Los Lobos
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| Los Lobos | |
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 Los Lobos performing in 2005.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | East Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Roots rock Tejano music Rock en Español Chicano rock |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Website | http://www.loslobos.org/ |
| Members | |
| David Hidalgo Cesar Rosas Conrad Lozano Louie Pérez Steve Berlin |
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Los Lobos ("The Wolves") are an American Chicano rock band. They are 3-time Grammy Award winners. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, R&B, blues and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as boleros and norteños.
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[edit] History
Los Lobos released an independent LP in 1978 and an EP in 1983. Their first major-label, critically acclaimed release was 1984's T-Bone Burnett-produced How Will the Wolf Survive? In 1986, members of Los Lobos appeared alongside Tomata du Plenty in the punk rock musical Population: 1. In 1987, they released a second album entitled By the Light of the Moon. In the same year, they recorded some Ritchie Valens covers for the soundtrack to the film La Bamba, including the title track which became a number one single for the band. In 1988 they followed with another album, titled La Pistola y El Corazón and featuring original and traditional Mexican songs, which sold poorly.
The band's first noteworthy public appearance occurred in 1980 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles when they were hired by David Ferguson and CD Presents to open for Public Image Ltd. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the band toured extensively throughout the world, opening for such acts as Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.
Los Lobos returned with The Neighborhood in 1990, and the creative and wildly experimental Kiko (produced by Mitchell Froom) in 1992. In 1991, the band contributed a lively cover of Bertha, a song which they often performed live, to the Grateful Dead tribute/rain forest benefit album Deadicated. In 1994 they also contributed a track, Down Where the Drunkards Roll, to the Richard Thompson tribute album Beat the Retreat.
On the band's twenty-year anniversary they released a two-CD collection of singles, out-takes, live recordings and hits entitled Just Another Band from East L.A.
In 1995, Los Lobos released the prestigious and bestselling record Papa's Dream on Music for Little People Records along with veteran guitarist and singer Lalo Guerrero. The band also scored the film Desperado. The album track "Mariachi Suite" won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and stands as their last Grammy Award to date (the other two Grammy Awards were in the category of Best Mexican-American Performance in 1983 and 1989 for the song Anselma and the album La Pistola y El Corazon.
In 1996 they released Colossal Head. In spite of the fact that the album was critically acclaimed, Warner Brothers decided to drop the band from their roster. Los Lobos spent the next few years on side projects.
Los Lobos signed to Hollywood Records in 1999, and released This Time. Hollywood also reissued 1977's Del Este de Los Angeles. In 2000, Rhino/Warner Archives released the Cancionero: Mas y Mas boxed set.
In 2002, the band released their Mammoth Records debut, Good Morning Aztlan; they released The Ride in 2004. The Ride featured artists such as Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack and Elvis Costello covering Los Lobos music along with the band.
Los Lobos released its first full-length live-show DVD Live at¨the Fillmore in 2004. The DVD captures the band's act over a two-day period in July at the famed San Francisco venue.
In September 2006, Los Lobos released The Town and the City to much critical acclaim. The album's lyrics deal with Louis Perez's childhood in East Los Angeles while the music portrays complex and original soundscapes reminiscent of their previous release Kiko. Cartoonist Jaime Hernandez did the artwork for the album.[1]
In 2007 the group performed the song Billy 1, Bob Dylan's cover from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid album, recorded in I'm Not There soundtrack.
The group's last album for Hollywood records is to be an album of Disney covers with a prospective release in September 2009.
On March 26 2009, Los Lobos performed at Bimbo's in San Francisco, where they will be supporting contribution to music education, which is sponsored by the Blue Bear school of rock. Two bands from James Lick Middle School, Obstruction of Justice and Chrome Potato, who will open for Los Lobos. The bands are expected to do songs by Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Cheap Trick.
They are the scheduled closing act for the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. [2]
[edit] Members
- David Hidalgo -Vocals, Guitar, Accordion, Fiddle, Requinto jarocho
- Louie Pérez -Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Jarana huasteca
- Cesar Rosas -Vocals, Guitar, Bajo Sexto
- Conrad Lozano -Vocals, Bass, Guitarron
- Steve Berlin -Keyboards, Horns
Unofficial member:
- Cougar Estrada -Tour drummer, Percussionist
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Si Se Puede!, 1976
- Just Another Band From East L.A. (As Los Lobos Del Este De Los Angeles), 1978 (LP), reissued on CD in 2000
- ...And a Time to Dance, 1983
- How Will the Wolf Survive?, 1984
- By the Light of the Moon, 1987
- La Pistola y El Corazón, 1988
- The Neighborhood, 1990
- Kiko, 1992
- Music for Papa's Dream, 1995
- Colossal Head, 1996
- This Time, 1999
- Good Morning Aztlán, 2002
- The Ride, 2004
- Ride This - The Covers EP, 2004
- Live at the Fillmore, 2005
- Acoustic En Vivo, 2005
- The Town and the City, 2006
[edit] Compilations
- Just Another Band From East L.A. - A Collection, 1993
- El Cancionero Mas y Mas, 2000 (boxed set)
- Wolf Tracks - Best of Los Lobos, 2006
[edit] Soundtrack and Compilation Appearances
- Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, 1988 - "I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)"
- La Bamba [Original Soundtrack], 1987, US 2xPlatinum, numerous tracks, including "La Bamba", "C'mon Let's Go" and 6 others
- Desperado: The Soundtrack, 1995 (primary score composer and performer)
- Live at the World Café - Volume 9, 1999 - "This Time"
- Look at All the Love We Found, 2005
[edit] DVD
- Live at the Fillmore, 2004
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
| US Modern Rock | |||
| 1981 | "Under The Boardwalk"/"Volver, Volver" | -- | -- |
| 1981 | "Farmer John"/"Anselma" | -- | -- |
| 1983 | "Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio" | -- | ...and a Time to Dance |
| 1984 | "Let's Say Goodnight"/"Come On Let's Go" | -- | ...and a Time to Dance |
| 1984 | "Will The Wolf Survive?"/"The Breakdown" | -- | How Will The Wolf Survive? |
| 1987 | "Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)"/"Tears of God" | -- | By The Light Of The Moon |
| 1987 | "One Time, One Night"/"All I Wanted To Do Was Dance" | -- | By The Light Of The Moon |
| 1987 | "Come On, Let's Go"/"Ooh! My Head" | -- | La Bamba (soundtrack) |
| 1987 | "La Bamba"/"Charlena" | 1 | La Bamba (soundtrack) |
| 1990 | "Down on the Riverbed" | 16 | The Neighborhood |
| 1991 | "Bertha" | 24 | Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead |
| 1992 | "Kiko and the Lavender Moon"/"That Train Don't Stop Here " | -- | Kiko |
"La Bamba" went to number one on the Hot 100 singles chart in 1987. It is one of only a few non-English songs to top the charts in the U.S.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Gale, Dan (2005). Los Lobos LP/DVD Discography. Retrieved February 24, 2006.
- ^ http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID10034740.asp
[edit] External links
- Los Lobos Homepage
- JamBase.com Article
- Mas Magazine Article
- Collection of Music Magazine articles on Los Lobos
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