name	Bobby
director	Emilio Estevez
producer	Michael LitvakHolly Wiersma
writer	Emilio Estevez
starring
music	Mark Isham
cinematography	Michael Barrett
editing	Richard Chew
studio	The Weinstein Company
distributor	MGM
released
runtime	120 minutes
country
language	English
budget	$14 million
gross	$20,597,806 }}

''Bobby'' is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Emilio Estevez. The screenplay is a fictionalized account of the hours leading up to the June 5, 1968 shooting of United States Senator from New York and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in the kitchen of The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles following his win in the California Democratic Party primary for the 1968 Presidential Election.

Plot

The film recreates the ambiance of the era and invokes the hopes inspired by Kennedy through the use of actual newsreel footage of the senator intercut with dramatic sequences involving mostly fictional characters. It uses an ensemble plot device similar to that employed in the 1932 film ''Grand Hotel'', and later used by Robert Altman in ''Nashville''.

The characters include John Casey (Hopkins), a retired hotel doorman who spends his days playing chess with his friend Nelson (Belafonte) in the lobby; Diane (Lohan), who is marrying her friend William (Wood) with the hope his marital status will have him deployed to a military base in Germany rather than the battlefields of Vietnam when his tour of duty begins; Virginia Fallon (Moore), an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing, her put-upon husband/manager Tim (Estevez), and her agent Phil (Krumholtz); Miriam Ebbers (Stone), a beautician who works in the hotel salon, and her husband Paul (Macy), the hotel manager, who is having an affair with switchboard operator Angela (Graham); food and beverage manager Daryl Timmons (Slater), whose racist attitude gets him fired; African American sous chef Edward Robinson (Fishburne) and Mexican American busboys José and Miguel (Rodriguez and Vargas); hotel coffee shop waitress Susan (Winstead); Jimmy and Cooper (Geraghty and LaBeouf), campaign volunteers who are sidetracked by an acid trip they take with the help of drug dealer Fisher (Kutcher); married socialites and campaign donors Samantha and Jack (Hunt and Sheen); campaign manager Wade and staffer Dwayne (Jackson and Cannon), who is in a love interest with Angela's colleague, Patricia (Bryant); and Czechoslovak reporter Lenka Janáčková (Metkina), who is determined to get an interview with Kennedy.

At the end of the film, Kennedy's speech "On the Mindless Menace of Violence," delivered in 1968 to the City Club of Cleveland, Ohio, is played over a montage of the reaction of those present to the assassination. Several of the characters get wounded, such as William, Jimmy & Cooper, Samantha and Daryl. At the end of the film we are told that they all survived.

Cast

Harry Belafonte as Nelson

Joy Bryant as Patricia

Nick Cannon as Dwayne Clark

Emilio Estevez as Tim Fallon

Laurence Fishburne as Edward Robinson

Dave Fraunces as Robert Kennedy

Jeridan Frye as Ethel Kennedy

Spencer Garrett as David

Brian Geraghty as Jimmy

Heather Graham as Angela

Anthony Hopkins as John Casey

Helen Hunt as Samantha

Joshua Jackson as Wade Buckley

David Kobzantsev as Sirhan Sirhan

David Krumholtz as Agent Phil

Ashton Kutcher as Fisher

Shia LaBeouf as Cooper

Lindsay Lohan as Diane Howser

William H. Macy as Paul Ebbers

Svetlana Metkina as Lenka

Demi Moore as Virginia Fallon

Freddy Rodriguez as José Rojas

Martin Sheen as Jack

Christian Slater as Daryl Timmons

Sharon Stone as Miriam Ebbers

Jacob Vargas as Miguel

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Susan Taylor

Elijah Wood as William Avary

Development

In ''Bobby: The Making of an American Epic'', screenwriter/director Emilio Estevez discusses the problems he had developing his script. Suffering from writer's block, he checked into a motel in Pismo Beach where he hoped, free from interruption, he could make some headway with his writing. While talking to the woman working at the front desk, he discovered she had been in the Ambassador Hotel on the evening Kennedy was shot, and later married two young men to help them avoid the draft. Estevez used her experience to mold the character of Diane, and the rest of the story fell into place.

