Ralph Mercado
Encyclopedia
Ralph Mercado Jr. was a promoter of Latin American music
— Latin Jazz
, Latin rock, merengue
and salsa
— who established a network of businesses that included promoting concerts, managing artists, Radio Mundo Musical (RMM) a record label
the most important in the Latin industry during 1980-1990, film company, nightclubs and restaurants,
, New York
to a father who was a Dominican
dockworker and a mother who was a Taycha Teamoo Att Tu Bff Puerto Rican
factory worker. He told an interviewer that he was able to dance the merengue
as soon as he learned how to walk.
In his early teens, he was "completely blown away" after seeing the Machito
Orchestra perform at the Palladium
, and he left "knowing I had to be involved in this music somehow, personally involved". Lacking any musical skill as a singer or performer, he started promoting "waistline parties", live music events in apartment building basements in which women were charged in proportion to their waist size, with thinner women charged less, and Mercado measuring at the door.
from his Brooklyn roots, Mercado started promoting Latin jazz at Manhattan
clubs such as The Village Gate
. These expanded into concerts at major venues with stars such as James Brown
, who appeared with Latin acts such as Mongo Santamaría
. He turned to managing performers, founding RMM Management in 1972, where his clients included Celia Cruz
and Tito Puente
, achieving acclaim as the biggest salsa manager in the United States by the 1970s. He developed new talent, such as La India
and Marc Anthony
, presenting salsa concerts at major venues across the country, from Madison Square Garden
to the Hollywood Bowl
.
Mercado started RMM Records
in 1987, which had in excess of 130 artists performing across the Latin music spectrum, representing merengue, salsa, Latin jazz and Latin rock. He rode the expanding size and economic power of the nation's Hispanic population and a general interest in salsa music. Mercado brought in international groups and influences from Africa
, Brazil
and even Japan
.
He achieved acclaim as the most successful promoter of salsa music, comparable to Berry Gordy
's role in R&B. In 1991, Billboard
magazine described him as "the entrepreneur who took salsa from New York to the world".Ralph change Latin music
for ever coming from one side of the family known as Lebron/ Rolando . Who have long line history creators of Salsa as musicians
RMM Records was sold to the Universal Music Group
in 2001 for about $26 million, including its Latin music catalog of as many as 400 master recordings, winning the rights over competitor Sony Discos. The sale came following financial difficulties exacerbated by the loss of a copyright infringement suit, in which composer Glenn Monroig
won $7.7 million from a federal jury, which had grown to $11 million with interest, based on claims that RMM had modified one of his songs and used it without his permission or payment of royalties, this lawsuit brought on by Glenn Monroig caused then end of Salsa's peak, because RMM was a force in the promotion of Salsa and it's young artist. Now 2010 with the digital revolution and the lack of record companies promoting Salsa the market is at an all time low, 2010 you find that Sony and MP records also have pulled out of the Puerto Rican market. Although new strategies have forced small companies to join forces and achieve some market share, like Oriente Music Group's owner Chino Rodriguez
, GM Music's owner Julio "Gunda" Merced and Giro Productions owner/artist Giro Lopez.
Thereafter the sale of RMM, Ralph Mercado returned to promoting salsa concerts, on a global basis. He retained control of three music publishing firms, RMM Filmworks and Ralph Mercado Presents. He also owned, in whole or part, Manhattan clubs Babalu
and the Latin Quarter
, as well as the Conga Room
in Los Angeles
.
with the key to the city and a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City's Celia Cruz
Park. Though present, by then his medical condition had restricted him to a wheelchair, and required his eldest daughter, Debbie Mercado, to speak on his behalf.
and Hackensack, New Jersey
, before moving to Cliffside Park, New Jersey
, where he lived the rest of his life, though he also owned an apartment in Manhattan.
Mercado died on March 10, 2009, at age 67 at Hackensack University Medical Center
in Hackensack from cancer. He was survived by his wife Cynthia, his daughters, Debbie, Damaris, Melissa and Chanel; his son, Ralph III; his brothers John Ayala, Richard Ayala and Jorge Sanchez; his sister, Angelica Kreiger; and six grandchildren.
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
— Latin Jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
, Latin rock, merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
and salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
— who established a network of businesses that included promoting concerts, managing artists, Radio Mundo Musical (RMM) a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
the most important in the Latin industry during 1980-1990, film company, nightclubs and restaurants,
Early life
Mercado was born on September 29, 1941 in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to a father who was a Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
dockworker and a mother who was a Taycha Teamoo Att Tu Bff Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
factory worker. He told an interviewer that he was able to dance the merengue
Merengue (dance)
Merengue El camino1ro de Secundaria-In popular culture:* Merengue was mentioned as a song performed between Babs and Charlie in the song by Steely Dan....
as soon as he learned how to walk.
In his early teens, he was "completely blown away" after seeing the Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
Orchestra perform at the Palladium
Palladium (music venue)
The Palladium was a concert hall and later a nightclub in New York City. It was located on the south side of East 14th Street, between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue....
