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 released a totally new album under the label "Tropisounds". The album was recorded in Colombia under the musical direction of its producer Diego Galé. "Que Vuelva La Música" has 14 new tracks, "El gallo y la vaca", "La bailarina", "Quim Bon Bori", "Vive contento", "Soy boricua" and "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. Richard "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".
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Famous quotes containing the word years:
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