The only other character based on a real person is busboy José, who represents Juan Romero, the young man who was photographed cradling Kennedy's body immediately after he was shot. The character of José has tickets to the Los Angeles Dodgers game in which Don Drysdale is expected to set the record of six consecutive shutouts, but is obliged to work a double shift, forcing him to miss the game. Drysdale did in fact achieve his sixth shutout on June 4, 1968, and was congratulated by Kennedy during the victory speech he delivered just before being shot.

Production

The Ambassador Hotel had shuttered its doors and put its fixtures and furnishings up for auction during the film's pre-production period, giving production designer Patti Podesta the opportunity to purchase much of the furniture and decorative pieces used in the film. The hotel was scheduled for demolition one week after filming was scheduled to begin. Estevez got permission to film in and around the building during that period, adding to the film's authenticity.

Music

The film's score was composed by Mark Isham, with "Never Gonna Break My Faith" written by Bryan Adams and performed by Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, and the Boys Choir of Harlem, which was played during the closing credits. As well, a newly recorded version of "Louie Louie" was performed in character by Demi Moore for the film.

Songs heard throughout the film consist of a music compilation from the 1960s, including "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson, "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder, "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye, an original acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel, "Anji" by Paul Simon, "Come See About Me" by The Supremes, "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" by Herman's Hermits, "Black Is Black" by Los Bravos, "Season of the Witch" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan, "Wives and Lovers" by Jack Jones, "Magic Moments" by Perry Como, "Pata Pata" by Miriam Makeba, and "Initials" from the musical ''Hair''.

Release

After an initial premiere at the NUIG Student Cinema at the National University of Ireland, Galway the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was shown at the Deauville Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, the Vienna International Film Festival, the London Film Festival, and AFI Fest before going into limited release in the US on November 17, 2006. Playing on two screens, it grossed $69,039 on its opening weekend. It eventually earned $11,242,801 in North America and $9,355,005 in other territories for a total worldwide box office of $20,597,806.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews. It scored a 45% based on 161 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and a normalized rating of 54% based on 31 reviews on Metacritic.

A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' said, "Emilio Estevez . . . sets himself a large and honorable task. It is important to appreciate this in spite of his movie's evident shortcomings. Intentions do count for something, and Mr. Estevez's seem to me entirely admirable . . . The actors seem more like 'very special guest stars' than like real, 1968-vintage Americans, and their period-appropriate get-ups . . . are more distracting than convincing . . . Some of the stories feel too obviously melodramatic, while others are vague to the point of inscrutability. In the Vietnam- and drug-related plots, the point is hammered home too hard . . . while other narratives wind toward no discernible point at all. Nonetheless the ambition behind ''Bobby'' is large and serious."

Kevin Crust of the ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "an ambitious film drenched in sincerity and oozing with nostalgia that, despite the energy provided by its title icon via archival footage, falls flat dramatically in nearly every other way. It aspires for the Altmanesque interplay of ''Nashville'' or ''Short Cuts'' but instead feels like one of those '70s disaster epics such as ''Earthquake'' or ''The Towering Inferno'', in which a star-studded cast endures melodramatic story lines as the audience awaits the inevitable momentous event and tries to guess who will be around at the finish . . . It's easy to become swept up in the palpable enthusiasm Estevez shows toward his subject, but the pedestrian and overly expositional dialogue of the film's characters proves to be as stifling as the excerpts from Kennedy's speeches are stirring."

Deborah Young of ''Variety'' said of Estevez, "Stepping up as writer and director in a way he never has before, [he] successfully pulls together a complexly designed narrative," and added the film "carries an eerie topicality that makes many of its insights instantly click."

Armond White of ''New York Press'' wrote that the film "has a humane sweetness", and that it "literally and vividly unites different ethnic groups, labor strata and social castes" in a way that "is not schematic—its exactitude and believability has a Tocquevillian brilliance."

Steve Persall of the ''St. Petersburg Times'' graded the film C, calling it "a misguided jumble of too much fiction, few facts and zero speculation" and Estevez "a mediocre filmmaker."

Michael Medved, who was in the Ambassador ballroom (in fact 20 feet from the podium) the night Kennedy was shot, awarded the film three out of four stars and called it "intriguing but imperfect." He added, "Emilio Estevez gets most of the feelings of the occasion right. But, the melodramatic, multi-character format proves somewhat uneven and distracting."

Richard Roeper said, "Estevez writes and directs with lots of passion, not so much subtlety . . . [He] wants the movie to be on the level of a Robert Altman film like ''Nashville'' but falls short."

Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' gave the film one star and called it "trite fiction" and a work of "insipid ineptitude." He ranked it among the worst films of 2006, as did Lou Lumerick of the ''New York Post'' who dubbed it "ambitious, but utterly wrong-headed trivialization."

Awards and nominations

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama (nominee)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song ("Never Gonna Break My Faith" by Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy, and Andrea Remanda, nominee)

Venice Film Festival Biografilm Award (Emilio Estevez, winner)

Venice Film Festival Golden Lion (Estevez, nominee)

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (nominee)

ALMA Award for Outstanding Motion Picture (nominee)

ALMA Award for Outstanding Directror - Motion Picture (nominee)

ALMA Award for Outstanding Screenplay - Motion Picture (nominee)

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Harry Belafonte, nominee)

Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast (winner)

Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Breakthrough Actress (Lindsay Lohan, winner)

Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Breakout Performance of the Year - Director (winner)

See also

2006 in film

Cinema of the United States

List of American films of 2006

References

External links

Category:2006 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:2000s drama films Category:American political drama films Category:Baby boomers in fiction Category:Films based on actual events Category:Films set in 1968 Category:Films set in California Category:Films set in hotels Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Race-related films Category:Robert F. Kennedy Category:The Weinstein Company films

bg:Боби de:Bobby (2006) et:Bobby (film) es:Bobby (película) fr:Bobby (film, 2006) it:Bobby la:Bobby (pellicula 2006) nl:Bobby (2006) ja:ボビー (映画) no:Bobby (2006 film) pl:Bobby pt:Bobby (filme) ru:Бобби (фильм, 2006) fi:Bobby sv:Bobby (film) th:ปริศนาฆาตกรรม โรเบิร์ต เอฟ. เคนเนดี้ tr:Bobby (film, 2006)

Name	Manu Chao
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao Ortega
Alias	Oscar Tramor
Born	June 21, 1961Paris, France
Religion	???
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard
Genre	Alternative rock, ska, punk, reggae, Latin, salsa
Occupation	Musician, record producer
Years active	1984–present
Label	Nacional Records (U.S.)Because Music (France)Virgin Records
Associated acts	Mano NegraRadio Bemba Sound System
Website	www.manuchao.net
Notable instruments	}}

Manu Chao (born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on June 21, 1961), is a French singer of Spanish origin (Basque and Galician). He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galician, Arabic and Portuguese and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba.

Early life

Chao was born to Spanish parents. His mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque country and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship —Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outlying suburbs of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs.

Career

Early years and Mano Negra

Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994.

In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the multiracial band Mano Negra. Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "''Mala Vida''", which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album ''Patchanka'' was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top #5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, ''Casa Babylon,'' Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former band mates led Chao to disband the group in 1995.

Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, ''Patchanka'', derived from the word ''pachanga'' (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006.

Solo years with Radio Bemba

After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other band mates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as ''Clandestino'' in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies.

Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, ''Próxima Estación: Esperanza,'' was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to ''Clandestino'' but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album ''Radio Bemba Sound System.'' Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album ''Sibérie m'était contée,'' which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak.

Manu Chao's next album ''La Radiolina'' (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on September 17, 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's ''Próxima Estación: Esperanza''. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from ''La Radiolina'' was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show.

Other works

In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album ''Dimanche à Bamako'' ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "''Me llaman Calle''", written for the 2005 Spanish film ''Princesas'', earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's ''La Radiolina''. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "''Calle Go Lem''". ''Time'' magazine named "''Me Llaman Calle''" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed,

Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Gerardo Cruet, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.

His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film ''Maradona'' by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. Manu Chao and Tonino Carotone performed the theme song "La Trampa" for the short-lived improvisational comedy ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show''.

The songs "''Bongo Bong''" and "''Je ne t'aime plus''", which appear back-to-back on ''Clandestino'', were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "''Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus''" and released it as a single from the album ''Rudebox''.

Style and influences

Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, as punk, rock, French ''chanson'', Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra.

Many of Chao's lyrics talk about immigration, love, living in ghettos and drugs and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings —he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. His band Mano Negra is possibly a reference to an anarchist group. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-free trade movements. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of the Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from ''Próxima Estación: Esperanza''. Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on ''Sibérie m'était contéee'' are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced ''Dimanche à Bamako'', which were being produced at approximately the same time.

Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the English-speaking world. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on August 7. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on June 23, 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park.

Discography

With Mano Negra

''Patchanka'' (Virgin France, 1988)

''Puta's Fever'' (Virgin France, 1989)

''King of Bongo'' (Virgin France, 1991)

''In the Hell of Patchinko'' (Live in Japan, Virgin France, 1992)

''Casa Babylon'' (Virgin France, 1994)

Solo

''Clandestino'' (Virgin, 1998)

''Próxima Estación: Esperanza'' (Virgin, 2001)

''Radio Bemba Sound System'' (live, Virgin, 2002)

''Sibérie m'était contée'' (Virgin, 2004)

''La Radiolina'' (Because/Nacional, 2007)

''Estación México'' (Live in Mexico, 2008, limited release)

''Baionarena'' (Double live CD + DVD), 2009

DVD

''Babylonia en Guagua'' (2002)

''Mano Negra: Out of time'' (2005)

''Manu Chao & radiobemba:baionarena" (2009)

References

Further reading

Chao, Ramón. ''Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego'' (originally ''Un train de glace et de feu''), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel ''One Hundred Years of Solitude''.

Chao, Ramón. ''The Train of Ice and Fire - Mano Negra in Colombia'' - (ISBN 9781901927375) Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website

External links

Official Site

Manu Chao: I’d Like to Come Back Soon by the ''Cuban News Agency''

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Paris Category:French male singers Category:French people of Spanish descent Category:French people of Basque descent Category:French-language singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Galician-language singers Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Galician people Category:Rock en Español musicians Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Folk punk musicians

ar:مانو شاو bs:Manu Chao bg:Ману Чао ca:Manu Chao cs:Manu Chao da:Manu Chao de:Manu Chao el:Μάνου Τσάο es:Manu Chao eo:Manu Chao eu:Manu Chao fr:Manu Chao gl:Manu Chao hr:Manu Chao it:Manu Chao he:מאנו צ'או ka:მანუ ჩაო hu:Manu Chao mk:Ману Чао nl:Manu Chao ja:マヌ・チャオ no:Manu Chao oc:Manu Chao pl:Manu Chao pt:Manu Chao ro:Manu Chao ru:Чао, Ману sk:Manu Chao sr:Ману Чао fi:Manu Chao sv:Manu Chao tr:Manu Chao uk:Ману Чао

name	Richie Ray
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ricardo Maldonado
alias	El Embajador del Piano(The Piano Ambassador)
birth date	February 15, 1945
origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
genre	Salsa
occupation	SingerPianistMusic arrangerComposerReligious minister
years active	1965–present
notable instruments	}}

Ricardo "Richie" Ray (born February 15, 1945) is a virtuoso pianist, singer, music arranger, composer and religious minister known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. He is known as "El Embajador del Piano" (The Piano Ambassador).

Early life

Ray (born "Ricardo Maldonado") was born in Brooklyn, New York City of Puerto Rican parents. They lived in 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 lessons and he started to play the piano when he was only seven years old. His life-long partnership with Bobby Cruz started five years later in 1957 when Ray played bass in a group led by Cruz. This combination was the beginning of one 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. This experience 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 after Cruz joined in as the lead vocalist. In 1964, 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 "Richies Jala Jala", "Mr. Trumpet Man", "Señor Embajador", "Aguzate" (Gold Record Award winner), "Amparo Arrebato", "Traigo De Todo", and the Spanish version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way", called "A Mi Manera". This song went on to be the most radio played Spanish version 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 10/12, 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 August of that year, he surprised many when he announced that he had become a born-again evangelical Christian. The professed experience radically changed his career and life. At first, Cruz refused to accept Ray's change, but within four months Cruz himself became a convert.

In spite of these dramatic changes, Ray & Cruz fans continued to support the duo. The 1976 release of Reconstrucción went "Gold" (their ninth). The album included their smash hit single "Juan En La Ciudad". They followed with Viven in 1977, De Nuevo 'Los Durísimos' Again (1980), and their final release on Vaya Records, Inconfundibles (1987) in which Ray and Cruz announced their retirement from Salsa music. All of these were successful releases.

Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz lost most of their fans and found opposition among the members of their own faith when they suggested the idea of Christian Salsa. They stood their ground, however, and little by little, they started to regain the confidence of their fans and fellow Christians. They abandoned secular salsa and recorded salsa with a Christian message, reworking many of their worldly hits into religious themes. Some of these include "El Sonido La Bestia", "Más Que Vencedores", and "Aguzate". They also created some new ones, like "Los Fariseos", "Timoteo", and "Sipriano"

The sincerity of their Christian beliefs was not just conveyed in their music. Both Ray and Cruz are pastors, and they have founded more than 20 churches throughout Puerto Rico and the United States. In addition, Ray founded the Salvation Records label as an outlet for Christian music. Then, he continued his music career although his long-time friend, Cruz, had retired. During "retirement", however, both Cruz and Ray released albums with previously recorded numbers and with other bands or singers. Richie Ray is now a pastor in Cape Coral under the CLM fellowship.

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" concert in the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez located in Bayamón, they sang some of their early hits together 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 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. Ferre Center of Beautiful Arts 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.

In 2003, Ray recorded "''Al Ritmo del Piano''" for Warner Music Latina. Ray and Cruz continue to make appearances in places such as the Copacabana Club in New York. In December 2005 Ray & Cruz release a totally *new* album under the label Tropisounds the album was recorded in Colombia under the musical direction of its producer by Diego Galé, Que Vuelva La Música has 14 new tracks "El gallo y la vaca", "La bailarina", "Quim Bon Bori", "Vive contento", "Soy boricua" y "Va a llover" are just a few of the titles. The Album was an instant hit in Colombia and Latin America. "El gallo y la vaca" (25th Nov) and "Salsa La Celebracion" (7th two weeks in April) appeared in the top 100 salsa songs charts in North America through 2006. In 2006 Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz won a Latin-Grammy Award for "Lifetime Achievement", this year they also recorded a CD and DVD titled "A lifetime of hits" (live at Centro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico) which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the "Best Contemporary Tropical Album" category.

Ray currently lives in Florida with his wife Angie Ray and besides being musically active, he is also busy attending the churches which he and Cruz found in the United States, Caribbean and Latin-America. Ricardo "Richie" Ray is still considered along with Eddie Palmieri and Papo Lucca one of the best and more influential pianists of all times in Salsa music. 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".

Selected discography

! Fonseca Records	! Alegre Records	! '''United Artists''
Ricardo Ray Arrives - Comején 1964	Se Soltó (On the Loose) 1966	El Diferente 1969
On the Scene 1965	''Jala Jala y Boogaloo'' 1967	Viva Ricardo 1969
3 Dimensions 1966	Jala Jala y Boogaloo Vol. 2 1968
Richie Ray IntroducingBobby Cruz A-Go-Go 1966	Los Durísimos/The Strong Ones 1968
En Fiesta Navideña 1966	Let's Get Down to the Real Nitty Gritty 1968
	Los Durísimos y Yo (Nidya Caro) 1969
	Aguzate 1970
! Vaya Records	! Ray & Bo Records	! Appearances with Fania All-Stars
El Bestial Sonido 1971	A su nombre Gloria 1978	Our Latin Thing 1971 ''Ahora Vengo Yo''
Felices Pascuas 1972	Renovando la Salsa 1979	Live at the Red Garter Vol. 1 1972 (1968) ''Richies Bag''
Jammin' Live 1972	Abriendo Surcos 1979	Fania All Stars at the Cheetah Vol. 2 1974 (1971) ''Ahora Vengo Yo''
Amor en la Escuela 1974	En Familia 1983	Live at the Yankee Stadium Vol. 2 1975 ''Hermandad Fania''
1975 (1974)	Más que Vencedores 1984
10 Aniversario 1975	Maravilloso 1985
Reconstrucción 1976	Adelante Juventud 1988
Viven 1977	Angie, Mi Piano y Yo 1992
El Sonido de la Bestia 1980
Las Águilas/The Eagles 1982
! Los Inconfundibles 1987	! Releases After the Year 2000	!
Voz Palabra Y Jubilo 2000WEA Latina	Lo Nuevo y Lo Mejor 2001WEA Latina	Caminando 2002Rejoice Music
Casa De Alabanza Vol 1 2003(Rejoice Music) WEA Latina	40 Aniversario En Vivo 2004Combo Records	Que Vuelva La Música 2005Tropisounds
A Lifetime of hits (Live at Centro de Bellas Artes de Puerto Rico 2006

