Bobby Cruz (born February 2, 1937), is a salsa singer and religious minister. He was part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. Both Cruz and Ray became religious ministers and as such founded over 70 Christian churches during the time they retired from popular music, which lasted about 16 years. Early years Cruz (birth name: Robert Cruz Ramos) 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 City 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 1968, 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 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: 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 Rubén 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