, and he left "knowing I had to be involved in this music somehow, personally involved". Lacking any musical skill as a singer or performer, he started promoting "waistline parties", live music events in apartment building basements in which women were charged in proportion to their waist size, with thinner women charged less, and Mercado measuring at the door.
Career
Shifting across the East RiverEast River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
from his Brooklyn roots, Mercado started promoting Latin jazz at Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
clubs such as The Village Gate
The Village Gate
The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York.Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 158 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structure by architect Ernest Flagg was known at the time as...
. These expanded into concerts at major venues with stars such as James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, who appeared with Latin acts such as Mongo Santamaría
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...
. He turned to managing performers, founding RMM Management in 1972, where his clients included Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
and Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, achieving acclaim as the biggest salsa manager in the United States by the 1970s. He developed new talent, such as La India
La India
La India , known also as "La Princesa de la Salsa" , is a singer of salsa. She has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.-Early years:...
and Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...
, presenting salsa concerts at major venues across the country, from Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
to the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
.
Mercado started RMM Records
RMM Records & Video
RMM Records, also known as RMM Records & Video Corp, was an independent Latin music record label based in New York City, The record label was formed originally as RMM Management by one of Fania Records promoter Ralph Mercado, but in 1987 it started operating as a record label, with Angelito...
in 1987, which had in excess of 130 artists performing across the Latin music spectrum, representing merengue, salsa, Latin jazz and Latin rock. He rode the expanding size and economic power of the nation's Hispanic population and a general interest in salsa music. Mercado brought in international groups and influences from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and even Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
He achieved acclaim as the most successful promoter of salsa music, comparable to Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
's role in R&B. In 1991, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine described him as "the entrepreneur who took salsa from New York to the world".Ralph change Latin music
for ever coming from one side of the family known as Lebron/ Rolando . Who have long line history creators of Salsa as musicians
RMM Records was sold to the Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in 2001 for about $26 million, including its Latin music catalog of as many as 400 master recordings, winning the rights over competitor Sony Discos. The sale came following financial difficulties exacerbated by the loss of a copyright infringement suit, in which composer Glenn Monroig
Glenn Monroig
Glenn Monroig , is a composer, guitarist, and singer of various types of music styles, such as salsa, boleros and rumba. He is credited with having recorded the first rap song in Spanish.-Early years:...
won $7.7 million from a federal jury, which had grown to $11 million with interest, based on claims that RMM had modified one of his songs and used it without his permission or payment of royalties, this lawsuit brought on by Glenn Monroig caused then end of Salsa's peak, because RMM was a force in the promotion of Salsa and it's young artist. Now 2010 with the digital revolution and the lack of record companies promoting Salsa the market is at an all time low, 2010 you find that Sony and MP records also have pulled out of the Puerto Rican market. Although new strategies have forced small companies to join forces and achieve some market share, like Oriente Music Group's owner Chino Rodriguez
Chino Rodriguez
Chino Rodriguez is an internationally acclaimed music producer, band leader, musician, manager, booking agent, record company executive, business consultant, and record label owner, specializing in Latin music, most notably Salsa and Latin jazz...
, GM Music's owner Julio "Gunda" Merced and Giro Productions owner/artist Giro Lopez.
Thereafter the sale of RMM, Ralph Mercado returned to promoting salsa concerts, on a global basis. He retained control of three music publishing firms, RMM Filmworks and Ralph Mercado Presents. He also owned, in whole or part, Manhattan clubs Babalu
Babalu
Babalu may refer to:* "Babalu" , a 1940s song popularized by Desi Arnaz* Babalu Aye, the spirit of illness and disease in Yoruba mythology* Babalu , a Michael Bublé albumBabalu may also refer to:...
and the Latin Quarter
Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....
, as well as the Conga Room
Conga Room
The Conga Room is a Los Angeles, California, nightclub that focuses on salsa and Latin music.-History:Early on, it broadened its musical repertoire beyond salsa to spotlight popular artists in other genres: rock en Español , world beat The Conga Room is a Los Angeles, California, nightclub that...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Awards and recognition
On September 28, 2008, Mercado was honored by Union City, New JerseyUnion City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
with the key to the city and a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City's Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
Park. Though present, by then his medical condition had restricted him to a wheelchair, and required his eldest daughter, Debbie Mercado, to speak on his behalf.
Personal life
Mercado had lived in CresskillCresskill, New Jersey
Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,573. The town got its name from the watercress that grew in its streams, or "kills"....
and Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
, before moving to Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Cliffside Park, New Jersey
Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 23,594....
, where he lived the rest of his life, though he also owned an apartment in Manhattan.
Mercado died on March 10, 2009, at age 67 at Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center is a 775-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital located seven miles west of New York City, in Hackensack, New Jersey, providing tertiary and healthcare needs for northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area...
in Hackensack from cancer. He was survived by his wife Cynthia, his daughters, Debbie, Damaris, Melissa and Chanel; his son, Ralph III; his brothers John Ayala, Richard Ayala and Jorge Sanchez; his sister, Angelica Kreiger; and six grandchildren.
External links
- Ralph Mercado on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...