Everything about Los Lobos totally explained
Los Lobos ("The Wolves") are an
American rock band, heavily influenced by
rock and roll,
Tex-Mex,
country music,
folk,
R&B,
blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as
boleros and
norteños.
History
Los Lobos released an independent LP in the late 1970s, and an EP in 1983. Their first major-
label, critically acclaimed release was
1984's
T-Bone Burnett-produced
How Will the Wolf Survive? They released a follow up album entitled
By the Light of the Moon in 1987. 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,
La Pistola y El Corazón featuring original and traditional Mexican songs. Seen as akin to commercial suicide, the album 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 a young vocal group called
Guerro. The band also scored the film
Desperado and contributed tracks to several other soundtracks and tribute albums. 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.
On the night of
October 23 1999, while the band was on tour,
Sandra Rosas, wife of Cesar Rosas, was kidnapped from her house. She was found dead on
November 22 2000. Her half-brother Gabriel Gomez was convicted of her kidnapping and murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In 2002, the band released their
Mammoth Records debut,
Good Morning Aztlan; they released
The Ride'"The ride" featured artists covering the bands music in no particular choiced method, artists such as Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack and Elvis Costello played with the band on this Album in 2004.
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. Jaime Hernandez did the artwork for the album.
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.
Members
- David Hidalgo -Vocals, Guitar, Accordion, Fiddle
- Louie Pérez -Vocals, Guitar, Drums
- Cesar Rosas -Vocals, Guitar, Guitarron
- Conrad Lozano -Vocals, Bass, Bajo Sexto
- Steve Berlin -Keyboards, Horns
Unofficial member:
- Cougar Estrada -Tour drummer, Percussionist
Discography
Si Se Puede!, 1976
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
La Bamba [OriginalSoundtrack], 1987, US 2xPlatinum
By the Light of the Moon, 1987
La Pistola y El Corazón, 1988
The Neighborhood, 1990
Kiko, 1992
Just Another Band From East L.A. - A Collection, 1993
Music for Papa's Dream, 1995
Colossal Head, 1996
This Time, 1999
El Cancionero Mas y Mas, 2000 (boxed set)
Good Morning Aztlán, 2002
The Ride, 2004
Ride This - The Covers EP, 2004
Live at the Fillmore, 2005
Acoustic En Vivo, 2005
Wolf Tracks - Best of Los Lobos, 2006
The Town and The City, 2006
Compilation albums
Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, 1988 (one of Various Artists)
, 1995 (primary score composer and performer)
DVD
Live at the Fillmore, 2004
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 #1 on the Hot 100 singles chart in 1987. It is one of only a few non-English songs to top the charts in the US.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Los Lobos'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://los_lobos.totallyexplained.com">Los Lobos Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