See also

List of famous Puerto Ricans

References

External links

Biography at Popular Culture's

Discography

Bobby's Biography

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Puerto Rican singers Category:Puerto Rican musicians Category:Puerto Rican composers Category:Salsa musicians Category:Puerto Rican Christians

de:Ricardo Ray es:Richie Ray fr:Richie Ray

Name	Bobby Cruz
Background	solo_singer
Birth date	February 01, 1937
Origin	Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Genre	Salsa
Website	}}

Bobby Cruz (born February 1, 1937) is a salsa singer and religious minister. He is well known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. His seminal professional pairing with Richie Ray is one of the longest-lived partnerships in Latino music, lasting over 40 years. His wide vocal range and quiet, gentlemanly demeanor has earned Cruz enormous popularity over the years.

Early years

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. When a child, his parents moved to New York where he was educated; there he enjoyed singing; he considered 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 1966, Cruz was the lead singer on the English-language song "Mr. Trumpet Man" (an attempt at recording boogaloo which became a major hit in New York and other salsa markets).

Between 1964-74, 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:

Their orchestra's all-trumpet ''sonora'' sound, reminiscent of that of the Sonora Matancera, was called by that orchestra's founder Rogelio Martínez as "the best tribute the band ever had."

Inadvertently, Ray and Cruz misinterpreted a comment by a Venezuelan television announcer during a visit to the country, and popularized the term "salsa" as a result (they thought the announcer's reference to a tomato paste product was a slang reference to their music, and they incorporated it into their act).

They are partially credited with keeping the Anglo style of Rock n Roll from invading Puerto Rico. (Curiously enough, at one time, the band's horn section featured an entirely non-Latino lineup) Ray in particular is credited with bringing his classical musical influences to the band's mix, and taking advantage of Cruz's almost-operatic vocal range as a result.

Cruz is credited for assisting Ruben Blades into getting work at Fania Records. Cruz's band even recorded some of Blades' earliest compositions, particularly ''"(Yo Soy) Cipriano Armenteros",'' part of a four-song saga about the fictional character recorded by Ray and Cruz, Ismael Miranda, and Blades himself.

Gold record awards

Ray and Cruz won a total of nine gold record awards during this period with hits such as:

"Aguzate" (Get Wise);

"A Mi Manera" (a remake of the French song My Way);

"Sonido Bestial" (Beastly Sound);

"Amparo Arrebato"

"El Diferente" (The Different One), and

"Mi Bandera" (My Flag, a non-controversial homage to the Puerto Rican flag that has become a patriotic and cultural reference in the country since)

Return to Puerto Rico

In 1970, Cruz and Ray opened a nightclub in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However they found that managing the club required too much of their time as they had a lot of other commitments to attend to and so decided that it would be much better if they sold the nightclub.

In addition to the duets, Cruz also sang solo when in 1972 he recorded ''Bobby Cruz canta para Tí'' (Bobby Cruz sings for You), produced by Richie Ray. He also reached No.1 in the Latin Music Hit Charts with '''Ya ni te Acuerdas''" (You don't even Remember).

In 1974, they won first place in the Festival of Orchestras for the composition "La Zafra", whose lyrics describe the struggles of sugar cane workers in western Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Later that year Ray became a Christian convert. Initially Cruz refused to accept his friend's change, however four months' later he himself became a convert.

As an experiment, they recorded what would become their most popular song, the salsa-merengue fusion "Juan en la Ciudad" (Juan in the City), in which Cruz's lyrics narrate the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It became a huge salsa hit in Latino markets in the United States and in Latin America, mostly because of its catchy, danceable refrain/chorus. Two full albums followed with religious-themed songs. "Pa' Atrás y Pa' Atrás" (Backwards and Backwards) was a minor hit at the time.

Christian Salsa

The change to a religious focus was not easy and they lost many of their fans and found opposition amongst the members of their own faith when they suggested 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 songs with a religious message. However, as to concentrate in their religious ministries, Ray and Cruz decided to record one last "secular" salsa song together: "Adios a la Salsa" (Goodbye to Salsa) was a farewell tribute to the style of music which gave them fame and fortune.

Ray and Cruz founded over 20 Christian churches during the time they retired from popular music, which lasted about 16 years. However, hardcore salsa fans constantly pressured them to return to secular work. After considerable reluctance (they feared "selling out" to secular music and alienating their religious followers), they gave away to fans' wishes, and played sold-out return concerts in Puerto Rico, Miami and New York, to their own surprise. Even when specifying that these joinings were to be sporadic and occasional, popular demand for their music remained constant; the Ray and Cruz orchestra played to sold out crowds in the few tours that followed. They changed the lyrics of some of their old songs as to reflect their religious beliefs, particularly their old hits "Agúzate" (where its old santeria references gave way to references to the Holy Spirit) and "Lluvia" (where an innocuous reference to a fool getting caught in the rain became a suggesting petition for the listener to convert to Christianity).

In 1998, Cruz published a book titled ''Cuando era un Niño'' (When I was a Child). In 1999, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz held a concert in the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, where they sang some of their early hits together with some of their religious songs. The result was so impressive that they were offered a contract by Universal Records to record their concerts.

Later years

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. They were also the main honorees at the Puerto Rican National Day of Salsa in Bayamón. In 2002, Bobby Cruz and Richie Ray were inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.

Cruz and Ray currently continue their music and evangelical ministries. Ray occasionally plays Latin jazz as part of experimental musical collective Orquesta La Experimental. Occasionally, they perform "secular" salsa music (mostly in concerts), perhaps with less popularity than in their heyday, but still influencing a new generation of performers.

On April 19, 2008, Bobby Cruz was the pastor who pronounced the marriage vows between Jackie Guerrido and Don Omar in a ceremony held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel of San Juan. 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

List of famous Puerto Ricans

Puerto Rican Songwriters

References

External links

Popular Culture

Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:Puerto Rican singers Category:Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Category:Puerto Rican composers Category:Puerto Rican male singers Category:Converts to Protestantism Category:Salsa musicians Category:Fania Records artists Category:Latin Grammy Award winners

de:Bobby Cruz es:Bobby Cruz fr:Bobby Cruz gl:Bobby Cruz

name	Bobby Broom
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Robert Broom, Jr.
birth date	January 18, 1961
origin	New York, New York, USA
instrument	Guitar
genre	Hard bopPost-bopProgressive jazzSoul-jazzJazz-funk
occupation	Musician
label	Delmark RecordsArista RecordsCriss Cross JazzFantasy RecordsOrigin RecordsDoxy Records
associated acts	Deep Blue Organ TrioSonny RollinsDr. JohnCharles EarlandKenny BurrellKenny Garrett
notable instruments	}}

Bobby Broom (born January 18, 1961), birthname Robert Broom, Jr., is an American jazz guitarist, composer and educator born and raised in New York City. Broom performs and records with jazz saxophone legend Sonny Rollins as well as his Bobby Broom Trio and the Deep Blue Organ Trio. While versed in the bebop idiom, Broom, like many current artists, draws from a variety of American music forms such as funk, soul, R&B; and the blues to create his style.

Early years

Broom began studying the guitar at age 13, taking lessons in the American Folk music style. A year later, he began studies with jazz guitarist Jimmy Carter in Harlem, where he took weekly lessons for the next two years. His interest in jazz began in earnest at age 15 and as a result he began his research, study and practice of the jazz art.

Broom attended the High School of Music and Art (now known as Laguardia High School of Performing Arts), where he played in the jazz ensemble and received an award for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year.

Broom began his career while still in high school, performing at New York clubs with Charlie Parker pianists, Al Haig and Walter Bishop Junior. In 1977 he played at Carnegie Hall in a concert with Sonny Rollins and special guest Donald Byrd.

He went to the Berklee School of Music from 1978–79, then returned to New York in order to pursue his career while attending Long Island University. At this time he began working in New York as guitarist for Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Dave Grusin, Hugh Masakela and Tom Browne, eventually landing his own recording contract with GRP Records.

Career

Bobby Broom is becoming increasingly noted for his personal approach to the jazz legacy that influenced him, which includes the groundwork laid by his childhood jazz-guitar heroes, Wes Montgomery, early George Benson and Pat Martino and others such as Kenny Burrell and Grant Green. Broom's career has included work with Max Roach, Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Garrett, Miles Davis, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Eric Alexander and Ramsey Lewis, among others.

In the mid 1980s Broom relocated to Chicago where he went on to tour and record with many of the aforementioned musicians. In Chicago, he also formed the Bobby Broom Trio in 1990 and the Deep Blue Organ Trio in 1999.

