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.
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).
[2] 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.
After considerable reluctance (they feared 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.
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.
[3] 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.
[3] 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.