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Richie RayRichie Ray a.k.a. "The King of Salsa" (February 15, 1945) born in New York City, is a pianist, singer, composer and religious minister. Richie was born "Ricardo Maldonado", from Puerto Rican parents who imigrated to New York looking for work and a better way of life. His parents settled in the Brooklyn section of New York, where he was born. Richie parents had him take piano lessons when they realized that Richie had musical inclinations. Richie started playing piano when he was seven years old. Richie attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, the famed High School of Performing Arts and the Juilliard School of Music (Which he attended for only one year) where he refined his musical training. In 1964, Richie formed a band and was signed by Fonseca Records who released his first album titled "Ricardo Ray Arrives". The album had a "hit" song "Mambo Jazz". That very same year Bobby Cruz joined the band and became the lead vocalist of the group. This combination was the begining of one the greatest salsa duals in the music industry. They recorded and had an international "hit" with "Mr. Trumpet Man". In 1968, Richie and Bobby released "Los Durisimos" (The Hard Ones) and shared equal billing. Since then the band became officially known as "Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz". In 1970, Richie and his friend Bobby opened a nightclub in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, managing a nightclub required a lot of their time. Shortly after, they decided to sell the establishment because their artistic commitments left them with little or no time to attend the nightclub. By 1974, Richie and Bobby had won nine Gold Record Awards with "hits" such as "Aguzate" (Get Wise); "A Mi Manera" (My Way); "Sonido Bestial" (Beastly Sounds) and "El Diferente" (The Different One). They also won a first place prize in The Feastival of the Orchestras. On August of that year, Richie announced that he had become a born again evangelical Christian. Richie felt tormented by his addiction to drugs and alcohol and wanted to change his life. Bobby refused to accept Richie's change at first but, within four months Bobby himself became a convert. They decided to record their last salsa song together "Adios a la Salsa" (Goodbye to Salsa), as a farewell tribute to the style of music which gave them fame and fortune. They lost most of their fans and found opposition among the members of their own faith when they suggusted the idea of Christian Salsa. They stood their ground and little by little they started to regain the confidence of their fans and fellow Christians, when they recorded salsa with a religious message. Together they have founded over 20 Chritian Churches and in 1998, Richie founded Salvation Records, which recorded songs sung by other singers such as Jose Luis Rodriguez who had also become Christians. In 1999, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz held a concert in the Ruben Rodriguez Colesium located in Bayamon, where they sang some of their early hits together with some of their religious songs. The out come was so impressive that they were offered a contract by Universal Records to record their concert. In 2000, Richie and Bobby held a series of concerts that were completely sold out at the Antonio Paoli Hall in the Luis A. Ferre Center of Beautiful Arts in San Juan. They were also honored with a National Day of Salsa in Bayamon. In 2002, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz were inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. In 2003, Richie recorded "El Ritmo del Piano" for Warner Music Latina. Richie and Bobby continue to make appearances in places such as the Copacabana Club in New York. Richie currently lives in Florida with his wife and besides being musically active, he is also busy attending the churhes which he and Bobby found in the United States, Caribbean and Latin-America. Ray, Richie Ray, Richie Ray, Richie Ray, Richie Ray, Richie
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