Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured with the group Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player.
After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the Air Force 
but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey at Texas radio stations and a singer in Honky-tonks. This American icoin continues to tour and will hit the Houston Rodeo this weekend.
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Ray played with Don Juan for almost two years before hooking up with Chino y su Conjunto Melao, singing on their self-titled first album (1975) that contained the hit "Que Bien Te Vez". During this period he met Louie Ramírez, who asked de la Paz to sing coro on "La Pollera Colora" on the album Conquista Musical with Sonora Ponceña (1976). 1976 was also the year of his recording debut with Ray Barretto on Barretto Live, the first of four records he would
cut with Barretto that also included Rican/Struction (1979), Giant Force (1980), and Rhythm of Life (1982).
In 1982, de la Paz was tapped by Louie Ramírez, along with José Alberto "El Canario" and Isidro Infante to be part of a novel recording project of doing salsa arrangements of hit ballads, with the result being the album Noche Caliente, which spawned the monster hits "Estar Enamorado" and "Todo Se Derrumbó" and created a new style of music now called Salsa Romántica.
Ramírez and de la Paz began to tour together and recorded three massively successful Gold records, ¡Con Caché! ('84), Alegres y Romanticos ('85), and Sabor con Clase! ('86), before de la Paz started his solo career, releasing Como Tu Quieras in 1990 on RMM. He reunited with Ramírez in '92 to record Otra Noche Caliente, containing the hits "Suddenly", "Definitivamente", and the ever-popular "Medley".
In 2000 he joined the Spanish Harlem Orchestra as lead vocalist and their Grammy nominated debut release Un Gran Dia En El Barrio (2002) was honored with the Latin Billboard Award for Salsa Album of the Year. 2004's Across 110th Street won the Grammy for Best Salsa/Meringue Albumb, and in 2010 they won the Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album for Viva La Tradicion. Their latest record, the self-titled Spanish Harlem Orchestra was released in 2014.
Eleven-time Grammy nominee, Charlie Wilson, revealed his "In It To Win It" album cover and announced more dates for his In It To Win It national arena tour which kicked off February 8, 2017 in Norfolk, VA.
“I am excited about my new single, ‘I’m Blessed,’ because it says exactly where I am in my life, blessed to still be making music that people want 
to hear” states Charlie Wilson. “2016 has been a tough year for so many people around the world and I am proud to release a song that reminds us that we can all find some blessings in our lives. Having T.I. add his flavor to the song and share who he is and how his journey is filled with blessings is an added bonus.”
“I am excited about being on the road with my friends Grammy-Award winner, Fantasia, and four time Grammy-Award nominee, Johnny Gill” stated Wilson. “As usual, folks should come prepared for a party.
I am looking forward to performing my new single, “I’m Blessed” together with some music from my new album and my classic hits.”