Los Lobos
The journey of Los Lobos began in 1973, 50 years ago this year, when David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, and pretty much anything with strings), Louie Perez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar), and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarr贸n) earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties. The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into L.A.鈥檚 burgeoning punk and college rock scenes. They were soon sharing bills with bands like the Circle Jerks, Public Image Ltd. and the Blasters, whose saxophonist, Steve Berlin, would eventually leave the group to join Los Lobos in 1984.
Early on, Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy庐 for Best Mexican-American Performance for 鈥淎nselma鈥 from its 1983 EP 鈥nd a Time to Dance. A year later, the group released its full-length, major-label debut, How Will the Wolf Survive? Co-produced by Berlin and T Bone Burnett, the album was a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone鈥s Artist of the Year.
A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic, La Bamba. The quintet鈥檚 cover of Valens鈥 signature song topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record La Pistola y El Coraz贸n, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy庐 for Best Mexican-American Performance.
That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos鈥 trademark, serving to both fuel the band鈥檚 creativity and keep its fans engaged. In 1992, that willingness to defy expectations led them to record Kiko, an adventurous album produced by Mitchell Froom that鈥檚 considered by many to be one the band鈥檚 very best.
Since then, Los Lobos has continued to deliver daring and diverse albums such as Colossal Head (1996), Good Morning Aztl谩n (2002), The Town and the City (2006), Tin Can Trust (2010) and Gates of Gold (2015). On top of that, the band鈥檚 live shows never disappoint, as documented on the recent concert recordings Live at the Fillmore (2005) and Disconnected in New York City (2013). Through the years, they鈥檝e managed to keep things interesting with unexpected side trips like an album of Disney songs in 2009, along with countless contributions to tribute albums and film soundtracks. One of those 鈥 鈥淢ariachi Suite鈥 from the 1995 film Desperado 颅鈥 earned the band a Grammy庐 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Los Lobos鈥 love letter to the city of Los Angeles as their album Native Sons (2021), returned the band to the Grammy winner鈥檚 circle with Best Americana Album of 2022. In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as a band, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy.
Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norte帽o, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock 鈥檔鈥 roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that鈥檚 greater than the sum of its parts.