José Roberto Pulido, known as Roberto "El Primo" Pulido, is an American musician whose career spans five decades. Pulido has been recognized as a Tejano music pioneer for his introduction of the accordion and saxophone into his music which "helped bridged the traditional conjunto and the modern Tejano camps" in the mid-1970s. Pulido is the father of Tejano musicians Alma Pulido and Bobby Pulido.
Background
Roberto "El Primo" Pulido was born and raised in Edinburg, Texas to José "Don Chuy" Pulido and Adelina. Pulido first gained interest in the music industry after his uncle Leonel Pulido's band introduced him to the genre and taught him the basics of music. At the age of twelve, Pulido repaired his grandfather's guitar and began playing it and singing around the house. When he was fifteen, he joined the Los Hermanos Layton in Elsa, Texas. Pulido's father bought him his first saxophone in the 1960s. In 1969, a senior, Pulido garnered several music scholarships and enrolled at Pan American University and took music studies as his major. A year later, he married Diana Montes, daughter of Mario Montes of Los Donnenos. In 1973, Pulido gained a bachelor's degree and began teaching music in high school for an annual salary of $6,100. After a couple of years, Pulido retired from teaching and started his own band Los Clasicos, which included his uncle Leonel and brothers Roel and Joel Pulido on sax. The band was signed to indie labels and produced only regional hits, including "Copa Tras Copa", "Simplemente", "Senorita Cantinera", "No Nos Quieren, Corazon", and "La Flecha". Pulido won the first Tejano Music Award for Male Vocalist of the Year and the Tejano Music Award for Male Entertainer of the Year in 1981 and won once more in 1985. In 1989, Pulido signed with EMI Latin, which helped increased public awareness and record sales. His 1994 album, Te Vi Partir, peaked at number 33 on the United States BillboardTop Latin Albums chart and number 12 on the BillboardRegional Mexican Albums chart. The album also produced the top twenty single "Ya Ahora Es Tarde". That same year, EMI Latin released a compilation albumBranding Icons featuring Pulido on the album with his son Bobby Pulido on the song "Contigo". The song was responsible for jump-starting Bobby's musical career.
