[1] Although he toured extensively in a career spanning more than 50 years, Rudy Regalado is better known for being one of the key members of El Chicano's percussion section, a popular Los Angeles-based group that surfaced during the Santana and Malo Latin-tinged rock era in the early 1970s.

In addition to recording five albums with El Chicano, he also collaborated in projects led by Alex Acuña, Quincy Jones, Alphonse Mouzon, Bill Summers and Joe Zawinul, among others.

[3] In 1963, Regalado moved to Puerto Rico and started playing in hotels and clubs in the San Juan area, while studying harmony and percussion at Pablo Casals Conservatory of Music.

[2] Regalado spent twelve years with El Chicano, singing and playing the timbales in five albums, which included Top 40 hits during the 1970s with the songs "Viva Tirado" and "Tell Her She's Lovely".

The band also performed overseas in summer festivals in Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and throughout the European continent.