Bobby Cruz (born February 2, 1938)) 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. In Cruz's childhood, his parents moved to New York City where he was educated; there he also enjoyed singing; Bobby regarded the legendary Puerto Rican salsa band El Gran Combo's style of music as the most influential in his life.
Cruz meets Richie Ray
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. In 1968, Cruz was the lead singer on the English-language song "Mr. Trumpet Man" (an attempt to exploit the boogaloo style that had grown popular in New York and other "Latin" (Spanish language) markets).
Between 1965 and 1975, the pairing of Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz had become one of the most popular salsa duets in the world. Ray and Cruz had a considerable influence in the Latino music world just because of four accomplishments: On August 16, 2008, Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz celebrated 45 years in the musical business, with a concert at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. Prior to the presentation, the duo noted that the concert would last at least three hours. The duo has expressed that this might be their last "big scale concert".
See also
- Puerto Rican songwriters
- List of Puerto Ricans