19 Facts About Larry Ramos

In 1963, he won a Grammy Award with the New Christy Minstrels, with Ramos being the first Asian American to do so.

Larry Ramos was of Filipino descent with a blend of Chinese and Spanish.

Larry Ramos' father taught him how to play the ukulele, beginning with "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" at the age of four.

Larry Ramos recalled practicing on the floor of the hotel gift shop where his mother worked and sleeping with the instrument so that he could play upon wakening.

Larry Ramos won a local music contest with his sister at the age of five, and when he was seven, Ramos played ukulele on The Arthur Godfrey Show after winning a statewide ukulele contest organized by Godfrey.

Larry Ramos played ukulele and sang in the 1950 musical romance film Pagan Love Song, starring Esther Williams, after Arthur Freed had heard him playing the song in his mother's hotel gift shop.

However, Larry Ramos' part singing "The House of Singing Bamboo" was cut in the final edit to shorten the film's running time.

At 13, Larry Ramos performed in the national tour of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I as understudy in the role of the crown prince of Thailand opposite Yul Brynner.

Larry Ramos performed the lead role with Leonard Graves and Patricia Morison in 1955 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto.

Concerned that her son's education was inadequate, Larry Ramos' mother withdrew him from the tour after a year, and he attended Bell High School before majoring in political science at East Los Angeles College and Cerritos College.

Larry Ramos joined the New Christy Minstrels, an American folk music band, in 1962.

Larry Ramos settled into a role providing vocals and playing banjo as well as other stringed instruments.

Larry Ramos toured almost every day for three years after joining the band.

In 1967, Terry Kirkman of the Association asked Larry Ramos to join the band because their lead guitarist, Jules Alexander, was planning to leave the band for a spiritual pilgrimage to India.

Larry Ramos learned the chords after listening to the band's two albums for two hours.

Later that year, Larry Ramos performed with the band at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.

Larry Ramos left the Association in 1975 over differences regarding the band's future musical direction, but he reunited with the surviving members in 1979.

On February 24,2014, Larry Ramos made his final performance with the band, two sold-out shows at the Blue Fox Theatre in Grangeville, Idaho with proceeds to benefit a local Relay For Life.

Larry Ramos died at a hospital in Clarkston, Washington on April 30,2014, at the age of 72.