for UA Latino. These included “Viva Ricardo” and “El Diferente” (Gold Record Award winner). The band scored a number one hit with the song “Colorin Colorado”, while “El Diferente”, “Feria En Manizales” and “Ay, Compay!”, became number one hits in Latin America.
In 1968, Ray and Cruz had been together professionally for five years, had written most of their songs together, and for the first time in the album Los Durisimos, they shared equal billing in an album cover. This album had such hits as “Agallu”, “Pancho Cristal”, “Adasa”, and “Yo Soy (Babalu)”. Since then the band became officially known as Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz.
[edit] The 1970’s
In 1970, Ray and Cruz left New York and moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for professional and personal reasons. They opened a nightclub, but managing it required too much of their time. Shortly after, they decided to sell the establishment to focus on their artistic commitments. That same year, Ray and Cruz signed with the new Vaya Records label, a subsidiary of Fania Records.
In 1971, they released Sonido Bestial, the first ever release on Vaya Records, and was one of their better albums on that label. The album went gold, and it took them to the top of the charts once again. It included hits such as “Señora”, the bolero version of the tango “Volver”, and the Rubén Blades composition “Guaguanco Triste”, as well as the salsa version of “Fire And Rain”.
In 1974 The Dynamic Duo won the title “The Kings Of Salsa” at the “Coliseo Roberto Clemente” in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For a period of 12 hours, 24 bands had competed for the coveted title, and Ray and Cruz emerged triumphant. Contracts started to pour in, requests for interviews and TV appearances, and even movie offers.
All of these things spoke of success, but Ray suffered strong emotional problems during this time. The despair he felt led him into alcohol and drug abuse. He felt tormented by his addictions, however, and wanted to change his life.
In August of that year, he surprised many when he announced that he had become a born-again evangelical Christian. The professed experience radically changed his career and life. At first, Cruz refused to accept Ray's change, but within four months Cruz himself became a convert.
In spite of these dramatic changes, Ray & Cruz fans continued to support the duo. The 1975 release of Reconstrucción went “Gold” (their ninth). The album included their smash hit single “Juan En La Ciudad”. They followed with Viven in 1977, De Nuevo ‘Los Durísimos’ Again (1980), and their final release on Vaya Records, Inconfundibles (1987). All of these were successful releases.
[edit] Christian Career
Richie Ray and Bobbie Cruz lost most of their fans and found opposition among the members of their own faith when they suggested the idea of Christian Salsa. They stood their ground, however, and little by little, they started to regain the confidence of their fans and fellow Christians. They abandoned secular salsa and recorded salsa with a Christian message, reworking many of their worldly hits into religious themes. Some of these include “El Sonido La Bestia”, “Mas Que Vencedores”, and “Aguzate”. They also created some new ones, like “Los Fariseos”, “Timoteo”, and “Sipriano”
The sincerity of their Christian beliefs was not just conveyed in their music. Both Ray and Cruz are pastors, and they have founded more than 20 churches throughout Puerto Rico and the United States. In addition, Ray founded the ‘’Salvation’’ Records label as an outlet for Christian music. Then, he continued his music career although his long-time friend, Cruz, had retired. During “retirement”, however, both Cruz and Ray released albums with previously recorded numbers and with other bands or singers.
[edit] The Return
In 1991, Ray and Cruz reunited for successful concert appearances in San Juan and again in New York. They reunited again in 1999 for the “Sonido Bestial” concert in the Ruben Rodriguez Colesium located in Bayamon, they sang some of their early hits together with some of their religious songs and the concert was recorded live. The out come was so impressive that they were offered a contract by Universal Records, the recording was selected as one of the best recordings of 1999 and helped bring the pair back into the limelight of the Puerto Rican music scene. The pair has continued active in the music scene since.
In 2000, Ray and Cruz 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, Ray recorded "Al Ritmo del Piano" for Warner Music Latina. Ray and Cruz continue to make appearances in places such as the Copacabana Club in New York. In December 2005 Ray & Cruz release a totally *new* album under the label Tropisounds the album was recorded in Colombia under the musical direction of its producer by Diego Galé, Que Vuelva La Música has 14 new tracks “El gallo y la vaca”, “La bailarina”, “Quim Bon Bori”, “Vive contento”, “Soy boricua” y “Va a llover” are just a few of the titles. The Album was an instant hit in Colombia and Latin America. “El gallo y la vaca” (25th Nov) and “Salsa La Celebracion” (7th two weeks in April) appeared in the top 100 salsa songs charts in North America through 2006.
Ray currently lives in Florida with his wife and besides being musically active, he is also busy attending the churches which he and Cruz found in the United States, Caribbean and Latin-America.
[edit] Selected Discography
| Fonseca Records | Alegre Records | 'United Artists |
|---|---|---|
| Ricardo Ray Arrives 1964 | Se Soltó/On the Loose 1966 | El Diferente 1969 |
| On the Scene 1965 | Jala Jala y Boogaloo Vol. 1 196 | Viva Ricardo 1969 |
| 3 Dimensions 1966 | Jala Jala y Boogaloo Vol. 2 1968 | |
| Richie Ray Introducing Bobby Cruz A-Go-Go 1966 |
Los Durísimos/The Strong Ones 1968 | |
| Fiesta Navideña 1966 | Lets Get Down to the Real Nitty Gritty 1968 | |
| Los Durísimos y Yo (Nidya Caro) 1969 | ||
| Aguzate 1969 | ||
| Vaya Records | Ray & Bo Records | Appearences with Fania All-Stars |
| El Bestial Sonido 1972 | A su nombre Gloria 1978 | Our Latin Thing 1971 Ahora Vengo Yo |
| Felices Pascuas 1972 | Renovando la Salsa 1979 | Live at the Red Garter Vol. 1 1972 Richies Bag |
| Jammin' Live 1972 | Abriendo Surcos 1979 | Fania All Stars at the Cheetah Vol. 2 1974 Ahora Vengo Yo |
| Amor en la Escuela 1974 | En Familia 1983 | Live at the Yankee Stadium Vol. 2 1975 Hermandad Fania |
| 1975 (1974) | Mas que Vencedores 1984 | |
| 10 Aniversario 1975 | Maravilloso 1985 | |
| Reconstrucción 1976 | Adelante Juventud 1988 | |
| Viven 1977 | Angie, Mi Piano y Yo 1992 | |
| El Sonido de la Bestia 1980 | ||
| Las Aguilas/The Eagles 1982 | ||
| Releases After the Year 2000 | ||
| Voz Palabra Y Jubilo 2000 WEA Latina |
Lo Nuevo y Lo Mejor 2001 WEA Latina |
Caminando 2002 Rejoice Music |
| Casa De Alabanza Vol 1 2003 (Rejoice Music) WEA Latina |
40 Aniversario En Vivo 2004 Combo Records |
Que Vuelva La Música 2005 Tropisounds |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Biography at Popular Culture's
- discography
- Bobby’s Biography
