Ronnie Tee Is a Chip off the Ole Block
Photos by Ramón Hernández
Tee N Tee translates to dynamite, but where can you get two Tee’s for the price of one??
Rudy Tee of the Reno Bops and his son Ronny Tee will be performing at the St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3909 Harry Wurzbach Rd, on Saturday, February 9 for their Annual Valentine Dance.
Ronny will be opening the show for his legendary, famous father and for those that have never seen Ronny in action they are in for a surprise. Both father and son dance, but Ronny’s dance steps are more up to date; and most of his Spanish-language pop, hip hop, reggaeton, cumbia repertoire consists of original tunes penned by him and Jeff Reynolds.
“As a singer-songwriter, I am proud that ‘Jerry Springer Fan,’ which I recorded with Barefoot, was selected for the national show’s closing credits,” Ronny said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.
As a vocalist, in 1989 he and Emilio’s sister, Yvette Navaira, he formed part of Éxito. Since then, he has done it all, radio, television, film, studio recordings, became co-owner in a record label and formed his own DJ karaoke service.
“And I know this is way off, but I recently added comedian and puppeteer to my résumé, but I’m not a ventriloquist,” Ronny added.
Next came stints with Tazz, Modelo in duo with Marcos Antonio Baszulda; Europa, Flash Electric, 96 Degrees and Barefoot finally forming the Ronny Tee Band in 2012.
“I spun off into my own band because I wanted to start recording cumbias and Tejano music again. And as for being a musician, I can play bass, accordion and bongos for myself, but I do not think that I could do it for anybody else,” Ronny said with a laugh.
As an actor, Ronny has appeared in five full-length films – “Selena,” “8 Seconds,” “Lost Angels, Party Girl and “The Tejano Kid.”
On television, the 43-year-old musician was host of Rock the World and he was a dancer on Bailando, a show hosted by Franco, Miami Nights and Jammin.
“And now I have a new CD,” Ronny said as he handed me his latest compact disc, which features his daughter, Alizandra, on the cover; and his step-daughter, Amanda, on the back cover.
The CD, “Cumbia N Roll,” features guest vocals by his father on “Coconut Girl,” Stefani Montiel on “La Lavadora” and Liz Ann Gómez on “Hula Hoop Cumbia.” Liz is the daughter of Chris Gómez, a guitarist with Sunny and the Sunliners. Then there’s a re-mix of “Chili Con Queso,” by Gabriel Zavala.
“Tiembla Nena” got airplay all over West Texas plus many independent radio stations and the entire CD was featured on the Tejano Y Mas television show several times. Furthermore our video for ‘Teibolera’ has reached over 9,000 viewers on YouTube,” Ronny added.
“I’d also love for everyone to go to www.facebook.com/ronnyteefanpage and put ‘Like’ on my page. For samples of my music, check me out on ‘itunes’ and to check out my puppetry, go to www.youtube.com/ronnytee1.
“A little known fact is that we also go by Barefoot when we play at elementary schools under the North Side Independent School District program called ‘Math Rock’ and this year alone, we will be performing at 45 schools.”
Now that you have been enlighten with Ronny Tee’s accomplishments, achievements and talent, this writer suggest you come and find out why he is so in demand at conventions and many elite private functions and events.
Above all, don’t forget that the main act will be none other than Rudy Tee Gonzales. The Valentine Dance is BYOB and sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 4298. Tickets can be obtained by calling David Sánchez at (210) 440-4411.
After you see Ronny Tee in action, you’ll want to book him and to do so, just call him at (210) 313-3644.
Ronny Tee at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives office