Ruben Ramos

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ruben Ramos


Img_capt =
Img_size = 400px
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Rubén Peréz Ramos
Born =
Died =
Origin = Sugarland, Texas, U.S.
Genre = Tejano
Voice_type =
Years_active = 1960 - Present
Label =
Associated_acts = The Mexican Revolution, The Texas Revolution, The Alfonso Ramos Orchestra
URL = [http://www.rubenramos.com www.rubenramos.com]

Ruben Ramos, also known as El Gato Negro, is an award-winning American Tejano music performer. Beginning his music career in the late '60s, Ruben fame as has grown throughout the years as he formed his own distinct sound of music. [ [http://www.realtexasfestival.com/bio_rr.html Real Texas Festival: Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution] ] In March of 1998, Ruben was inducted into the Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame and later won Best Male Vocalist in 1999. [ [http://www.reverbnation.com/rubenramos Reverb Nation: Ruben Ramos bio] ] His band, The Mexican Revolution, also won album of the year in 2008. [ [http://www.latinheat.com/news.php?nid=1417 Latin Heat: 28th Annual Tejano Music Awards honors best in Tejano Music] ] [ [http://www.tejanomusicawards.com/winners.html Tejano Music Awards: Past award winners] ] [ [http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=10694&cha=7 Hispanic PR Wire: 28th Annual TMA Award winners] ]

Biography

Early life

Ruben Ramos was born in to a family music legacy dating back to post-World War I Texas. Ruben's uncles began performing just after the World War I in 1919 as Juan Manuel Perez y Los Serenaders. Meanwhile, Ruben's father, Alfonso Ramos Sr., worked the cotton fields and the railroads; he also played the fiddle while his mother, Elvira Perez, played the guitar at family gatherings. At the end of World War II, Ruben's Uncle Justin re-formed the band as Justin Perez and His Ex-GIs. Ruben's sister Inez had joined the band as singer in 1947. Then, in his early teens, Ruben's older brother Alfonso Ramos Jr. joined their uncle's group.

In the mid 1950s, the band then became the Alfonso Ramos Orchestra. [ [http://rubenramos.homestead.com/bio.html RubenRamos.com: Biography] ] Ruben continued with the band on weekends, increasingly singing English cover R&B tunes, even as he landed a "good job" with the state insurance department. Now, all five Ramos brothers were performing. As the orchestra's drummer, Ruben performed throughout the 1960s with Alfonso's band. The band played a mix of tunes, from cha chas and cumbias to boleros and rancheras. Ruben provided the vocals and the push to many of the English songs the band played.

Career

The "Revolution"

In 1969, Ruben formed a new band dubbed "The Mexican Revolution". He had chosesn the name 'Mexican Revolution' was due to the emergence of the Chicano and civil rights movements. During that period, the band played the Chicano circuit that ran from Dallas-Fort Worth to the Rio Grande Valley. By 1981, "Tejano" had become the new term for the music he had been playing, so Ruben changed the band name to the Texas Revolution.

In 1985, Alfonso and Ruben reunited for a series of albums and were both named best vocal duo at the 1987 Tejano music Awards. By this time, Ramos had scored with the regional hit "El Gato Negro" (The Black Cat), which also became his nickname. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1ZQAP5RUdw VIDEO: Ruben Ramos performing at Jonny Canales Show] ] In the '90s Ruben continued playing with a live horn section, eschewing the trend by many bands to substitute synthesizers and keyboards. Ruben later changed the band's name back to The Mexican Revolution during the early 2000s.

Quotes

*"Ruben Ramos [has] developed a solid reputation as one of the smoothest singers and classiest bandleaders in the history of the genre." - Ramiro Burr [ [http://www.ramiroburr.com/bookorder.htm Ramiro Burr: Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music] ]

Notes

*cite book | first = Ramiro | last = Burr | year = 1999| title = The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music | id = ISBN-10: 0823076911 ISBN-13: 978-0823076918

References

External links

* [http://www.rubenramos.com Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/rubenramoselgatonegro Official MySpace]