Roy Brown

Roy Brown Ramírez (born July 18, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician and singer.

Early years Brown's father was an American naval officer and his mother a native of Puerto Rico. Brown 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.

First Recordings During this period he recorded two albums, Yo Protesto (1970) and Basta Ya... Revolución. During that decade he also recorded: Roy Brown III, La Profecía de Urayoán and Distancias. Brown'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. Joan Manuel Serrat, Susana Baca, Fiel a la Vega, Cultura Profética, Celia Cruz and Lucecita Benítez are among the many artists that have recorded songs written by Roy Brown Ramírez.

Recent events In 2006 Brown recorded an album, titled Que Vaya Bien, with Tao Rodríguez-Seeger from The Mammals and Tito Auger, the frontman for Puerto Rican rock group Fiel A La Vega. A single from this record, "El Banquete de Los Sánchez" (whose lyrics were based on an essay by Puerto Rican writer Luis Rafael Sánchez), was censored by some Puerto Rican radio stations due to the use of the slang term "chicho" (a love handle in Puerto Rican Spanish, but erroneously interpreted in this case as a verb tense for the slang term for sexual intercourse, "chichar"). Public backlash against the censorship attempt guaranteed radio airplay and good sales for the record (reportedly 30,000 copies in two months) during late 2006. After marrying Puerto Rican former tennis player Emilie Viqueira, Brown moved to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (Viqueira's birthplace), where he currently resides.

Discography Yo Protesto (1969) Basta Ya... Revolución (1971) Roy Brown III (1973) La Profecía de Urayoán (1976) Distancias (1977) Aires Bucaneros (1979) Casi Alba (1980) Nuyol (1983) Árboles (1987, with Silvio Rodríguez) Balada de Otro Tiempo (1989) Distancias en Vivo (1990) Nocturno (1991) Poetas Puertorriqueños (1992) En Fuga (1994) Colección (1996) Poeta en San Juan (1998) La Noche de Roy Brown (1999) Álbum 1970-1976 (2000) Bohemia (with Zoraida Santiago) (2000) Balcón del Fin del Mundo (2004) Yo protesto: Homenaje a Roy Brown (2005) Que Vaya Bien (2006) 1970: El Concierto (2007) Electrochócame (2009) Niños Sol (2017, ballet with Tato Santiago) Nueva Coleccíon (2018) Habanandando (2019)