Frankie Ruíz

Frankie Ruiz, among salsa's most revered vocalists, died from liver failure on August 9, 1998, an outcome multiple accounts trace to AIDS complications. A pioneer of the Salsa Sensual style, he helped spark salsa's renewed popularity throughout the 1970s. Born in Patterson, New Jersey, Ruiz sang from childhood and cut his first record while still young, appearing with Charlie Lopez y Su Orquesta. After moving to Puerto Rico with his mother in 1965, he became captivated by La Solucion and attended every performance he could, memorizing the group's entire catalog. His mother pressed music director Roberto Rivera to grant an audition, yet the band only took him seriously once its lead singer missed a nightclub date; Ruiz filled in, won immediate favor, and joined full-time for the next three years. He left La Solucion in the early 1970s for Tommy Olivencia's orchestra, earning a major success there with "La Duda" during his three-year tenure. Ruiz began his solo career in the mid-1980s. Despite his vocal gifts, he struggled with drug and alcohol dependency along with a taste for hard living.