Richie Ray

Ray (birth name: Richard Maldonado Morales ) was born in Brooklyn, New York City of Puerto Rican parents. They lived on Hoyt Street. Ray's father, Pacifico Maldonado, was an accomplished guitarist in his native Bayamón, and as such was the Maldonado family's early musical influence. Ray's parents had him take piano lessons when he was seven years old. His life-long partnership with Robert "Bobby" Cruz Feliciano started five years later in 1957 when Ray played bass in a group led by Cruz. This combination was the beginning of one of 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. These experiences 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. ==Musical career==

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 later that Cruz joined in as the lead vocalist. In 1965, he signed with Fonseca Records and released his debut album, Ricardo Ray Arrives/Comején. The album included the outstanding hit songs "Mambo Jazz", "Comején", "Viva Richie Ray", "El Mulato", "Suavito", "Pa' Chismoso Tú" 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 "Richie's Jala Jala", "Mr. Trumpet Man", "Señor Embajador", "Agúzate" (Gold Record Award winner), "Amparo Arrebato", "Traigo de Todo", and the Spanish version of Claude François 's "Comme d'habitude", called "A Mi Manera" in reference to Frank Sinatra's version "My Way". This song went on to be the most radio played Spanish version of "comme d'habitude" (and so of "My Way") during 1970; the song also won the duo a Gold Record Award. While with Alegre, Ray also recorded two albums for UA Latino. These included Viva Ricardo and El Diferente (Gold Record Award winner). The band scored a number one hit with the song "Colorín 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 Durísimos, they shared equal billing in an album cover. This album had such hits as "Agallú", "Pancho Cristal", "Adasa", and "Yo Soy (Babalú)". Since then the band became officially known as Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. The 1970s 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 El Bestial Sonido de Ricardo Ray y Bobby Cruz, 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 Joan Manuel Serrat's "Señora", the bolero version of the Gardel/Lepera tango "Volver", and the Rubén Blades composition "Guaguancó Triste", as well as the salsa version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain". This album also included his most impressive and well-known hit called "Sonido Bestial", which has a Latin-flavoured arrangement of Chopin's Etude Opus 10/No. 12, and is considered a classic masterpiece of salsa music. 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. ==Born-again Christian==

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 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 VIP" concert in the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez located in Bayamón. The duo sang some of their early hits together along with some of their religious songs, and the concert was recorded live. The outcome 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 to be active in the music scene since. ==Later years==

In 2000, Ray and Cruz held a series of concerts that were completely sold out at the Antonio Paoli Hall of the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. They were also honored with a National Day of Salsa in Bayamón. In 2002, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz were inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Prior to the presentation, the duo noted that the concert would last at least three hours. The duo also expressed that it might be their last "big scale concert". ==Selected discography==