Died On This Date (June 30, 2012) Yomo Toro / Popular Puerto Rican Musician
themusicsover Yomo Toro (Born Victor Touro)
July 26, 1933 – June 30, 2012
Yomo Toro was a beloved Puerto Rican musician whose prowess with the cuatro – a mandolin-type of stringed instrument – helped define the New York City Latin music scene of the ’50s and ’60s. Toro was just six when he picked up the instrument, and by 15 he was already fronting his own band. He commuted between Puerto Rico and New York City beginning in 1953, and ultimately moved there in 1957. During the ’70s, he recorded with and traveled the world as part of the legendary Salsa group, the Fania All-Stars. Fania Records is considered the finest Salsa label the world has ever known. During the ’60s and ’70s, Toro hosted his own local television program, The Yomo Toro Show. Over the course of his career, he released over 20 albums and appeared on more than 150 others. He recorded with the likes of Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, David Byrne, Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte, and Linda Ronstadt. Yomo Toro was 78 when he died of kidney failure on June 30, 2012.
Ralph MacDonald was an in-demand percussionist and hit songwriter who could count two of the biggest R&B songs of the ’70s as his own. Growing up in a musical family in Harlem, New York, MacDonald first picked up the steelpan as a youngster. By the time he was 17, he had already played his first big gig at a local Harry Belafonte show. He continued on with Belafonte for the next ten years until parting ways in 1971. MacDonald soon became one of contemporary music’s most in-demand session players, performing on countless R&B, jazz and disco records. The list of those he recorded with includes George Benson, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Carole King, Average White Band, the Brothers Johnson, 
Pete Rugolo was an Italian born American jazz composer and arranger who, over a career that spanned over five decades worked on albums by the likes of June Christy, 
Gil Robbins was a folk singer-songwriter and bassist who is best remembered as part of the influential folk group, the Highwaymen. Prior to Robbins joining the group, they had significant pop hits with “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore” and “Cottonfields.” Born in Washington state and raised in Southern California – where he was the drum major of the UCLA marching band, Robbins eventually found himself immersed in the thriving folk scene of Greenwich Village in New York City. He was a member of the Belafonte Singers (Harry Belafonte’s touring group), and the Cumberland Three. For a time, he and Tom Paxton were writing and performing partners. Robbins joined the Highwaymen in 1962 and played on five albums until they split up in 1964. He has been credited for taking the band in a more political direction. His children include actor, Tim Robbins. Gil Robbins died of prostate cancer on April 5, 2011. He was 80.