Jerry Rivera, born Geraldo Rivera Rodríguez in Puerto Rico, comes from a family consisting of musicians, including tropical recording artists Edwin Rivera and sister Saned.  His parents, also musicians, inspired him to become a musician and as a child he would often accompany his mother Dominga, a singer, and father Edwin, a guitarist and director of Los Barones Trio, during their shows.

In 1986, when he was 13 years old, he accompanied his father who was performing at a hotel in San Juan. Frankie Ruiz who was a guest at the hotel, appeared and sang a couple of songs with them and had his picture taken alongside Rivera. In 2003, this picture was used by Rivera to make the album cover for his tribute Canto a mi Idolo... Frankie Ruiz ('I sing to my Idol... Frankie Ruiz'), who had died in 1998.

In 1988, Tommy Olivencia heard Rivera sing alongside his father and recommended that he sing solo. When Rivera was 14, his father made a demo and presented it to the CBS music department. They signed Rivera.  Rivera began to be known as "El Bebé de la Salsa" (the baby of salsa) after recording his first album, Empezando A Vivir. This project generated the hit, De La Cabeza A Los Pies ("Head Over Heels"). His second album, Abriendo Puertas ('Opening Doors'), produced the hit songs Esa Niña ('That Girl'), Dime ('Tell Me'), Nada Sin Ti ('Nothing Without You'), and Como un Milagro ('Like a Miracle') became number one hits.

His third album, Cuenta Conmigo ('Count on Me'), won three Platinum Record awards in the United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Columbia. It became the most-sold salsa album in history, a record previously held by Willie Colon,  and held the number-one spot in the Latin American Billboards for three consecutive months. Its hit songs included the Cuenta Conmigo, Me Estoy Enamorando ('I'm Falling in Love') and Casi Un Hechizo (Neary A Charm). The number one hit for the album was Amores Como El Nuestro (Love like ours) which is considered to be the best song by Rivera. Rivera was awarded two Premio Lo Nuestro Awards for "Singer of the Year" and "Album of the Year" and Sony Records presented him with three Crystal Awards.

The introduction of Amores Como El Nuestro was sampled by Haitian-rapper Wyclef Jean in his 2004 song "Dance Like This" from the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights which would later become the worldwide number-one 2006 hit "Hips Don't Lie" by Wyclef and Colombian-singer Shakira. However, in the case of Shakira, she was accused of plagiarism since she made the recording without Riveras consent.

In 1993, he released Cara de Niño ('Baby Face') with ¿Qué Hay De Malo? ('What's Wrong About This?'), Cara de Niño, No Hieras Mi Vida as being major hits of the year. In 1994, as his popularity was rising, he released his first compilation album, Lo Nuevo y lo Mejor (The New and the Best), and contained the single hit Me Estoy Enloqueciendo Por Ti ('I'm Going Crazy For You'). The following year, "Magia" was released with the self-titled album and Ahora Estoy Solo (Now That I'm Alone) In 1996, Rivera released "Fresco" and Una y Mil Veces (One Thousand and One Times) and Lloraré (I Will Cry) were the album hits. Ya No Soy El Niño Aquel was released in 1997. In 1999, Rivera recorded De Otra Manera ('Another Way'), his first attempt at ballad music, which featured the bolero Ese (Him). Jerry sang the song with his father at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.

In 2000, Rivera recorded Para Siempre ('Forever'). This was his last album on Sony Latin records.^[3] In 2001, he released his self-titled album Jerry Rivera and the year after, he recorded Vuela Muy Alto (Fly High) which brought him a new fanbase all over Latin-America and the U.S., with the title track hit the top spot and the top 10 in many charts along with Herida Mortal (Mortal Wound). The following year he returned to his salsa roots and released Cantando A Mi Idolo... Frankie Ruiz ('Singing To My Idol... Frankie Ruiz'), a tribute album to one of his idol Frankie Ruiz. The album ganer him a Latin Grammy nominatation, made up for the poor sales of his previous ballad albums, and his major album hit was Ruiz's Mi Libertad featuring Voltio.

Rivera played a small role in the movie I Like It Like That and appeared as himself in a Latin American soap opera titled Mi destino eres tu ('You are my destiny') which aired on Univision in the US during November 2005. Rivera has also appeared in various Banco Popular de Puerto Rico productions, including Al Compas de un Sentimiento (dedicated to the late Puerto Rican composer Pedro Flores) and Con la musica por Dentro. The same year, he released Ay Mi Vida (Oh My Life) which had received mixed reviews. In 2007, he released Caribe Gardel, a tribute to Argentine singer, Carlos Gardel with Gardel's Cuesta Abajo (Downhill) being one the major salsa hits of the year. In 2011, he released El Amor Existe, with Solo Pienso En Ti being one of the major salsa hits of 2011.

Rivera has performed in Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, Panama, the United States, Spain, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Sweden, France, and Japan.

Just a few years ago, when it seemed that the tropical music movement, specifically salsa, would remain in the hands of its old-school founders, and younger audiences were captivated by other musical genres, a young musician emerged with a distinctive sound and a willingness to court younger listeners. Frankie with an undeniable charm, and a palpable, ever-present personality, took the sentiment of tropical music to the Northeastern U.S. He added the most attractive inflections of contemporary pop music, coupled them with experiences from his Newark, New Jersey upbringing and created a unique mélange of sound and lyrics that characterize his talented efforts. His blood is purely Puerto Rican, and he sings with a voice that lends itself perfectly to salsa with the expert conviction of a rising star whose sights are firmly set on his inevitable future success.

A few years have passed since he released his debut record and Frankie remains a young man performing for an audience that has essentially grown up with him. In addition, he has captured the attention of the coming generation of listeners with his music, adding them to a legion of fans that spreads across an international spectrum. Although his face is drawn with features that appear more Nordic than Latin, his heart and soul belong to the Puerto Rican culture, and the pride he derives from his roots is obvious in every single performance.

Frankie, who performs frequently on stages across the United States and Latin America, is also an accomplished songwriter as well as a singer. Like his father, who boasts an impressive catalog of original compositions, Frankie's ability to compose is a fluid, natural one. His talent to translate his thoughts, emotions, experiences and ideas into music seems effortless. "When I sing songs others have written," he explains, "I can't bring as much of myself as I do to music that comes from my own heart."

Frankie Negron is, by all accounts, an established and accomplished musical artist. Although Frankie owes his musical career to the genre of tropical music, his most recent productions, Amanecer Contigo, Inesperado, and Por Tu Placer, stray slightly from the pure salsa format Frankie Negron is celebrated for, vying for some mass market appeal by including a distinctive pop sound to his electrifying salsa groove.  

His previous productions have sold millions of copies worldwide for WEA Latina, the record company that first signed him.  Now SGZ Entertainment and Sony International have formed a partnership that promises to launch Frankie to new heights in both the Spanish-language and English-language markets.  At such a young age Frankie already possesses four Platinum Record awards, one Gold Record award, a Grammy nomination for “Best Salsa Album” and two “greatest hits” albums.  His music dominates the airwaves of every Latin American country. He is undoubtedly one of today’s most successful and celebrated Latin music stars, and his career will stand as a testament to the vibrant voice, God-given talent, and youthful persona that has earned him a place among the legends of Latin music.

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