Musicians - Roy Brown

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	Musicians - Roy Brown

Roy Brown Ramírez (born 1950 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a composer, singer and a fervent believer in the cause for the independence of Puerto Rico. Some of his songs have been performed by several renowned international artists.

Biography

Youth and Adolescence

Roy was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Soon after he was born, his parents moved to Florida. Roy was raised during turbulent times in the United States. Among the important issues of those days were racism, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Most of these events went on to form an important part in his ideals and his way of thinking.

In the late 60's, Roy enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico. He enjoyed writing poems and while he was a student, he became actively involved in groups against the Vietnam War, poor living conditions, and specially in favor of the independence movement of Puerto Rico. Roy was also involved in the student disturbances which spread throughout the university, by participating in the protest and picket lines.

First Recordings

During this period he recorded two albums, "Yo Protesto" (1970) (I Protest); and "Basta Ya, Revolucion". During that decade he also recorded: "Roy Brown III"; "Profecia de Urayoán" (Prophecy of Urayoán); and "Distancias" (Distances). Roy's personal life started to suffer because of his political beliefs. He got into trouble with the police, his father and brother didn't want anything to do with him and he was fired from his job in the university. His mother was also dying.

In the late 70's, Roy moved to New York and formed a group called "Aires Bucaneros", with fellow musicians Zoraida Santiago, Carl Royce, Pablo Nieves, and Rucco Gandía, among others. The group traveled and performed in many countries such as Greece, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Cuba, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc. He recorded "Aires Bucaneros" (1978); "Casi Alba" (1980); "Nuyol" (1983); "Arboles" (Trees) (1988) and "Balada de Otro Tiempo" (1989) (Ballad of Another Time). "Arboles" was produced by Silvio Rodríguez, in Cuba.

Return To Puerto Rico

In 1988, Roy returned to Puerto Rico and held a concert at the University of Puerto Rico which completely sold out. The first time he held a concert alone at the same place in the 1970's, only thirteen people showed up.

Among Roy's recordings in the 1990s were: "Distancias en Vivo" (1990) (Distances Live); "Poetas Puertorriqueños" (1991) (Puerto Rican Poets); "Nocturno" (1991) (Nightfall); "En Fuga" (1995) (Fleeing); In 1996, he released a two-disc album called "Coleccion" (1996) (Colection); It contains the best of his musical trajectory through the Puerto Rican music scene. In 1997, Silvio Rodríguez visited Puerto Rico and held a concert with Roy at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, with an audience of 19,000 people.

Later Years

In 2000 he reunited with his Aires Bucaneros partner, Zoraida Santiago. Together they released the album, "Bohemia". Showing signs of musical growth, Roy continued to release quality albums in the late 90's and early 2000's with "Poeta en San Juan" (1999) (Poet in San Juan); "Noche de Roy Brown" (1999) (Roy Brown's Night); "Album" (2000) and "Balcon del Fin del Mundo" (2004) (Balcony at the end of World).

On June 7, 2003, Roy let "WPKN" FM of Bridgeport, Connecticut, record his set in the historic "Plaza de la Revolucion" in Lares, Puerto Rico. "WPKN" also recorded Roy's "Ofelia" live from the Nuyorican Cafe in Old San Juan. On February 8, 2004, Roy held a concert in the Antonio Paoli Hall at the Luis A. Ferre Center of the Fine Arts in San Juan to celebrate his 35 years of music trajectory and the shows were all sold-out.

Joan Manuel Serrat, Susana Baca, Fiel a la Vega, Cultura Profética, Celia Cruz and Lucecita Benitez are among the many artists that have recorded songs written by Roy.

Discography

Yo Protesto (1969)
Aires Bucaneros (1978)
Profecía de Urayoán (1979)
Nuyol (1983)
Arboles (1988)
Balada de Otro Tiempo (1989)
Distancias en Vivo (1990)
Nocturno (1991)
Poetas Puertorriqueños (1991)
Aires Bucaneros/Casi Alba (1993)
En Fuga (1994)
Colección (1996)
Poeta en San Juan (1998)
Distancias Clásico (1999)
La Noche de Roy Brown (1999)
Album (music)|Album (2000)
Balcón del Fin del Mundo (2004)

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