Bobby Cruz was born on February 2,1938 and is a Puerto Rico salsa singer and religious minister.
13 Facts About Bobby Cruz
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Bobby Cruz was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico and raised in the humble surroundings on his family's farm; his father was a sugar cane fields worker who later became a workers' union leader.
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In Cruz's childhood, his parents moved to New York City where he was educated; there he enjoyed singing; Bobby regarded the legendary Puerto Rican salsa band El Gran Combo's style of music as the most influential in his life.
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In New York in 1964 Bobby Cruz met fellow Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist Richie Ray and soon joined his orchestra as a back-up singer.
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In 1968, Bobby Cruz was the lead singer on the English-language song "Mr Trumpet Man".
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Between 1965 and 1975, the pairing of Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz had become one of the most popular salsa duets in the world.
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Ray and Bobby Cruz had a considerable influence in the Latino music world just because of four accomplishments:.
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Ray and Bobby Cruz won a total of nine gold record awards during this period with hits such as:.
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However, so as to concentrate in their religious ministries, Ray and Bobby Cruz decided to record one last "secular" salsa song together: "Adios a la Salsa" was a farewell tribute to the style of music which gave them fame and fortune.
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Ray and Bobby Cruz founded over 70 Christian churches during the time they retired from popular music, which lasted about 16 years.
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In 1996, Bobby Cruz published a book titled Cuando era un Nino.
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In 1999, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz held a concert in the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, where they sang some of their early hits together with some of their religious songs.
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In 2000, Cruz and Ray held a series of concerts that were completely sold out at the Antonio Paoli Hall at the Luis A Ferre Fine Arts Center in San Juan.