Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz
possibly formed the best Salsa group than ever it has existed. Richie, a New
Yorker son of puertorriqueños, and Bobby, puertorriqueño, had the impressive
sound mostly from 1963 to 1974.
They recording nine
gold albums. Cruz distinguished himself as a composer of hit songs such as "La
Zafra" which won the Festival of Orchestras prize for the duo in 1975.
When listening their songs for over 30 years
afterward, their music continues sounding modern, continue having a force. The
brilliant adjustments of Richie, their single increbles in the piano, the
tremendous unloadings of the group and the singing of Bobby Cruz have caused
this group a new paragraph in the history of the Salsa. The group of Richie
Ray was form in 1963 with three main members: Ricardo "Richie" Maldonado Moral
in the piano, its Ray brother in the trumpet and Bobby Cruz singing. In 1965,
they recorded its first disc, in the discogrifica house Fonseca, with the
voice of Chivirico Devila and the?xito of "Comej?n". The instruments of the
two group were trumpets, piano, low, timbals, tumbadoras and bongoes. Disc to
disc conquered from New York to the youth of the Caribbean. Richie Ray was
impelling of boogaloo and one of the pioneering groups in the Salsa.
The sound of the piano of
Richie Ray is one of series of identity of its music. Richie, son of the
guitarist Pacifico Maldonado, is a musican of conservatory with 18
years decides to form a group that touches the music that he felt on the
inside and not classical, it that hab?a studied until that then. Richie,
adem?s to touch the piano, is composer, arreglista and singer. The
adjustments of the songs of Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz are exceptional, with
all the force of the rates of the Caribbean and I touch of classical music
and jazz, in one fusion that distinguishes them of any other Salsa group.
The leather unloadings and piano of many of their songs are explosive.
The conversion to the evangelismo Everything changed in 1974, when
Richie Ray became an evangelist and decides to use music to propagate the
evangelical message. Bobby Cruz, in spite of the initial reluctance that to
him east change produced, also he became an evangelist for a couple of months. Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz no longer sang more songs with thematic rumbera or
santera and happened to interpret only religious songs. The peculiar thing
of the case is that they understood that its religious conversion did not
allow to continue touching Salsa since they did it before. They
reduced the rate and they left in the drawer of the forgetfulness the
unloadings and the single ones. Paradoxicalally, this decision did not
content to anybody: the lovers of the Salsa requested to them that they
touched as before and the evangelical movement did not see with good eyes
that were used the Salsa like vehicle of their message. From 1974 in ahead
Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz they removed several discs from religious music
and they ended up themselves turning evangelical shepherds, which separated
to them in the 90's decade.
The encounter of Richie Ray and
Bobby Cruz The 22 of July 1999 , in the Coliseo Rubén Rodriguez de Bayamón of Puerto Rico, Richie
Ray and Bobby Cruz returned to touch like at their golden time, in a reappearance concert
that shaped in the double CD "a beastly sound. The concert ". In this disc
they leave reflected the two times the group, the salsera and the nun. From
this concert, one has become to form the group of Richie Ray and Bobby
Cruz. Now they touch the successes of its golden time, but they put in with
songs and religious messages. More monk than his disc of reappearance is his
last new CD "and the best thing" (2001). A disc that reflects what it has
been Richie Ray from his religious conversion. Next to new songs as "Queen
of my life", a good song but that is not to the height of her successes, we
again were the religious versions with the negociated bill that removed in
1987 from "Yenyere '", turned "I-I", "beastly Sound", in "than More winning"
and "Agúzate", that happens to be "Arrepiéntete". Authentic sacrileges for
the lovers of the salsa. But, thanks to discs, still we can enjoy the
innumerable successes of the salsera time of Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz.
Songs like "Pump camara '"; "Richiés hauls hauls"; "Now I come", recorded
live with the Fania All-Stars; "beastly Sound"; "Yenyere '"; "Alive Richie
Ray"; "the drip jar"; "Shelter Fit"; "Ae cumaye '", composed by the great
Tite Curet Alonso; "the six chorreao"; "Agúzate" or "the different one" is
jewels of the salsa. Of its religious time, the song was successful "Juan in
the city" in which they count the parabola of the son I lavish. These are
some of the most outstanding songs of the trajectory of the group that
formed Richie Ray, the greatest pianista of the sauce along with Eddie
Palmieri and Bobby Cruz, one of the best soneros of the salsa.
