Los Lobos - WikiHQ

Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny. As of 2024, they have been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and have won four. Pérez recalls, "We're looking at each other, 'You like this stuff? I thought I was the only weird one.' So I went over to his house one day for about a year, which we spent listening to records, playing guitars, and starting to write songs."

1980–88: How Will the Wolf Survive? and commercial success

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. On September 28, 1983, the band released an extended play entitled ...And a Time to Dance, which was well received by critics but sold only about 50,000 copies. Slash Records/Warner Bros Records was not confident enough in Los Lobos to release a standard 10-song LP. So they released a 7-song debut LP. Seven months after the release, the group won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican American Song in 1984 However, the sales of the EP earned the group enough money to purchase a Dodge van, enabling the band to tour throughout the United States for the first time. The album's title and the title song were inspired by a National Geographic article entitled "Where Can the Wolf Survive?," which the band members related to their own struggle to gain success in the United States while maintaining their Mexican roots. Philadelphia born Steve Berlin played saxophone for the Blasters then left the group to join Los Lobos. When he joined the band, Berlin spoke about his similar record collection to the other members of Los Lobos, where they shared loves for George Jones and Hank Williams.

The band released their Mammoth Records debut, Good Morning Aztlan in 2002. They released The Ride in 2004 as an unofficial 30th Anniversary album. The Ride featured Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack, Elvis Costello and others covering Los Lobos music with the band. They did a follow-up album in 2005, Ride This – The Covers EP featuring Los Lobos covers of songs by Dave Alvin, Waits, Costello and others.

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 (Mammoth Records) to much critical acclaim. The album's lyrics deal with Louis Perez's childhood in East Los Angeles, while the music provides complex and original soundscapes reminiscent of their previous release Kiko. Cartoonist Jaime Hernandez did the artwork for the album. The album is told in the first person, with each song serving as an episodic step.

2007–present

thumb|Los Lobos performing in 2017: Cesar, Conrad and Enrique

In 2007, Los Lobos performed a cover of Bob Dylan's "Billy 1" (from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) for the soundtrack to Todd Haynes's film I'm Not There. Also in 2007, they participated in Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard), contributing their version of Domino's "The Fat Man."

In 2009, the group under contract to Disney Music released an album of Disney covers, Los Lobos Goes Disney (Disney Sound/Walt Disney Records) and participated in a tribute album to the late Doug Sahm, Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard). The same year, on October 13, they also played on the South Lawn of the White House during the "In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina" concert, celebrating Hispanic musical heritage.

In 2010, Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo were featured artists in the Experience Hendrix Tour.

On August 3, 2010, the group released their first album in four years, Tin Can Trust. In 2011, the group was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Tin Can Trust in the categories of Best Rock Instrumental Performance and Best Americana Album.

In 2011, the group was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2013, the group toured Europe supporting Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

On September 25, 2015, their album Gates of Gold was released.

On October 9, 2015, Los Lobos was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time. live direct-to-disc on the first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. During their session, the belt holding the 100Ib weight that powered the 1924 cutting lathe broke and Jack White had to rush to an upholstery shop to repair it.

Los Lobos was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2018.

On October 4, 2019, Los Lobos released Llegó Navidad, an album of Christmas music from Central America and South America with Mexican folk songs, as well as an original song by Hidalgo and Pérez.

On January 1, 2020, Los Lobos performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

The band was a recipient of a 2021 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

On July 30, 2021, Los Lobos released their 18th album, Native Sons, on New West Records. It is a collection of 12 songs written or performed by California-based musicians (including Jackson Browne, The Beach Boys, The Blasters, Thee Midniters, Willie Bobo, and Lalo Guerrero) with one song written by Hidalgo and Pérez, the title track "Native Sons".

The group's co-founder and former band member Francisco González died on March 30, 2022, at the age of 68.

On April 3, 2022, at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Los Lobos won their fourth Grammy Award for Native Sons, this time in the Best Americana Album category.

On November 25, 2023, Los Lobos celebrated their 50th Anniversary at their alma mater, James Garfield High School in East Los Angeles with a sold-out performance at the high school's auditorium. Two shows earlier that week in Los Angeles also sold out immediately: The Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood and The Paramount Theatre in Boyle Heights.

