Born in Alice, Texas, Ruben Naranjo was known to everyone as basic Conjunto at its soulful best. Ruben's accordion style is elegantly simple, and in many ways tells of his roots and the love of his culture and his people. He began playing the bajo sexto at 15 exclusively until 1962, but his true love for the accordion flourished as he teamed up with Chano Cadena back when many bands had two accordionists.

In 1972 he formed his own group, Ruben Naranjo y Los Gamblers and toured with Eligio Escobar. His first recordings were with Zarape Records. In the middle seventies he hit it with, "La Estrella" which opened the way for substantial recordings and an outstanding performing career that peaked in the early eighties. With over 20 albums and numerous singles to his credit, he is among the few Tejano conjunto artists who have been so well accepted in both Mexico and the US.