Los Lobos Biography
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.
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 children's record Papa's
Dream on Music for Little People Records. 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 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 of 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.
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 [Original Soundtrack], 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
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.
“We thought it was mainstream, ... We said, do it
mainstream. We're American. We grew up here with everybody
else. We thought the music would appeal to everyone, not
just a certain ethnic group or age group. We thought it
was universal.”
- David Hidalgo