Among Bobby Broom's recordings as a leader is his trio's 2001 release, ''Stand!'', a recording of unlikely interpretations of 60s and 70s pop and soul classics which received praise for staying true to the creative demands of authentic modern jazz. Jambands online magazine writes: '' "Stand!"'s theme works well for Broom — it adds accessibility to the set without getting in the way of documenting a skilled trio in its natural element.'' Further examples of Broom's foray into the developing American Song Book can be found on his other recent recordings as well as on recordings by The Deep Blue Organ Trio (see discography).

As an educator, Broom began his work in 1982 for Jackie McLean, Director of African American Music at Studies for the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. Over the years Broom has also been a lecturer/instructor at the American Conservatory of Music (1986–1990), Chicago Musical College — Roosevelt University (1990–1994) and The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (1987) and most recently at DePaul University (2002–2008). He currently teaches for the Ravinia Festival Organization — Music In The Schools/Jazz Mentor Community Outreach Program, as well as the Thelonious Monk Institute.

In 2005 Broom joined Sonny Rollins once again as a regular member of his touring band. He performed and recorded with Rollins until the spring of 2010. During this tenure Broom continued to increase his visibility as a leader, producing three recordings under his own name and another with the Deep Blue Organ Trio (their third). His latest trio record and Broom's eighth lead album, released on June 16, 2009, ''Bobby Broom Plays for Monk'' explores the music composed and performed by jazz icon, Thelonious Monk. The trio of Broom, bassist Dennis Carroll, and drummer Kobie Watkins "...turns what could have easily been a pedestrian "tribute" record into an inspired, swinging affair", says Jon Regan in Billboard magazine. And Ted Gioia of Jazz.com writes: "Broom shows again that he is one of the most musical guitarists of our times...".

Discography

As leader

''Clean Sweep'', 1981 GRP/Arista Records

''1961'', 1993 (Unreleased)

''No Hype Blues'', 1995 Criss Cross Jazz

''Waiting and Waiting'', 1997 Criss Cross Jazz

''Stand'', 2001 Premonition Records

''Modern Man'', 2001 Delmark Records

''Song and Dance'', 2007 Origin Records

''The Way I Play'', 2008 Origin Records

''Bobby Broom Plays for Monk'', 2009 Origin Records

As sideman

With Sonny Rollins

''Sonny, Please'', 2006 Doxy Records

''Reel Life'', 1983 Fantasy Records

''No Problem'', 1981 Fantasy Records

With Deep Blue Organ Trio

''Folk Music'', 2007 Origin Records

''Goin' To Town — Live at the Green Mill'', 2006 Delmark Records CD and DVD

''Deep Blue Bruise'', 2004 Delmark Records

With David Murray

''The Tip'', 1994 DIW

''Jug-A-Lug'', 1994 DIW

With others

''Duke Elegant'', 2000 Blue Note Records (with Dr. John)

''Eric Alexander in Europe'', 1995 Criss Cross Jazz

''Cubism'', 1992 Fresh Sound Records (with Ronnie Cuber)

''Third Degree Burn'', 1989 Milestone Records (with Charles Earland)

''Front Burner'', 1988 Milestone Records (with Charles Earland)

''Pieces of Blue and The Blues'', 1987 Blue Note Records (Kenny Burrell & The Jazz Guitar Band)

''Generation'', 1986 Blue Note Records (Kenny Burrell & The Jazz Guitar Band, w/ Rodney Jones)

''Livin' For The Beat'', 1984 Arista Records

''Home Again'', 1982 Elektra Records (with Stanley Turrentine)

''Pied Piper'', 1981 GRP/Arista Records (with Dave Valentine)

''Love Approach'', 1981 GRP/Arista Records (with Tom Browne)

''Orange Express'', 1981 Sony Japan (with Sadao Watanabe)

''Dave Grusin and the GRP All Stars Live in Japan'', 1980 GRP/Arista Records

References

External links

Official Bobby Broom web site

Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Jazz-funk guitarists Category:Hard bop guitarists Category:Soul-jazz guitarists Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:GRP Records artists Category:Arista Records artists Category:Criss Cross Jazz artists Category:The Hartt School faculty Category:Roosevelt University faculty Category:DePaul University faculty Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:Long Island University alumni Category:American jazz educators

de:Bobby Broom fr:Bobby Broom