Ricardo Ray life and biography

Ricardo "Richie" Ray is a virtuoso pianist, singer, music arranger, composer and religious minister known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. He is known as "El Embajador del Piano" (The Piano Ambassador).

A musical prodigy, Ricardo Ray was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended the prestigious Julliard Academy of Music. Born from Puerto Rican parents, Richie was proudly aware at an early age of his Latin heritage and played an instrumental role in modernizing traditional Latin rhythms with the new American pop that was coming out of New York City during the sixties decade.

Known to the world as "The King of Salsa", Richie formed the Richie Ray orchestra in the year 1964. A great pianist and an intuitive bandleader, Richie had the great fortune to team up with the marvelous singer Bobby Cruz, and thus one of the all-time best Latin music partnerships was born.

A true New York City barrio kid, Richie had a sound that was fierce and adventurous. Going were few had ventured before, Richie was one of the first composers to truly mix the emerging sounds of American R&B with traditional Latin rhythms like guaguanco and the Cuban guajira. The results were some of the most spectacular boogaloo recordings of the sixties. Hit albums like Jala Jala y Boogaloo and Se Solto capture the essence and thrill of one the most creative periods in the history of American popular music. In 1974 after a long and illustrious string of world-wide-smash hits Richie Ray decided to retire, along with his long-time friend and partner Bobby Cruz, from popular music to pursue a life religious devotion. His music, nevertheless, continues to delight millions of music lovers around the world.

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