In February 2024, Los Lobos were inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

In March 2026, a documentary film titled Los Lobos Native Sons, premiered at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. A film five years in the making, among the people interviewed are musicians Tom Waits, Linda Rondstadt, Ozomatli, Flaco Jimenez, Bonnie Raitt and actors Cheech Marin, Edward James Olmos and Chicano activist Dolores Huerta.

Members

David Hidalgo – vocals, guitar, accordion, fiddle, requinto jarocho (1973–present)
Louie Pérez – drums, guitar, jarana huasteca, vocals (1973–present)
Cesar Rosas – vocals, guitar, bajo sexto (1973–present)
Conrad Lozano – bass, guitarron, vocals (1973–present)
Steve Berlin – saxophone, flute, keyboards, percussion (1982–present)

Former members

Francisco "Frank" González – vocals, mandolin, arpa jarocha (1973–1976; died 2022)
Richard Escalante – bass, vocals (1973–1974)

Touring musicians

Victor Bisetti – drums, percussion (1990–2003)
Cougar Estrada – drums, percussion (2003–2011)
Enrique "Bugs" González – drums, percussion (2012–2020)
Alfredo Ortiz – drums, percussion (2021–present)

Discography

Albums

Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles (Just another band from East L.A.), 1978
How Will the Wolf Survive?, 1984
By the Light of the Moon, 1987
La Pistola y el Corazón, 1988
The Neighborhood, 1990
Kiko, 1992
Papa's Dream, 1995
Colossal Head, 1996
This Time, 1999
Good Morning Aztlán, 2002
The Ride, 2004
The Town and the City, 2006
Los Lobos Goes Disney, 2009
Tin Can Trust, 2010
Gates of Gold, 2015
Llegó Navidad, 2019
Native Sons, 2021

Live albums

Live at the Fillmore, 2005
Acoustic en Vivo, 2005
Chuy's Tape Box, Vol. 1, 2005
One Time, One Night: Live Recordings Vol. 1, 2007
One Time, One Night: Live Recordings Vol. 2, 2010
Kiko Live, 2012 (Recorded February 24, 2006 at House of Blues, San Diego)
Disconnected in New York City, 2013

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

Extended plays

...And a Time to Dance, 1983
Ride This – The Covers EP, 2004

Soundtrack, compilation, and guest appearances

Si Se Puede!, Various Artists, 1977 (Pan American) – backing band on all tracks
Eating Raoul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1982 (Varèse Sarabande) – "Diablo Con Vestido" and "How Much Can I Do"
L.A. Rockabilly, 1982 (Rhino Records) – "We're Gonna Rock"
Graceland, Paul Simon, 1986 (Warner Bros.) – "All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints"
A Fine Mess: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1986 (Motown) – "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday"
The Money Pit: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1986 – "La Bamba"
La Bamba: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1987 (Slash/Warner Bros.) – "La Bamba", "Come On, Let's Go" and six others
Colors, 1988 (Orion Pictures) – "One Time, One Night" (not on soundtrack album)
Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films, 1988 (A&M Records) – "I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)"
Bull Durham: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1988 (Capitol) – "I Got Loaded"
Hey Good Lookin (video), Buckwheat Zydeco, 1990 – with David Hidalgo and Dwight Yoakam
Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead, 1991 (Arista) – "Bertha"
The Mambo Kings: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1992 (Elektra) – "Beautiful Maria of My Soul"
In The Spotlight: A Beatles Songbook, 1993 (Lonesome Pine/PBS TV special) – "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Untamed Heart, 1993 (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) – "Try Me" (not on soundtrack album)
Beat the Retreat – Songs by Richard Thompson, 1994 (Capitol) – "Down Where the Drunkards Roll"
I Only Wrote this Song for You: A Tribute to Johnny Thunders, 1994 (Essential) – "Alone in a Crowd"
Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III, 1994 – live performance of "La Bamba" from the 1988 Grammy Awards
Desperado: The Soundtrack, 1995 (Epic Soundtrax) – primary score composer and performer
The Last Supper, 1995 Columbia Pictures – "Wicked Rain" (not on soundtrack album)
Till the Night is Gone: A Tribute to Doc Pomus, 1995 (Forward/Rhino) – "Lonely Avenue"
Feeling Minnesota: Original Soundtrack, 1996 (Atlantic Records) - "Minnesota Medley"
Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly), 1996 (MCA) – "Midnight Shift"
The End of Violence: Songs from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1997 (Outpost Recordings) – "Me Estas Matando"
Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin, 1998 (H.O.L.A. Records) – "Pepe and Irene"
The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series, 1999 (Playtone, Columbia, Sony Music Soundtrax) – "Viking"
Live at the World Café - Volume 9, 1999 (World Cafe) – "This Time"
Spy Kids: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture, 2001 (Chapter III Records) – "Spy Wedding" and "Oye Como Spy"
House of Mouse, 2001 – End Credits Music
Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime, 2005 (Cornerstone RAS) – "Pawn Shop"
Nacho Libre: Music from the Motion Picture, 2006 (Lakeshore Records) – "Saint Behind the Glass"
Handy Manny, 2006 (Buena Vista Television, Disney–ABC Domestic Television television series) – "Handy Manny Theme Song"
I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack, 2007 (Sony Music Soundtrax, Columbia) – "Billy 1"
Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, 2007 (Vanguard) – "The Fat Man"
Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm, 2009 (Vanguard) – "It Didn't Even Bring Me Down"
Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney, 2010 (Yep Roc Records) – "A Man of Somebody's Dreams"
El Infierno: Soundtrack, 2010 (Bandidos Films) – "Mexico Americano", "Serenato Norteña" and "Prenda del Alma"
Rango: Music from the Motion Picture, 2011 (Anti-) – "El Canelo", "Walk Don't Rango" and "Rango Theme Song"
Use Me, David Bromberg, 2011 (Appleseed) – "The Long Goodbye"
Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2017 (Lo-Max, Columbia, Third Man) – "El Cascabel"

