Tag Archives: Bobby Cruz / Ricardo Ra – Un Sonido Bestial

Salsa’s beautiful duo comprised Ricardo ‘Richie’ Ray (b. Ricardo Maldonado, 15 Feb 1945, Brooklyn, NY, USA, of Puerto Rican parentage; co-band innovator, composer, multi instrumentalist) and Bobby Cruz (b. Roberto Cruz, 26 Feb 1941, Hormigueros, Puerto Rico; co-band innovator, vocalist, composer, arranger, güiro, maracas). Ray and Cruz have already been …

Ray organized his octet in 1963. He was regarded a virtuoso pianist, music arranger, and composer, whose music group enjoyed tremendous sketching power and was one of the better retailers in the ’60s and ’70s.

Closely connected with pianist Ricardo Ray for a lot of his career, vocalist Bobby Cruz enjoyed more than ten years of fame being a trailblazer of boogaloo, and eventually salsa, just before receding in the spotlight through the ’80s and refocusing his efforts in Christianity. Cruz started his recording profession …