DVD

Live at the Fillmore, 2004
Kiko Live, 2012 (Recorded February 24, 2006 at House of Blues, San Diego)

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:20em;"| Single

! colspan="11"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Certifications (sales threshold)

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="40"| AUS

! width="40"| BEL

! width="40"| CAN

! width="40"| ESP

! width="40"| FRA

! width="40"| IRE

! width="40"| NED

! width="40"| NZ

! width="40"| SUI

! width="40"| UK

! width="40"| US

| rowspan="2"| 1981

! scope="row"| "Under the Boardwalk"

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Non-album songs

! scope="row"| "Farmer John"

| —

| 1983

! scope="row"| "Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio"

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| ...and a Time to Dance

| rowspan="3"| 1984

! scope="row"| "Let's Say Goodnight"

| —

! scope="row"| "Don't Worry Baby"

| —

| 57

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| How Will the Wolf Survive?

! scope="row"| "Will the Wolf Survive"

| —

| 38

| —

| 78

| rowspan="4"| 1987

! scope="row"| "Shakin' Shakin' Shakes"

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| By the Light of the Moon

! scope="row"| "Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)"

| —

| 45

| —

| 99

| —

! scope="row"| "Come On, Let's Go"

| 22

| 13

| 25

| 9

| —

| 9

| 24

| 14

| 22

| 18

| 21

| align="left" rowspan="3"| La Bamba (soundtrack)

! scope="row"| "La Bamba"

| 1

| 2

| 1

| 2

| 1

| align="left"|

BPI: Silver
CAN: Platinum

| rowspan=2| 1988

! scope="row"| "Donna"

| 98

| 27

| —

| 29

| —

| 32

| 26

| 83

| —

! scope="row"| "One Time, One Night"

| —

| align="left"| By the Light of the Moon

| 1990

! scope="row"| "Down on the Riverbed"

| —

| 67

| —

| align="left"| The Neighborhood

| 1991

! scope="row"| "Bertha"

| —

| align="left"| Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead

| rowspan="3"| 1992

! scope="row"| "Bella María de Mi Alma"

| —

| align="left"| Just Another Band from East LA: A Collection

! scope="row"| "Reva's House"

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| Kiko

! scope="row"| "Kiko and the Lavender Moon"

| —

| 2000

! scope="row"| "Cumbia Raza"

| —

| align="left"| This Time

| colspan="16" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Featured singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

! Year

! style="width:20em;"| Single

! style="width:10em;"| Artist

! Album

| 2010

! scope="row"| "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"

| Rick Trevino

| align="left"| Non-album song

References

External links

Los Lobos homepage
JamBase.com article
2007 Mas Magazine article & podcast
Collection of Music Magazine articles on Los Lobos
Rolling Stone's Los Lobos artist guide